The City of Brass

Content warning: This section of the guide explores racism, enslavement, and murder.

“He raised his sword and laid the curved blade against her neck, soft as a lover’s hand.”

This quote uses foreshadowing and simile in describing the way that Dara touches Nahri. This foreshadows their future love as well as his violent instincts that cost him his life. The simile comparing the way he lays the sword on her neck to a lover’s hand demonstrates the confusion that Nahri feels about Dara’s character.

“It was something only a deviant mind could dream up, an unholy cross between an old man, a green parrot and a mosquito. All bird from the chest down, it bobbed like a chicken as it moved forward on a pair of thick, feathered legs ending in sharp talons.”

Descriptive imagery is used to describe this creature. Nahri uses familiar words to describe the creature, but this imagery transports Nahri further into a magical, fantastical world, further away from humanity.

“Listen to me. You heard what the sheikh said. You think you can turn back now? Beg your abba for mercy?”

Hanno uses a rhetorical question to convince Ali to jump into danger, literally and figuratively. The obvious answers to his questions create an air of condescension and leave no room for Ali to think critically, capitalizing on Ali’s constant battle surrounding Choosing Between Freedom and Belonging.