Chapter 1

Peri Bright

Theme Statement:
Deaths in a family heavily impacts the family.

Literary Device: Simile 
" It was like standing in a field when a powerful gust of wind suddenly blows: everything around you vanishes, all you hear is the wind filling your ears, all you feel is the wind on your skin. Your eyes tear, and sight blurs. Your mind all but empties." p.14

Analysis:
 Wes's family was painfully effected by his fathers death. This simile shows how powerful the news was when Wes's family found out. Wes comparing that feeling to a field when a powerful gust of wind suddenly blows shows how lonely and sad he felt in that moment. The rest of the family was also affected. Wes tells the reader this by explaing how his mother passed out moments after getting the news and how Nikki took his death bad as well. Although Wes was too young to completely understand what was going on, this simile shows he was still impacted and he had a feeling that something wasn't right. Family of the deceased usually have a hard time copping with the death because of their emotions, this can be hard for anyone outside of the family to undertand. Wes Moores simile can help the reader understand exactly how the family is feeling during this time.