Shouting at the Rain

Weather is an important recurring motif throughout the novel. Delsie often compares her feelings and the feelings of others to weather phenomena or patterns; for instance, she likens Olive to a hurricane and thinks of her own feelings as building into a storm. At other times, there are literal weather patterns that reflect Delsie’s or other characters’ emotional turmoil. For instance, Delsie first sees Ronan when he is standing in the water during a lightning storm, reflecting both Delsie’s building frustration and Ronan’s emotional turmoil surrounding being sent to live with his dad. Later, a large storm reflects Ronan’s inner state as he becomes increasingly frustrated with and confused by his abandonment. This use of weather to reflect characters’ inner states draws attention to the power of characters’ emotions, anticipates characters’ emotional outbursts, and lays the groundwork for later revelations about the causes of characters’ disquiet. At the time of these two storms, for example, the details of Ronan’s abandonment have not been disclosed, but the weather emphasizes that he is struggling with tempestuous feelings.

The weather motif also emphasizes Delsie’s love of meteorology and helps Delsie understand The Complexity of Human Emotions and Character. For instance, she comes to realize that she cannot control others, just as she has no control over the weather. She demonstrates her character growth and increased tolerance of ambiguity when she explains to Ronan how she likens people’s emotions to weather patterns. She describes emotions as being similar to the wind; both have clear impacts on their surroundings without having obvious causes.