I

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Im Not Scared

• Structure and Metalanguage

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Structure

• The novel is divided into ten chapters.
• Each of the first seven chapters corresponds to a
  single day. This reflects the ordered and
  predictable existence in Acqua Traverse.
• Chapter Seven begins with Everything was in
  disarray (p.159), signalling that their
  predictable existence is under threat.
• Chapter Eight begins with And everything
  stopped (p.168), showing that time is passing
  and the known structures (family, moral order)
  have broken down.
• Unlike the rest of the novel, Chapter Ten begins
  with Michele waking up in the night, rather than
  the morning. This shows that the natural order of
  things no longer exists.

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Metalanguage

• A language or vocabulary used to describe or
  analyse language
• Basically, its the fancy word we use to describe
  how we analyse writing techniques.

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Motif

• Motif a distinctive feature or dominant idea in
  an artistic or literary composition.
• Basically, a recurring theme.

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Motifs in Im Not Scared

• Heroes
• A dominant idea throughout the text is that of
  heroes. A key motif of Michele is Tiger Jack,
  who he uses to find courage and face his fears.
• Gender Roles
• A dominant idea throughout the text is that of
  stereotypical gender roles. For example, Michele
  doesnt want to lose the race to Barbara because
  shes a girl. Pino checks Micheles muscles when
  he arrives home.

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Imagery

• Imagery visually descriptive or figurative
  language.
• Basically, using vivid descriptive language to
  represent objects or actions.

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Imagery in Im Not Scared

• Darkness Im Not Scared is preceded by an
  epigraph by Jack London That much he knew. He
  had fallen into darkness. And at that instant he
  knew, he ceased to know.
• This represents Filippos entrapment in the hole.
• It also represents Micheles fall into the world
  of moral darkness.

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Symbolism

• Symbol a thing that represents or stands for
  something else.
• Symbolism the use of symbols to represent ideas
  or qualities.
• For example, a rose being given on Valentines Day
• The rose is the symbol.
• The symbolism of the rose is love and affection.

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Symbolism in Im Not Scared

• The Table Soccer Game
• Symbolises wealth, or rather, the divide between
  those who have and those who dont.
• Wasps
• The wasps rebuild their nest even after Remo
  keeps destroying it. This is a symbol of the
  resilience of family bonds.
• Wheat
• The town is consumed by wheat fields as they are
  consumed by poverty. It emphasises the
  nothingness that surrounds the town.

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Symbolism in Im Not Scared

• What do the following symbolise?
• Monsters
• Heat
• The Hill
• The Bicycles
• Night-time / Darkness
• The Farmhouse
• Stream and Carob Tree

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Metaphor

• Metaphor - a figure of speech in which a term or
  phrase is applied to something, to which it is
  not literally applicable, in order to suggest a
  resemblance.
• For example, The teenage boys stomach was a
  bottomless pit.
• Bottomless pit is the metaphor because it can
  never be filled.

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Metaphors in Im Not Scared

• Weather
• The stifling and oppressive heat reflects the
  mood of the village. As the text reaches its
  climax, the weather breaks into a storm. An
  ominous warning of whats to come.