Question

The train passes into northern Chiapas. Enrique sees men with hoes tending their corn and women inside their kitchens patting tortillas into shape. Cowboys ride past and smile. Fieldworkers wave their machetes and cheer the migrants on: "Qué bueno!" Mountains draw closer. Plantain fields soften into cow pastures. Enrique’s train slows to a crawl. Monarch butterflies flutter alongside, overtaking his car.

As the sun sets and the oppressive heat breaks, he hears crickets and frogs begin their music and join the migrant chorus. The moon rises. Thousands of fireflies flicker around the train. Stars come out to shine, so many they seem jammed together, brilliant points of light all across the sky.

—Enrique’s Journey,

Sonia Nazario

What type of figurative language does the underlined sentence include?

What purpose does this type of language serve in the passage?

Answer 1

The sentence uses personification (“Stars come out to shine”) and hyperbole/sensory imagery (“so many they seem jammed together, brilliant points of light all across the sky”).

Purpose: the personification and vivid imagery make the night sky feel alive and welcoming, painting a striking visual scene that evokes wonder and relief after the daytime heat. This amplifies the emotional tone—creating a sense of awe, comfort, and even celebration around the migrants’ journey—and helps the reader feel the moment’s beauty and hope amid hardship.