marrow thieves

marrow thieves

literal imagery

reveals the huge contrast

There was just meand the boot, and then, suddenly, the warm weight of the rifle on my back

Frenchie chose to use the words "warm" to describe his rifle which indicates that the rifle now is the only thing that can give him comfort. When he was hunting the moose, his inner thoughts illustrates his unwillingness to end things. Even if he can become Rose's hero, he still couldn't kill the moose. after losing his five senses, he can still feel the rifle, which indicates his strong desire to revenge for RiRi and thereby shows his change/transformation in his character

describe the "no name" feeling by portraying the absence of five senses

it sucks you inside out and places you in a space where touch and taste and sound and sight all turn to ash. "there is a feeling that has no name"

Dimaline portrays Frenchie's loss of five senses using repetition of "and", which depicts Frenchie's catastrophic reaction after losing RiRi. In addition, dimaline again uses personification by saying that a feeling has no name which emphasizes the fact that Frenchie had never experienced a real loss of someone who is like his family. Although he lost his family, there was no confirmation their death.

draw the readers' eyes to the boots by using detailed description

A single pink boot, all shiny like candy, one of the fastest boots in the world, real nishin.

Dimaline uses strong literal imagery to provide a detailed description of the boots, which becomes an object that symbolizes RiRi. Uses personification by describing the boots as the fastest, which further emphasizes its symbolism of RiRi. When it's empty, it indicates the loss of RiRi. When RiRi first discovered the boots, she thought they are candies because she only knows that candies are shiny. without seeing candies at her age indicates the loss of her childhood

diction

further illustrating the dark mood

"I was yelling now, pacing a small half circle around the catatonic group."

Catatonic means the abnormality of movement and behavior arising from a disturbed mental state. Here, even after Frenchie's yelling and kicking, the group stayed quiet and unmoved, which further creating the darker mood and leads to the moment when Frenchie confirms RiRi's death. The word also demonstrates the group's out natured action since previously, the group never stay still, because they need to keep themselves safe from the recruiters.

demonstrates Frenchie's deny, frustration and slowly leading to the transformation of his character

"I got angry, pushed at him, kicking him in the back to dislodge my other foot from under him. "

dislodge: knock or force out of position, remove from a position of power or authority. Here, Frenchie is desperately trying to get Miig to chase after RiRi. Kicking and pushing him demonstrates his out of character behavior as he always respects Miig. In addition, even after seeing the reactions of the members, Frenchie still keeps denying the loss of RiRi and want to fulfill his responsibility of protecting her. The word emphasizes Frenchie's desperation in accomplishing his goal as well as foreshadows Frenchie's taken over of Miig's role at the end of the book.

creating the darker mood in the scene as well as emphasizing Miig's feeling of not able to fulfill his responsibility

"I struggled under his dead weight"

Deadweight: the weight of an inert person. A heavy or oppressive feeling. The word shows how broken Miig is after losing RiRi. Even when Miig lost Isaac, there is no confirmation of his death. Also, he still has the pouch that he always carries around to remind himself that Issac is always with him. However, for Miig, RiRi is completely out of reach. Not able to save RiRi's life put on a heavy burden in Miig's heart. In addition, the word builds a dark mood in the scene since it is related to death. This shows irony since RiRi is dead.

figurative imagery

showing Frenchie's carelessness

"i doubled my speed and burst into the moonlight." "slammed my shoulder hard into a protruding birch branch" "kicking him in the back"

Here, Frenchie forgets everything that he learned to protect himself. The figurative words "burst" demonstrates his ignorance of the possible danger when he enters a clearing. He is fully ready to save RiRi. Furthermore, he also hurt his shoulder as he ran through the woods.

describe members' different reaction through detailed figurative words

Wab was on the ground. She looked like she was sleeping, but her eyes were wide open.

The figurative imagery here shows Wab stayed extremely quiet, which is the complete opposite of her character as she tends to be more active. For Wab, she only stays quiet when she is talking about her past, which further links back to loss. Before she met the group, she lost her life, herself and her family.

uses strong figurative imagery to describe Miig's reaction after losing RiRi

"it was Miig leaned over the edge, I grabbed him first, taking his forearm into my grip. it's a good thing, too, because his hand let go seconds later, too shaky to hold on.

The figurative imagery such as "leaned over the edge" illustrates Miig's loss of self-preservation since his hands are "too shaky" to hold himself to the tree. Therefore, this also demonstrates an irony to the previous paragraph where Frenchie mentioned that Miig taught him to slow down before the cliff. Throughout the entire book, Dimaline establishes Miig as a character who is strong, responsible and ensures the safety of the group. Here, he not only give up saving RiRi but also give up protecting himself, which is out of his character.