Student Question
What literary devices are used in Wonder?
Quick answer:
In Wonder, R.J. Palacio employs literary devices such as simile, metaphor, imagery, personification, and hyperbole to enrich the storytelling. The novel also features various points of view and uses irony effectively. Examples include similes that liken emotions to physical experiences, metaphors comparing characters to celestial bodies, and personification attributing human traits to genetic conditions. Additionally, the shifting perspectives of multiple characters provide a comprehensive view of the narrative's events and character dynamics, while irony is evident in the unexpected outcomes of the characters' actions.
In Wonder, R. J. Palacio uses a variety of literary devices, including simile, metaphor, imagery, personification, and hyperbole to enhance the narrative. She also makes excellent use of various points of view and irony. Let's look at examples of each of these.
We see similes in remarks like August's comment about falling asleep with his head on Via's lap “like she was my pillow” and Via's description of August's face when she says that “his features look like they've been melted, like the drippings on the side of a candle.”
Via's narrations are also heavy on metaphors. She explains that “August is the Sun. Me and Mom and Dad are planets orbiting the Sun.” Yet over the year there is “a shift in the cosmos.” “The galaxy is changing,” Via says. “Planets are falling out of alignment.” This is also an excellent example of vivid imagery.
Personification appears in Via's statement that August's genetic mutations “made war on his face.” We see hyperbole when August says, “my heart started beating like I'd just run the longest race in the world.”
Palacio also employs shifting points of view in this novel. We hear August, Via, Summer, Jack, Miranda, and Justin tell parts of the story from their own perspectives, and this gives us readers a much broader picture of the events of the plot and of the personalities and struggles of the characters.
Finally, there is often a deep irony in this book. Julian and his mother work hard to get August kicked out of Beecher Prep, but Julian is the one who does not return. Henry, Miles, and Amos ironically band together with August to rescue him at the nature reserve even though they have largely sided with Julian throughout the story.
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