Snow White Analysis

Kartik Prabhakar

Mr. Jason Kinsella

Humanitas English B

18 March 2011

Snow White: Literary Devices

Literary devices create many different familiar settings and moods, which can be used by the reader to categorize the different things they see and hear in the story. One example of how authors create these devices is by creating imagery. By saying something like, “…snowflakes were falling from the sky like feathers,” the author has taken us into the story and is showing us what, in this case, the Queen is seeing. Imagery is often followed by mood. By showing how delicately the snow is falling, like feathers, the author has conveyed a peaceful and comfortable mood. The final device in the example above is called a simile. This simile compares the snowflakes to feathers. Feathers have a connotation of being light and fun to be around, and by using that knowledge the author had already made us feel at peace and closer to the character, because you both feel and see the same things. Another great example of imagery is by telling us how,”…the red [blood] looked so beautiful on the white snow…” The imagery in this sentence shows us the blood on the snow. We can imagine the drop of blood on the snow. Another thing in this example is symbolism and foreshadowing. The snow represents purity and a new beginning. The fact that the Queen’s blood spills on that purity foreshadows that she is going to die. Also, the Queen sees the blood and refers to her unborn child foreshadows that the princess will be born pure but because the blood has tainted her purity, she will be the cause of something bad, and something bad will happen with her. The third and final example is when the author describes how, “Envy and pride grew like weed in her heart, until she knew no peace by day or by night.” The first literary device in this example is a simile. This simile is comparing the feelings (envy and pride) to weeds or unwanted things that mess up the beauty of something. That simile is leading us directly into mood. After reading that sentence, a tense and uncomfortable mode is created for the reader. It is because of this foreshadow, that the reader feels the new Queen is going to do something to Snow White, which we predicted when the blood fell on the snow, that will make her (the evil Queen) feel better about herself.

--K