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Questions

1. Which word best describes the type of literary device the cartoonist is using?
a) pun
b) oxymoron
c) onomatopoeia
d) personification

2. Explain why you chose this answer.


Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.

Cartoon by Glenn McCoy

Answers

1. d) personification

2. Personification is a figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to an abstract quality, animal, or inanimate object. In this case the groundhog (Punxsutawney Phil) is a news weatherman.

The cartoonist did not use:

a) pun, which is a “play on words” – a type of humor using a word or phrase that has two meanings
b) oxymoron, which is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as the phrase “jumbo shrimp” or “virtual reality”)
c) onomatopoeia, which is the creation of words that imitate natural sounds (buzz and hiss are examples of onomatopoeia)