Question

In The Sweet Hereafter, why is the accident scene described only in similes – "bearing down on me like a wall of water" – and surreal images – "the sky tipped and veered away and the ground lurched brutally forward?"

Answer 1

In The Sweet Hereafter, the accident scene is described with similes and surreal images because a graphic description of the event would not be as effective to the characters, the theme or the plot. Describing the event by using similes and surreal images has the advantage of letting us know how the accident felt, and what it was like to experience it. It gives us a more personal point of view.