Literary Devices in Jacob Have I Loved
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Rass Island might be a fictional place, but it is based on real-life islands in the Chesapeake Bay. The way people lived together and earned their living in the 1940s is pretty accurate, too. Hey,...
Narrator Point of View
This is a story all about Sara Louise Bradshaw, so it's great that she's our narrator since it means we get access to all her innermost thoughts and feelings. This is especially cool because Louise...
Genre
Louise literally grows up on the page before our eyes, so it's pretty fitting to call this book a coming-of-age story. She starts out as a 13-year-old girl with all the confusion and drama that com...
Tone
Jacob Have I Loved has all kinds of stuff going on in it, so it's no surprise there are many (sometimes conflicting) tones in the story. Louise spends a whole lot of the novel being really bitter,...
Writing Style
Katherine Paterson has a knack for using really simple language to convey feelings and themes that are anything but simple. She does this in part by writing in a way that's plainspoken and honest....
What's Up With the Title?
The title of this story—Jacob Have I Loved—comes straight from the Bible. In fact, it's a verse that Grandma helpfully quotes to Louise in order to twist the knife in a little further after som...
What's Up With the Ending?
In the last scene of the book, Louise assists at the birth of a set of twins. The first twin, a boy, is healthy and doing well. The second twin, a girl, is struggling. Louise sets to work to stop t...
Tough-o-Meter
Katherine Paterson may create books for young adults, but the subjects she writes about are Big with a capital B. This book is no different. While the dialogue and plot aren't difficult to follow i...
Plot Analysis
Home Sweet Rass IslandSara Louise Bradshaw grows up on Rass Island with a twin sister, Caroline, who outshines her in pretty much everything, and a best friend, Call, who never laughs at her jokes....
Trivia
Katherine Paterson was born in China to Christian missionary parents. Later, she became a missionary in Japan, too. That might explain why her characters are so well versed in all things biblical....
Steaminess Rating
There's not a whole lot of steaminess in this book. In fact, our narrator, Louise, is almost completely terrified of having any kind of lustful feeling. She even stops her sister from talking about...