Giving human characteristics to a nonhuman thing.

Giving human characteristics to a nonhuman thing.

• A. Personification
• B. Mood
• C. Simile
• D. Plot

Answer: (A)

Giving human characteristics to a nonhuman thing is personification. This figure of speech makes animals, objects, or ideas act or feel like people, which helps readers picture the scene and feel connected. For example, “The wind whispered through the trees” treats the wind as if it can whisper, a human action. That’s not mood, which is the overall emotional atmosphere of a piece; it’s not a simile, which would compare two things using like or as; and it’s not plot, which is the sequence of events in the story. When you want vivid imagery by treating nature or inanimate things as if they had human motives or actions, you’re using personification.

Giving human characteristics to a nonhuman thing is personification. This figure of speech makes animals, objects, or ideas act or feel like people, which helps readers picture the scene and feel connected. For example, “The wind whispered through the trees” treats the wind as if it can whisper, a human action. That’s not mood, which is the overall emotional atmosphere of a piece; it’s not a simile, which would compare two things using like or as; and it’s not plot, which is the sequence of events in the story. When you want vivid imagery by treating nature or inanimate things as if they had human motives or actions, you’re using personification.