Literary Devices in I'll Give You The Sun
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Lost Cove, CaliforniaWelcome to the Twilight Zone: a little (fictional) town called Lost Cove that's on the coast of California, "not even two hours away" from Stanford University. (6.37) There's s...
Narrator Point of View
First Person (Central Narrator) / Jude and Noah SweetwineUgh, twins. They're always doing everything together, including narrating this freakin' story. What makes it interesting is that, even thoug...
Genre
Family Drama, Mystery, Young Adult LiteratureI'll Give You the Sun is, first and foremost, a family drama. Jude and Noah, the protagonists, are twins, and their relationship is central to the novel...
Tone
Quirky, Moony, OutsizedThe quirk is strong with this one, folks. Grandma Sweetwine thinks certain fruits make you fall in love. Jude sneaks beans into people's pockets for "protection." Weirdest of...
Writing Style
Intricate, Vivid, SensitiveI'll Give You the Sun is an intricate novel in which the characters' lives are interwoven in unexpected ways. For example, when Jude learns that her mother and Guillermo...
What's Up With the Title?
According to Noah, he and Jude "have been dividing up the world since we were five." (3.102) A shrewd businessman, when Jude wants one of his drawings, Noah takes advantage of the opportunity. "For...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. –RumiI believe in nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections and the truth of the imagination. –Joh...
What's Up With the Ending?
The book ends on a happy note, with Noah and Brian emerging hand in hand from their reunion in the woods. Brian tries to drop Noah's hand when he sees that Mr. Sweetwine and Jude are watching, but...
Tough-o-Meter
(7) Snow Line Okay, so you may have to do some mental acrobatics as the book shifts between Noah and Jude's perspectives. (They're different people, writing at different times, with knowledge of di...
Plot Analysis
Something Ain't RightTwins Jude and Noah Sweetwine used to be super close, but something—we don't know what—has torn them apart. When they were in the 13-14 range, Noah was a sensitive artist a...
Trivia
Like Jude, author Jandy Nelson is extremely superstitious. (It runs in her family.) Her gran even left red ribbons under her bed to ward off the evil eye. (Source) The author took a stone carving c...
Steaminess Rating
The book flashes back and forth between Noah and Jude at ages 14 and 16. You can guess what that means: the hormones are flying fast and furious. The book follows both characters through a lot of s...
Allusions
Michelangelo, David (1.7)Pablo Picasso (1.89)Renoir (1.134)Marc Chagall (1.151)Franz Marc (1.151)Paul Gauguin (1.159)William Blake (3.49)Francis Bacon (3.49)Jackson Pollock (3.90)René Magritte (3....