AJ Niedermeyer Niedermeyer Pg. 1Mrs. ViolaEnglish 1 HonorsReuben's Use of Figurative Language3/2/14Reuben's use of figurative language in the novel Peace Like a River reveals fundamental elements of both his character and his manner of speaking. This both allows the reader to better follow the action and creates a vivid picture of the scene in question, while also providing insight into their personality and the way they observe things. This use of figurative language serves to make the story even more enjoyable to read, as each scene is worth reading on its own, let alone the story as a whole. Reuben speaks eloquently but simply, expressing things quite vividly but without using figurative language. useless words. This contrasts with her sister's tendency to go the extra mile in her use of all writing techniques, especially figures of speech, almost (not quite) to the point of overuse. It is extremely descriptive, as he chooses to express things adequately while still leaving some of the mental picture up to the reader, which is a technique in itself. Both are good at storytelling, although the Swede favors a poetic approach while Reuben tends to paint a simple, down-to-earth picture that is still far from lacking in detail.Niedermeyer Pg. 2As for his character, he reveals that he can find beauty in the smallest things of life, that is to say in the slightest revelation, but that he is a down-to-earth man (at the moment he tells) who knows how to get his message across. , but not romanticize things. He expresses things as he sees them, but he sees them in a unique and detailed way. He makes...... middle of paper ......ation, and he finds it in their hosts, his father's close friends.Niedermeyer Pg. 4In brief, Reuben's writing style, especially his use of figures of speech, reveals to the reader much about his character and personality, as well as a deeper examination of his thoughts at each turn of the story. Leif Enger uses these figures of speech very well to make Reuben a fully developed, believable and likeable character, one that many people could easily relate to, regardless of their age, station in life or time period. in which they read the book. Peace Like a River may have been written fairly recently, but its style and touching story, as well as the writing techniques used by the author and supposedly used by Reuben to tell the story, give it the potential to be a classic, read for generations. .WORD COUNT: 1,014