Peace Like A River Analysis

Starting on the end of page 79 of Peace like a River by Leif Enger, Readers gain their first insight to the way that Reuben, the main character, thinks and behaves. Jeremiah has just been fired by Mr. Holgren and Reuben notices that Jeremiah awkwardly slaps Mr. Holgren. Reuben then notices that the slap has actually cured Mr. Holgren’s facial complexion problems and becomes mad at his dad, Jeremiah, because Jeremiah did not cure him of his lung problems. This passage is important because it uses imagery, character development, and point of view to cause the readers to also believe that Jeremiah's works of wonder, described by Reuben as miracles, are actually miracles.

Imagery is one of the most consistently used literary device throughout Peace like a River and aids very well in making the readers believe in Jeremiah's

Point of view plays a very strong role in the novel because it is what decides what readers know and don't know. In this case, it decided how readers feel and helps feed ideas into their minds. "I knew exactly what to make of it, and it made me mad enough to spit...what business had dad in healing that man...what right had Holgren to cross paths with the Great God Almighty"(80). The use of specific words in this case is what gives the readers the idea of the event being a miracle. Rueben's use of the word "dad" and "Great God Almighty" causes readers to believe with Rueben that his dad is comparable to a god. It also creates the idea that Jeremiah is a bad person for not healing his own son's disabilities but would go out of his way to heal the enemy. It can be inferred that Reuben is angry at his father because of the tone, which, in turn, causes readers to think like Reuben because it is written in his voice. The importance of this passage though, is that it is Reuben's first reaction that wasn’t as pleasant which gives readers insight to how Reuben's character