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Literary Devices
Definition of Alliteration
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the... read full definition
Chapter Nineteen
Explanation and Analysis—Right as Rain:
In Chapter 19, Jackie frets over Simon's leg after shooting him. Oddly enough, Simon forgives her quickly, downplaying the injury with an idiom, colloquialisms, and his British dialect:
[Simon:] “Not you. Not with a rotten little peashooter like that. . . .”
[Jackie:] “And your leg! Perhaps you’ll never walk again. . . .”
“Now, look here, Jackie, don’t be maudlin. As soon as we get to Aswan they’re going to put the X-ray to work, and dig out that tin-pot bullet, and everything will be as right as rain.”
A peashooter is a toy gun that peas (or other small objects) can be shot through. By calling her gun a peashooter, Simon claims that Jackie's gun is too small to do any damage. "Tin-pot bullet" suggests, like the peashooter comment, that the bullet was weak and ineffective like a homemade bullet crafted in a tin pot. While it's not a literary device, readers should know that the uncommon word "maudlin" means "easily moved to tears."
"Right as rain" is an English idiom meaning something is okay or correct—or, more specifically, that someone will feel well again after having felt bad. While it's not clear what this specific idiom refers to, "right as [object]" was a common idiom format dating from the 1600s onward. It's likely that "right as rain" is the variation that stuck around because it's alliterative. Simon's use of the idiom and colloquialisms such as "peashooter" emphasizes his Britishness and commonness as well as his anxiety to reassure Jackie. His downplaying of the damage to his leg might clue the reader into his secret plot with Jackie.
Related Themes:
