Wednesday, January 3, 2007

it is never "just the weather"

Literary Tools

These ideas are inspired by How To Read Literature Like A Professor.
I am going to try and cover a different tool each day.


  1. Weather, it is more than just rain or snow.....

    1. Rain that causes floods remind us of Noah

    2. Rain “cleanses” characters

    3. Rain baptizes characters, removing their sins

    4. Rain washes away false ideas and illusions

    5. Rain restores and reminds us of spring and new life

    6. Rain (storms) often cause or foreshadow sickness or death

    7. Rain causes rainbows which remind us of God's promises

    8. Fog means characters are confused, or can't see clearly

    9. Snow is: clean, stark, severe, warm (like blanket), inhospitable, inviting, playful, suffocating, filthy as time passes, death, and nothingness


The weather outside often reflects the mood of a character. It can also give us clues to the actual condition of a relationship or community. The weather can foreshadow, reflect or be a reaction to huge upheavals or changes in the story or character. The storm as Pinocchio is tossed about in the cage reflects all the terror that is going on within his heart. I think the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou, uses every one of these literary weather tools! Action adventure movies use the rain a lot to baptize or rejuvenate characters. It is usually during a rain storm lovers finally understand one another because the false ideas have been washed away....

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