My Thirteenth Winter Figurative language and literary devices used in the work by Samantha Abeel

How can I explain it to another thirteen year old girl How can I explain it to another thirteen year old girl? How can I explain it to someone who sees the world so simply? How can I explain it to her when I don’t even understand it myself? (67)

…my life had become a movie and I was watching it fall apart. (66)

She is eating carrots out of a Tupperware container, rolling them between her fingers with the polished nails, the snapping down on them with her white teeth. (66)

My hair unfolds into leaves of light

I had parents who cared, who were involved, who fought for me. (125)

Special education has saved my life. (103)

“ I fight to compute the numbers but my brain feels as if it is searching through an empty filing cabinet.”

The sink faucet hisses as the water rushes from it.

She would sit beside me on the piano bench and ask me to perform the pieces I had practiced during the week. (15)

An unwelcome thought unfurls like a blanket shaken open over grass

…..nobody would have been able to predict that my life would fall apart during my thirteenth winter. (4)

Steve sneaks a peak at the clock, and I see his pencil quicken.(13)

I am conscious of heads bowed in focused concentration , of whispers of lead on the paper’s surfaces, of how quickly Andy’s pencil moves, of how quickly all their pencils move.(13)

Like runners taking their marks at a race, everyone sits, bows his or her head down, eyes falling to the white backs of their papers, waiting for the sound that will give them permission to start.(12)

…my copy leaves her fingers and floats to its resting place on the empty fake-wood top of my desk. (11)

The paper is blank on the side that faces me, a perfect rectangle of white. (11)

…no matter how hauntingly familiar the figures are , they continue to remain anonymous strangers …(23)

My writing gave me some sense of sanity amidst the increasingly difficult challenges I was facing to keep up in my other school classes. (39)

Now check your paper to see what you know Figurative language and literary devices used in the work by Samantha Abeel

Rhetorical question How can I explain it to another thirteen year old girl? How can I explain it to someone who sees the world so simply? How can I explain it to her when I don’t even understand it myself? (67) Questions that do not require a reply; (writers use these to make a point or to show that the answer is obvious)

metaphor …my life had become a movie and I was watching it fall apart. (66) Comparing two things without using like or as

imagery She is eating carrots out of a Tupperware container, rolling them between her fingers with the polished nails, the snapping down on them with her white teeth. (66) Using descriptive words or phrases to create sensory experiences for the reader

alliteration My hair unfolds into leaves of light Repetition of a beginning consonant within a phrase or sentence

repetition I had parents who cared, who were involved, who fought for me. (125) A technique in which a sound, word, phrase or line is repeated for emphasis or unity. It is often used to create rhythm or to reinforce meaning.

Special education has saved my life. (103) personification Special education has saved my life. (103) Human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea

personification “ I fight to compute the numbers but my brain feels as if it is searching through an empty filing cabinet.”

The sink faucet hisses as the water rushes from it. onomatopoeia The sink faucet hisses as the water rushes from it. The use of words whose sounds echo their meaning.

alliteration She would sit beside me on the piano bench and ask me to perform the pieces I had practiced during the week. (15)

simile An unwelcome thought unfurls like a blanket shaken open over grass. (60)

foreshadowing …..nobody would have been able to predict that my life would fall apart during my thirteenth winter. (4) The writer uses hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story. It creates suspense and makes the reader eager to find out what will happen.

assonance Steve sneaks a peak at the clock, and I see his pencil quicken.(13) Repetition of vowel sounds within words

Parallel structure I am conscious of heads bowed in focused concentration , of whispers of lead on the paper’s surfaces, of how quickly Andy’s pencil moves, of how quickly all their pencils move.(13) Also personification

simile Like runners taking their marks at a race, everyone sits, bows his or her head down, eyes falling to the white backs of their papers, waiting for the sound that will give them permission to start.(12)

personification …my copy leaves her fingers and floats to its resting place on the empty fake-wood top of my desk. (11)

metaphor The paper is blank on the side that faces me, a perfect rectangle of white. (11)

Metaphor …no matter how hauntingly familiar the figures are , they continue to remain anonymous strangers …(23) and Personification

alliteration My writing gave me some sense of sanity amidst the increasingly difficult challenges I was facing to keep up in my other school classes. (39)