48 pages • 1 hour read
Elana K. Arnold, Illustr. Charles SantosoA Boy Called Bat
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Setting
Setting is used as a literary device to develop Bat’s characterization and make him more relatable. Bat’s emotional states often depend on his location. He usually feels safe and secure when he is at home and school. Both locations have an added layer of security—Bat’s room and Babycakes’s enclosure, respectively. Bat also feels safe at his mother’s veterinary clinic, which is often overstimulating. Since animals and becoming a vet are Bat’s special interests, he is energized instead of overwhelmed by the clinic’s sights and sounds.
In contrast to these settings, Bat feels insecure when he is with his father. This speaks to the disconnect between Bat and Dad, as well as Bat’s resistance to accepting his parents’ divorce. Some of the transitions between settings are used to symbolize the transition between Bat’s emotional states. This is seen when Bat leaves school, gets in his father’s car, and they drive to pick up Janie. Bat is transitioning from a stable setting—his classroom—to an unstable one—his father’s apartment.
Dramatic Irony
Arnold often uses dramatic irony—a situation in which the audience is aware of key details that a protagonist does not know—to develop non-protagonist characters. As the book’s narration style is limited omniscient delivered through the lens of Bat’s experiences, the thoughts and feelings of the secondary characters are unreliable. However, the thoughts and feelings of Mr. Grayson and Valerie are revealed in a few key instances.
Mr. Grayson has a brief physical reaction when he reads the email that Bat writes to skunk expert Dr. Jerry Dragoo. Bat is confused by the look and cannot tell if Mr. Grayson wants to laugh or cry, but the audience understands that Mr. Grayson finds the situation funny, but does not want to hurt Bat’s feelings by laughing.
Dramatic irony is also used to show Valerie’s distress at her son’s behavior. Valerie suggests that she will become jealous of Thor, and although she laughs, she is upset that Bat displays open affection to the skunk kit (when he is otherwise less so around her). This use of dramatic irony alludes to Valerie’s internal conflict and contributes to her character arc of accepting Bat as he is.
Imagery
The use of imagery, which Arnold incorporates throughout the story, not only provides interesting details, but helps the reader relate to Bat and his mindset. Imagery allows readers to create mental images of what Bat sees and how Bat interprets his surroundings.
Some examples of imagery include the description of Janie’s hair as “thick and straight like a horse’s tail, which was why Bat liked it” (76), Valerie’s looks of concern as “little wavy wrinkles [form] across her squished-up forehead” (81), and Bat’s image of Mr. Grayson as “made entirely of ears, with ears for eyes and an ear for a nose and two tiny rows of little ears for teeth” (98). These instances of imagery convey specific mental images, and enhance the reading experience by making it more fun and relatable for the intended audience.
