Question

Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.
• Type of figurative language:
• Meaning of figurative language:
• Effect on tone and mood:
• Effect on audience:

Answer 1

-simile (ex: like a boil)

-the simile, a comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as”, reflects the author’s view of injustice.

-the simile emphasizes the ugly, grotesque nature of injustice as well as how it inevitably must be dealt with. The passage takes on a gory tone but adopts a hopeful mood when proposing a solution to the problem.

-the simile allows the audience to view injustice as a problem that must be addressed before it festers and worsens beneath the cloak of normalcy.