I’M NOT SCARED

Structure and Metalanguage

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.

Metalanguage

“A language or vocabulary used to describe or analyse language”

Basically, it’s the fancy word we use to describe how we analyse writing techniques.

Motif

Motif – a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition.

Basically, a recurring theme.

Motifs in I’m 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 doesn’t want to lose the race to Barbara because she’s a girl. Pino checks Michele’s muscles when he arrives home.

Imagery

Imagery – visually descriptive or figurative language.

Basically, using vivid descriptive language to represent objects or actions.

Imagery in I’m Not Scared

Darkness – I’m 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 Filippo’s entrapment in the hole.

It also represents Michele’s fall into the world of moral darkness.

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.

Symbolism in I’m Not Scared

The Table Soccer Game

Symbolises wealth, or rather, the divide between those who have and those who don’t.

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.

Symbolism in I’m Not ScaredWhat do the following symbolise?1. Monsters2. Heat3. The Hill4. The Bicycles5. Night-time / Darkness6. The Farmhouse7. Stream and Carob Tree

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 boy’s stomach was a bottomless pit.

Bottomless pit is the metaphor because it can never be filled.

Metaphors in I’m Not ScaredWeather

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 what’s to come.