NAME THAT LANGUAGE
Joey describes Grandma as “tough as an old boot.” Identify the figurative language.
Simile. Grandma is directly compared to an old boot using as.
Grandma hears news “on the grapevine.” What does this expression mean?
She heard the news informally through other people or gossip.
Grandma is “tough as an old boot.” What character trait does this comparison emphasize?
Her toughness, strength, or resilience.
Peck describes a “little sawing, singing sound” as someone cuts through the window screen. Which sense does this imagery appeal to most strongly?
Hearing / sound
“Set eyes on” means to see. What device is Peck using?
Idiom
Joey says Grandma “wasn’t no oil painting herself.” What type of figurative language is this?
Metaphor. The expression compares Grandma's appearance to a painting without like or as.
If Grandma is “tough as an old boot,” what is Joey actually saying about her?
Grandma is strong, resilient, and difficult to intimidate, not that she resembles footwear.
Joey says, “Grandma saved herself a lot of bother by not being the kind of person you question.” What does this description reveal about her?
Grandma is authoritative and intimidating enough that people generally don't challenge her.
Joey sees “pinwheels like sparklers” in the darkness. How does this comparison help the reader experience the scene?
It creates visual imagery, helping the reader picture the flashes Joey sees in the dark.
“You couldn’t blast Aunt Puss off her place with a charge of dynamite.” Which technique creates the exaggeration?
Hyperbole
Joey says that he and Mary Alice finally “set eyes on a corpse.” Identify the figurative language.
Idiom. They aren't literally setting their eyes anywhere. The expression means to see.
Grandma says Mrs. Wilcox’s “tongue is attached in the middle and flaps at both ends.” What does Grandma mean?
Mrs. Wilcox talks constantly, particularly about other people's business.
What does the description of Mrs. Wilcox's tongue “flapping at both ends” reveal about her character?
It characterizes her as extremely talkative and prone to gossip
Peck describes “the scuffle of heavy feet” on “crinkly linoleum.” How does this language affect the scene?
The sound imagery makes the intruder's movement more vivid and builds tension because Joey can hear someone nearby before fully seeing him. Penguin Random House Higher Education
Listen to Peck's phrase: “a little sawing, singing sound.” What sound device appears here?
Alliteration, through repetition of the initial s sound.
“You couldn’t blast Aunt Puss off her place with a charge of dynamite.” Identify the figurative language.
Hyperbole. It deliberately exaggerates how unwilling Aunt Puss is to leave her home.
Mrs. Weidenbach tells Grandma, “Don’t hide your light under a bushel.” What is she really telling Grandma to do?
Don't hide your talent. She wants Grandma to use or show her abilities.
Joey says Grandma “floated” even though he had just described her as a heavy woman. What surprising quality does this reveal?
Despite her size, Grandma can move quietly and quickly when she needs to, adding to her unpredictability and capability
Characters use expressions such as “set eyes on,” informal grammar, and distinctly rural speech. Besides characterization, what does this language help establish?
The time and place, particularly the rural Midwestern setting and its vernacular. A teaching guide for the novel explicitly connects Peck's idioms and informal speech with creating believable rural Midwestern voices of the 1930s.
“The darkness made me see pinwheels like sparklers.” Name two techniques working together.
Simile and imagery
Joey says Grandma “floated,” and then says they moved “like some strange beast, big in front, small behind.” Identify two different techniques Peck uses.
Metaphor and simile. “Floated” metaphorically describes Grandma's unexpectedly light movement; “like some strange beast” is a simile.
Grandma says, “The only bloodsuckers is the banks.” She obviously doesn't mean banks literally drink blood. What is she suggesting?
She believes banks take advantage of people financially, particularly people who are struggling.
Grandma claims she doesn't care much about town affairs, yet she knows news “on the grapevine.” What contrast does Peck develop in her character?
Grandma presents herself as private and detached while actually remaining very aware of the people and events around her.
Peck doesn't name Grandma's town. Why might his highly specific small-town descriptions still matter to the setting?
They make the town feel specific and authentic while also allowing it to represent other small Midwestern towns. Peck himself said he deliberately left the town unnamed because he wanted readers to think of small towns they knew.
DAILY DOUBLE!!!
“She floated, and we moved like some strange beast, big in front, small behind.” Which answer is strongest: imagery, metaphor, simile, or all three? Defend your choice.
All three can be defended. They make the town feel specific and authentic while also allowing it to represent other small Midwestern towns. Peck himself said he deliberately left the town unnamed because he wanted readers to think of small towns they knew.