Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow.
I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early education. And from the time I went to kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I went to public schools. I wouldn't trade that education and experience for anything.
I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself- my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity- all come from how I was parented and taught.
And none of these qualities that I've just mentioned, none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success- none of these qualities that make me who I am can be tested.
I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that's true. But it's more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn't taken up with a bunch of test prep-this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn't promote real learning.
No, my teachers were free to approach me and every kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how best to make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.
The literary device used in the line- approached every kid in class 'like an individual puzzle' is:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Simile
Simile:
- A simile compares two different things using "like" or "as".
- This line: each child is compared to a puzzle through the word "like"; the teachers studied every student with care, as one works out a puzzle piece by piece.
Example: Her smile was like sunshine after rain.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Metaphor — Incorrect. A metaphor compares without "like" or "as", saying one thing is another; the line uses "like".
Example: The classroom was a zoo after the bell rang.
Option 2: Personification — Incorrect. Personification gives human qualities to non-living things; here children, who are human, are compared to an object.
Example: The wind whispered through the trees.
Option 4: Anaphora — Incorrect.
- Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.
- The passage does use it elsewhere ("none of these qualities..." three times), but not in the given line.
Example: We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the fields.
Contrast: a simile compares with "like" or "as"; a metaphor says that one thing is another; personification gives human qualities to non-living things.