Other elements that are present in this novel include symbols and metaphors. Symbols are the use of some unrelated idea to represent something else. Metaphors are direct comparisons made between characters and ideas. There many symbols and metaphors used by the author such as:

1. Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital symbolizes outside help for the poor.

2. Kidder, the author, has arrived in Haiti to see Farmer's oeuvre. He is met at the Port-au-Prince airport by a four-wheel-drive pickup and rides on a two-lane paved road until he comes to the other side of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. There, the truck moves steadily upward, while pitching and rolling, along a road that seems little more than a dry riverbed. Along the way, he sees many arid mountains and villages of wooden huts, trucks of various sizes and a lot of foot traffic, beggars, ox carts being pulled by men, few trees, and no electricity after the town of Péligre. The trip is only 35 miles long, but lasts three hours. Finally, kidder's truck pulls up to a tall concrete wall where a sign reads, Zanmi Lasante, or Partners In Health. It is a very dramatic sight in the all but treeless, baked brown landscape. There are tall trees beside courtyards, walkways, and walls, an ambulatory clinic and a women's clinic, a general hospital, a large Anglican church, a school, a kitchen which prepares meals for 2000 people a day, and a brand new building to treat tuberculosis. Inside, the building has tiled floors, clean white walls, and paintings by Haitian artists. This is a metaphor for all of Haiti where Zanmi Lasante is hope in the midst of despair.

3. Farmer's use of the word comma at the end of a sentence symbolizes the word that would follow the comma - asshole. Kidder understands that Farmer isn't calling him an asshole, but instead is referring to third parties who feel comfortable with the current distribution of........

.......15. Farmer is the single stethoscope under which beat many hearts.

 

IMAGERY

Another element that is very dominant in this novel is imagery - the employment of figures of speech, vivid descriptions, or mental pictures in writing or speech. Much of the imagery in this book comes from the language Farmer uses. Some examples include:

1. Farmer's use of the word comma at the end of a sentence. It stands for the word that would follow the comma - asshole. Kidder understands that Farmer isn't calling him an asshole, but instead is referring to third parties who feel comfortable with the current distribution of money and........

.......7. PIHers are people who work for Partners In Health.

 

The complete study guide is currently available as a downloadable PDF, RTF, or MS Word DOC file from the PinkMonkey MonkeyNotes download store. The complete study guide contains summaries and notes for all of the chapters; detailed analysis of the themes, plot structure, and characters; important quotations and analysis; detailed analysis of symbolism, motifs, and imagery; a key facts summary; detailed analysis of the use of foreshadowing and irony; a multiple-choice quiz, and suggested book report ideas and essay topics.