Literary Devices

Metaphor
-"Inside was different: a fishbowl where anything you said and did was being watched by everyone else"(210).
This quote is an example of a metaphor as it is a comparison of a fishbowl to a high school. What really is being implied, is that high school is a judgmental environment. Being different will be exaggerated and could prevent your climb to the top of the social latter.
-"Your the slug, and they're holding all the salt"(391).
Another important metaphor in the novel compares students to a slug, and salt to bullying. When salt is poured on a slug, or bullying is poured on a student, the creature shrivels up and is badly hurt.

Foreshadowing
-"In nineteen minutes you can get revenge"(1). This quote was presented on the first of over four hundred pages. The reader now knows that revenge will occur at some point in the novel. Because of the placement of this quote, it gives a tiny hint of what is about to happen. It leaves the audience in suspense as to what type of revenge, or how this revenge will be achieved.

Simile
-"Did mourning feel like a hole in the middle of you that got wider and wider every time you tried to plug it up?"(116).
This quote is a simile because it compares a hole in your body to mourning. The reader can relate to this feeling as it compares a sense of emptiness like mourning.
-"Josie's throat closed like a rosebud"(118).
When Josie was upset, her throat did not really close like a rosebud, but the audience will be able to understand her emotions as they can compare them to a this flower.

Imagery-"In Josie's dream, she was standing in the most beautiful tepee. The walls were made of buttery deerskin, sewed tight with golden thread. Stories had been painted all around her in shades of red, ochre, violet, and blue-tales of hunts and loves and losses. Rich buffalo skins were piled high for cushions; coals glowed like rubies in the fire pit. When she looked up, she could see stars falling through the smoke hole"(328).
This is a great example of imagery because the audience will feel they are actually where Josie is. Picoult makes the experience Josie endures seem real and allows her character to share what she sees since everything seems so real. The great choice of diction stimulates all five senses which creates an image in the mind like no other.

Allusion- The main focus of the novel is a crime scene taken place at a high school. To thoroughly understand the angle of the tragedy it is essential for the reader to grasp the concepts of the criminal justice system. In Nineteen Minutes, law is not the main message of literary work, it is an indirect reference that helps the audience better understand the theme of the story.

Flashback- All of the chapters in Nineteen Minutes have dates referring to the massacre at the school, majority of which are prior to the incident. Flashbacks allow the reader to have a better understanding of why or how actions happen. It shows a deeper insight to the characters life and the reasoning behind other aspects in the novel.

Cliffhanger- Cliffhangers are used frequently in the novel. At the end of every chapter this literary device is used to intrigue the reader to keep reading. Picoult allows the characters actions or voice to end abruptly near an exciting part of the text, only to leave the reader in suspense.

Theme- The underlying message of the novel is related to bullying. Personally, I believe Picoult tries to teach the audience bullying has consequences. Bullying is a major issue in society. With the story of Peter's experiences, students can relate to bullying and hopefully prevent similar scenarios from occurring.

Juxtaposition- A reoccurring comparison throughout the novel is of the two main characters, Josie Cormier and Peter Houghton. The two different extremes of social classes, popularity and outcasts have contrasted each other so much it makes one look much different than it would without the other. As there would be no popularity without the outcasts and no outcasts without popularity.