Read the following excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko's story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds."

The sun was approaching the long mesa where it disappeared during the winter.

What type of figurative language is included in this passage?

A. hyperbole

B. metaphor

C. personification

D. simile

The excerpt is an example of personification. The "sun" in the excerpt is treated like a person who has life and can walk. Personification is figure of speech that gives life to those non-living things and treats them like a person.

The correct answer is C, personification.

The sun is described as "approaching" (and also "disappearing"), which are actions a person could do. Personification is a literary device where objects are described like a person. The sun itself does not actually move, of course. However, describing the sun as approaching (or disappearing) is personification.

This is not example of hyperbole, which is extreme exaggeration. Furthermore, no comparison is being made in the sentence, which eliminates simile and metaphor.

Therefore, the correct answer is C.