What effect does exaggeration in writing have on readers?

Answer 1

Exaggeration can have different effects. For example, it conveys the sense of overwhelming odds even about very ordinary circumstances. "Every time Mattie kills a million mosquitoes, two million more come to bite her flesh." Obviously, Mattie did not kill (or see) a million mosquitoes, but they are so annoying that a dozen mosquitoes can feel like "a million". Exaggeration can also come across as sarcasm. The trite line, "If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I'd be rich!" could be exaggerated to "If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I'd be a billionaire!" Exaggeration can also add to description through metaphor and simile, for example, "The young disabled man stood bent to the ground like a ice laden sapling." Obviously, a young disabled man doesn't bend "to the ground" when standing, nor is he a tree sapling, nor is he covered in ice, but each piece gives a vivid picture of his physical condition through use of exaggeration in a "like" analogy.