Figurative Language In President Carter's 'Considering The Void'

The lack of knowledge in certain area in a certain situation can be detrimental. Mankind lives in a world that is covered with almost infinite miles of space and stars and galaxies and humans know less than a fraction of what is out there. Meaning that there is almost always a certain amount of fear. In “Considering the Void”, by President Carter, reveals his relatable fear of the unknown through the use of strong figurative language, negatively connotated diction and syntax. Carter uses negatively connotated diction to show his fears in the universe. For example, he describes the moons within our galaxy by writing about their “weird rings” and “cratered faces” (Carter line 8). It is significant that Carter uses words like weird and cratered since they are negatively connotated and are often words used to describe something unfamiliar to a person, something that is different than the norm. Carter using these words emphasize that there are places in the universe so unlike our own. He also says that there are “holes of darkness” that are “gulping mass”. Carter is referring to black holes in this text but the way he makes that reference makes it sound ominous and sinister. He then describes the way it consumes matter, gulping. Gulping …show more content…
For example, he mentions that there is an “infinity of suns” in the Milky Way. This hyperbole demonstrates the amount of systems in our universe and demonstrates how hard it is to imagine that there is so much in our little bubble that it is even harder to imagine what is outside of our galaxy and makes you think of how much mankind does not know. Later in the passage Carter says “It troubles me. It troubles me.” The repetition of it troubles me creates emphasis on the fear that has been created and the fear that affects the author regarding the universe. These uses of figurative language show readers Carter’s insecurity regarding the vastness of the