Repeated Details Handout

Noticing When Details are Repeated – What Does it Mean?

If an author repeats something over and over, like an object, phrase, or character’s action, readers recognize this was done on purpose and ask themselves, "why?"

• Why does the author highlight certain objects, phrases, actions?

• Why might these details be important?Does the author repeat certain objects, phrases, and actions multiple times

throughout different parts of the story?

• Does the object, phrase, or action represent something?

• Does the object, phrase, or action symbolize something?

Example:

The author of Tiger Rising, Kate DiCamillo, mentions Rob’s rash a lot. At first I thought it was just because it was the reason that Rob got to miss school, but then I wondered why Rob was so convinced that his rash was never going to get better. When Willie May mentioned to Rob that his rash was actually the sadness that he pushed down low and he needed to let his sadness rise up for his rash to go away, it got me thinking. Rob’s rash flares up whenever he feels a strong emotion, both happy and sad. For example, when Sistine complimented his whittling, his legs got itchy. Also, when Sistine got mad at him because he wouldn’t tell her where his mother was, his legs got itchy. So now I think that Willie May is right in a sense – his rash does represent his sadness but it also represents all of the feelings that he is keeping locked in his suitcase.