Annabel's 'Figurative Language In Just Listen'

In the novel, “Just Listen,” one of the characters, Owen Armstrong, has had experience with Anger Management classes. Owen’s classes helped him cope with his anger and he begins to teach Annabel Greene the special language they used while his time there. “I looked at Owen. “R and R?” “Rephrase and Redirect…if he says something inflammatory, you can tell him it hurts your feelings, and he has to say it another way,” (Dessen 100). An example of his Anger Management phrases is “rephrase and redirect” which is meant to mean to “think before you speak.” This type of language has a purposeful placement of the book due to the effect it gives to the conflict that Annabel goes through. These phrases that are taught to Annabel help her deal with her situations such as with Sophie Barker, it guides her

Such as, irony and symbolism. “I had no history with Owen. There was a pattern here, some sense of connection, even if I didn’t want to see it… maybe all of this…wasn’t so accidental,” (Dessen 67). In this quote, it shows irony on how Annabel said she felt a connection with Owen and as the story moves on her and Owen begin dating, creating her into a new person. The ironic effect helps the reader become more interested and cause them to wonder about the connection between the two. Continuing, a main point of symbolism in the novel were Whitney’s, Annabel’s sister, herbs. Whitney began planting different herbs which symbolized something deep to Annabel and her life. “But there was something I liked about the idea of those seeds, buried so deep, having at least a chance to emerge. Even if you couldn’t see it beneath the surface, molecules were bonding, energy pushing up slowly, as something worked so hard, all alone, to grow,” (Dessen 178). This passage presents the effect the herbs gave the main character in her situations. I tells how she like the seed, is continuing to grow slowly emerging to fully