Topic > The Writing Style of Trouble by Gary Schmidt

Most people don't focus on the writing style of a novel and tend to pay more attention to the broader contours of the plot. While reading Trouble by Gary Schmidt, the reader should pay attention to the writing style because it is different from most other writers in many ways. The author pays more attention to the skillful writing of the novel rather than just the plot, forcing the reader to think more about what they are reading to understand what is happening. Gary Schmidt has a unique writing style because he uses a prominent motif with the word Trouble, along with a separate story in cursive font that when finally put together is understood, and each character's personality plays a role in changing the tone of the story . We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay When the basic setting of Henry's life is explained early in the novel, Gary Schmidt states that "Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from trouble, then trouble won't come to you." will ever find” (Schmidt 1). The reason for the Troubles is shown at the beginning, which introduces the reader to how important this is to the Smith family decisions. When Henry explains to Thaddeus Baxter because he is climbing Katahdin, one of his motives is to "find out how to live with problems" (240) Henry and his family use the Problems motif a lot since Henry's father says it at the beginning, and Henry says it towards the end of the story. The fact that troubles are mentioned towards the end of the story shows that this is the reason, as it is used throughout the book. The author uses it to show the meaning of the word Trouble for the Smith family making it a reason. With italicized paragraphs at the end of multiple story chapters, the reader must piece all the paragraphs together to understand the entire story. The reader does not know what the italicized character means at the beginning of the story, but later readers realize that it is Chay's point of view. An example of the first italicized character is "He first saw her from above..." in reference to when Chay first saw Louisa at school (26). The reader will not think much of the italicized paragraphs at first, other than that they are confusing when taken alone. As the reader progresses through the book, they realize that it is Chay's point of view, and when put together, it makes a lot of sense. Without knowing how to put together all the italicized stories, the reader cannot fully understand what is happening. One of the biggest clues that the italicized parts of the novel are Chay's thoughts, is when Chay leaves because of all the trouble in town, an excerpt from that moment is "He packed up the volume of Keats" (123). This line shows that Chay is in italics because very early in the book he explains that Chay received a volume of Keats from his father. Once the reader recognizes that Chay's thoughts when he is alone are in italics, this may be important later in the book. Italic wording is a writing concept that is not often applied in other writings and that makes Gary Schmidt's different from others. Additionally, each character plays a different role in changing the tone of the story throughout the book. Sanborn is the hilarity of the novel. When Henry, Chay, and Sanborn are at the soup restaurant, he says "I never had my milkshake" (175). The book has a rather depressing plot, so when humor is introduced, the reader becomes happier. Sanborn represents humor, often tells jokes, and keeps the reader from becoming sad and from.