Literary Devices in Dicey's Song
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
The Tillerman kids come from the sea and return to the sea. They’ve grown up in a cabin beside the ocean in Provincetown, MA, and they relocate to Gram’s old farmhouse on the Chesapeake Bay. Di...
Narrator Point of View
If we wanted to get any closer to Dicey, we'd have to actually jump into her skin. That's right—the narrator stays in Dicey’s head throughout the book, showing us the action and the other chara...
Genre
The main character is 13 years old and in 8th grade, as is her friend Mina. Jeff, the guy who wants to be her boyfriend, is in 10th grade. Dicey’s dealing with problems common to junior-high stud...
Tone
When you’re reading Dicey’s Song, you almost get the feeling that Cynthia Voigt was Dicey, or at least knew someone very much like her. Which may actually be close to the truth. Voigt once live...
Writing Style
Voigt keeps it simple. She tells us what the characters are doing and thinking in straightforward sentences, like when Dicey describes the saleslady at the mall: "She wore makeup on her eyes, lips,...
What's Up With the Title?
Dicey's song? What song? We don't remember any singing from our main character, thank you very much. Nevertheless, music plays a big role in the book:Maybeth discovers her talent for music despite...
What's Up With the Ending?
In the last chapter of Dicey’s Song, Gram holds a makeshift funeral for Momma in the front yard. She’s there to comfort the children as they say goodbye to their mother, even though her heart i...
Tough-o-Meter
Dicey’s Song isn’t a tough read in terms of language or structure. It’s a straightforward narrative; there’s no jumping around in time or stream-of-consciousness writing. What may make it s...
Plot Analysis
We Are FamilySure, they may not be nuclear, but Dicey and her siblings are a family nonetheless. They've just come to live with Gram, and they’re anxiously awaiting the day when she adopts them a...
Trivia
Author Cynthia Voigt feels that the two most important things adults can say to kids are "I was wrong," and, "I'm sorry." We think Cynthia Voigt is pretty rad. (Source.)
In 2002, Voigt published th...
Steaminess Rating
There’s no sex at all in Dicey’s Song, unless you count the conversation Dicey has with Gram as they drive home from shopping, when Gram tries to have The Talk. But to be fair, there are elemen...