Outside Reading - Week 2, Post A

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

VOCAB
-Balinese(26)- Of or pertaining to Bali, its people, or their language
-divinity(26)- The quality of being divine; divine nature
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
1. "Just when I was feeling particularly sorry for myself for being broke and lonely and caged up in Divorce Internment Camp, [...]"(26). The figurative language in this quote is the capitalization of Divorce Internment Camp, a symbolism. This is not just a casual term that the author made up, it is serious and truly feels like an internment camp to her, and the capitals emphasize that.
2. "Because God never slams the door in your face without opening up a box Girl Scout cookies [...]"(22). This is a metaphor. In reality God does not open a box of cookies and set them on the table in front of you, rather he allows something special or pleasing to happen to you. In this case, Elizabeth Gilbert is comparing a kind act of God to Girl Scout cookies.
3. "It all begins when the object of your adoration bestows upon you a heady, hallucinogenic dose of something you never even dared to admit that you wanted-an emotional speedball, perhaps, of thunderous love and roiling excitement"(20). This is another metaphor. Gilbert is comparing the happiness you feel when you are in a relationship to the high you experience from drugs. She never did drugs, but she feels high and hallucinogenical as if she had.
QUOTE
"So that's it. You have now reached infatuation's final destination-the complete and merciless devaluation of self"(21). This quote is significant because it has a deeper meaning than it appears. The term "reached the final destination" implies that you were on a transportation device of some sort, in this case, a roller coaster. The relationship that she was in was comparable to a roller coaster, with ups and downs, exciting and scary, and the feeling of never knowing what will come next. Because infatuation doesn't have destinations, the phrase "final destination" jumps out and triggers her comparing her relationship to a roller coaster, which she did do in the memoir.
THEME
The theme that I am seeing to emerge is, You never know what will come next, life is the definition of unpredictable.