Metaphor

Question

"when he saw us a  damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes." is this a metaphor?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

It is a metaphor. I can't imagine, literally, such an abstract as 'hope' being a piece of a damp gleam springing from somebody's eyes.

Avangi · Answer

I suspect "dim" would be more contemporary than "damp" here.

"Damp" is not used in the sense of "wet or moist," but in the sense of "suppressed."

"Damp" and "sprang" seem to be in conflict here. The first is very weak and the second is very strong.

(I agree that it's a metaphor!)

I'd probably say "A dim gleam crept etc." - unless I'm missing something.

Avangi · Answer

AnonymousI can't imagine, literally, such an abstract as 'hope' being a piece of a damp gleam springing from somebody's eyes.

Hi, Anon.
It didn't spring from them. It sprang "into them."

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Avangi,

I couldn't agree more.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous"when he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes." is this a metaphor?

Not the whole sentence, but "a damp gleam of hope sprang". Yes. damp suggests tears beginning to come to his eyes. sprang suggests the suddenness of this reaction. gleam suggests that this effect was clearly visible in his eyes; they seemed to give off light (probably because of the reflective properties of tears).

CJ

Obviously I have a different take on "damp" than Avangi did.

Avangi · Answer

I did indeed overlook something!

I agree that the phrase in all likelihood describes the beginning of tears.
But I'm wondering if that doesn't make it literal rather than metaphoric.
Do you feel that attributing the source of the tear/gleam is figurative? Is "gleam of hope" a pun here?
(Maybe I'm thinking of "glimmer of hope.")
If "gleam of hope" is itself a metaphor, I suspect it's a dead, or expired one - or whatever the term is for a metaphor which has acquired a legitimate meaning.

- A.

CalifJim · Answer

Avangiliteral rather than metaphoric

Good point. "Damp" is metaphoric only insofar as it is used to modify "gleam". Effects of light are not literally classifiable in terms of wet and dry. (My flashlight cast a rather moist beam onto the floor. )

But as a word used to suggest tears "damp" is, of course, literal.

AvangiI suspect it's a dead, or expired one - or whatever the term is

As far as I know, "dead" is the correct term.

CJ

Elateacher74 · Answer

It is not a metaphor. "Damp" is simply an adjective modifying "gleam of hope," and in this instance it is being used in the sense of "less strong or intense" -- not "wet." (To be a metaphor, Fitzgerald would have to be saying that the "damp gleam of hope" was actually something else, and that is not what he is saying.)

George Wilson is a timid, brow-beaten man. Everything about

George Wilson is a timid, brow-beaten man. Everything about him is weak -- he is described as "faintly handsome" and "anemic." Even the hope in his eyes when he sees Tom is weak...."damp." Yes, it might have sprung there, which indicates sudden movement, but it is still a weak hope. This is supported by the next lines, where George answers "unconvincingly" that business is fine, and then asks the question on which his "damp gleam of hope" hangs -- which is when is Tom going to sell him that car?

The fact that Tom inspires hope in George at all is sad, as well as ironic, and underscores again George's weakness, since he believes Tom is a friend and doesn't realize Tom is having an affair with George's wife...right under his nose, practically. Later in the novel, George is described again in terms that remind the reader he lacks strength and intensity. He is a "worn-out" man who sits in his chair and stares at the people and cars that pass along the road. Even his laugh is described as colorless. "He was his wife's man and not his own."

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