Wednesday Wars Figurative Language

There is always a moment where one’s world turns gray and everything seems dull and hopeless. In “Wednesday Wars,” by Gary D. Schmidt, the character, Holling, experiences a dull depressing time period of his life, his seventh grade year. The author then uses descriptive language, repetition, and symbolism to create a dreary, sorrowful mood. He makes Holling’s world look like there is no hope and there was no room for improvement. The author uses descriptive language to describe the dull and depressing mood of the story. For example, he uses a simile to illustrate the dullness of the story,” This look came over her face like the sun had wrinkled out and was not going to shine again till next June.”(4) When he mentions wrinkling it gives the reader
Likewise, he uses the phrase “Toads.Beetles.Bats,”(56) well throughout in various places his story. These words were always used in situations that were not in favor of the main character and with words such as “The only thing worse…”(81). This repetition could lead the reader more into the main character’s perspective. In fact, the chooses to have a very consistent use for words such as “dumb” and “death”. These words have a negative connotation, leading the reader to think about the events happening in a negative way. Moreover the author also uses symbolism to indicate the mood of the story. In fact the phrase,”Toads. Beetles. Bats.” could also be viewed as symbols illustrating the mood of the story. This is because toads beetles and bats all are considered as nocturnal, being active mostly at night, animals. The night is dark just like the mood of the story. Furthermore, the author decides to use the “Perfect House” as symbol. The “Perfect House” is almost perfect except for the fact that part of the ceiling collapsed. This showed even his family was unable to provide a comfortable living style, leading into