Literary Devices in A Day No Pigs Would Die
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Vermont's that little one up in the northeast corner of the U.S. Yep, that one.Oriented? Okay, good.We're never told exactly when A Day No Pigs Would Die takes place, but based on what goes down in...
Narrator Point of View
From the first line of A Day No Pigs Would Die to the last, Rob is our guide. It's his voice we hear telling us the story—and it's a very unusual and distinctive voice, too. It's the voice of a c...
Genre
If you don't agree that A Day No Pigs Would Die is a coming-of-age story, well, then, you haven't read the book. Check it out: We start out with a young, innocent, naïve narrator who goes through...
Tone
Rob is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of kid. He's not about to waste his time on fancy schmancy posturing or on dragging things out to make us feel sorry for him. He's just telling us his story as it h...
Writing Style
Since our narrator is a 12-year-old boy who gets a D in English, it makes sense that A Day No Pigs Would Die isn't going to be told in standard college-essay language. And it isn't. Rob's not tryin...
What's Up With the Title?
A Day No Pigs Would Die. A little creepy, maybe. But it also sounds hopeful, don't you think? If you were to pick up this book based only on the title, you might think it contained a promise of lif...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
A farmer's heart is rabbit soft,And farmer eyes are blue.But farmers' eyes are eagle fierceAnd look a man right through.This little poem captures the odd combination of down-to-earth get-it-donenes...
What's Up With the Ending?
It's no secret that we don't get a happy ending with this one. At least not an obviously happy ending, that is. After Papa's funeral, Rob feels compelled to go and visit the grave to "give a goodni...
Tough-o-Meter
The language in A Day No Pigs Would Die can be a little tricky now and then, but once you get used to it, it's a pretty smooth ride. Because everything is filtered through Rob's point of view, thou...
Plot Analysis
We're in Hog Heaven!The book begins with an exciting episode in which Rob helps a calf come into the world, gets covered with cow slop, and almost breaks his arm. This helps the reader get to kno...
Trivia
The best man at Robert Newton Peck's wedding was an old college buddy of his—no other than Fred Rogers, a.k.a. television's Mr. Rogers (source).Peck's "personal motto" is as follows: "Wish not fo...
Steaminess Rating
While there's the suggestion of a couple of scandalous affairs in the book (between Mrs. Bascom and her hired man and between Mr. Hillman and Letty Phelps), nothing too titillating goes down. But d...
Allusions
Is it just us, or does the conversation Rob and Papa have while fixing a fence on their property (3.4-22) remind you of Robert Frost's "Mending Wall"?Ethan Allen (4.47-82)The Green Mountain Boys (4...