Figurative Language In AJ Niedermeyer's Peace Like A River

AJ Niedermeyer Niedermeyer Pg. 1

Mrs. Viola

English 1 Honors

Reuben's Use of Figurative Language

3/2/14

Reuben's use of figurative language in the novel Peace Like a River reveals fundamental elements of both his character and his manner of speaking. It both allows the reader to better follow the action and creates a vivid picture of the scene at hand, and simultaneously gives some insight as to his personality and the way he observes things. This use of figurative language serves to make the story an even more enjoyable read, as it makes each scene worth reading in and of itself, not to mention the story as a whole.

Reuben speaks eloquently yet simply, expressing things vividly enough but not using unnecessary words. This contrasts with his sister's tendency to go the extra mile in her use of all writing techniques, especially figures of speech, almost (not quite) to the point of overuse. She is extremely descriptive, while he chooses to express things in an adequate manner but still leaves some of the mental image to be created by the reader, which is a technique in itself. Both are good in the way of storytelling, though Swede favors a poetic approach while Reuben tends to paint a simple, down-to-earth picture that is still far from lacking in any detail.

Niedermeyer Pg. 2

As for his character, it reveals that he can find beauty in the smallest things in life, meaning in the smallest revelation, but that he is a down-to-earth man (at the time he relates the story) who canget his point across, but not romanticize things. He expresses things as he sees them, but he sees them in a unique and detailed way. He mak...

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...ation, and he finds it in their hosts, his father's close friends.

Niedermeyer Pg. 4

In short, Reuben's style of writing, particularly his use of figures of speech, reveals quite a bit to the reader about his character and personality, as well as a deeper look into his thoughts at each turn of the story. Leif Enger makes very good use of these figures of speech to make Reuben a fully developed, believable, and likable character, one that many people would easily be able to relate to, no matter what their age, position in life, or the time period in which they read the book. Peace Like a River might have been written fairly recently, but its style and touching story, as well as the writing techniques used by the author and supposedly used by Reuben in recounting the story, give it the potential to be a classic, read for generations.

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