Hyperbole

"... the stiff thump of the bullet, like a fist, the way it knocks the air out of you and makes you cough, how the sound of the gunshot arrives about ten years later..." (page 191). I have noticed, on several different occasions, that many bad events happen in slow motion. Just a few days ago I went camping with my family and we were riding our bikes. We were riding along the road in the grass because there was a car coming. Once it passed, we transitioned back onto the road but there was a slight dip from the grass to the road. My sister lost control of her bike and I happened to turn around and witness her fall. I saw the way the handle bars turned as the bike slowly fell to the ground and the way her hands reached out to catch her fall. It was like slow motion. I just stood their watching, immobile and unable to help. It seemed like she took forever to reach the ground. She scraped her ankle and hands but she was okay. Many bad events happen in slow motion and I do not know why. The hyperbole lets the reader understand the shock of the bullet. A person gets shot and the shock of it blows everything out of proportion, like the time it took for the sound of the bullet to reach Tim O'Brien's ears.