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How Does Westerfeld Use Literary Elements In Leviathan

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The use of literary elements is widespread in Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. This is shown when Westerfeld uses dramatic irony to highlight a character's cluelessness. At a certain instance the character, Alek, is comparing himself to another character, Dylan. Westerfeld writes, “In a way Dylan was the sort of boy Alek would have wanted to be if he hadn’t been the son of an archduke” (327). This statement is ironic due to the fact that the “boy” Alek is referring to is actually a girl masquerading as a boy. At this point in the book, the reader is fully aware that Dylan is actually a girl, but none of the other characters know, thus making it an instance of dramatic irony. The author likely chose to use this literary element to remind the reader that the characters have been left in the dark about Dylan’s true gender. This use of dramatic irony aided in reminding the reader about one of the larger story elements present in Leviathan. …show more content…

During the story, Alek and his allies see some of their enemies ahead of them attempting to locate their position. To avoid being spotted or worse, they are forced to walk very slowly in their mechanical walking-vehicle. To further emphasize the low speed of of the machine, Westerfeld writes, “With the engines at quarter power, the massive feet moved slowly---like walking through syrup” (169). This statement is a simile because it compares the low power of the engines to being submerged in syrup using the connecting word “like.” Westerfeld chose to compare these two things because the mechanical walker was moving very slowly, just like how something would move through a thick substance like syrup. To conclude, this use of a simile helped to show a clearer image of the

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