The Serpent King Summer Assignment

Dill, the son of Dillard Early, learns that rumors spread around like fire. He soon comes to realize that he’s the face of the son, whose father is in prison for possession of child pornography. At this time in his life, Dill only has two good things going on in his life right now, Lydia and Travis. Fortunately, he has them by his side no matter how tragic the event is. Dill, Lydia, and Travis all have very different influences. Dill is humble an outcast, and self sacrificing while Lydia is highly positive and isn’t afraid to tell someone the truth. And lastly Travis is sacrificial when it comes to anyone. This book has taught me that even through hard times in life, there are good in your life as well that will be remembered.

Zentner uses the hyperbole, “Because we go to school with people who wouldn’t recognize great style if it bit them right on their ass” (8) in The Serpent King. Zentner uses this hyperbole to exaggerate that people at her school have appalling style. He uses the exaggeration of “people who wouldn’t recognize great style if it bit them right on their ass” to explain that people at her school don’t know how to dress in her opinion. This hyperbole helps the reader to imagine that people at Lydia’s school don’t know how to style their clothes. Zentner uses style, “Maybe he was thinking about the music that flowed in the city’s veins” (13) in The Serpent King. Zentner uses style to describe the way Dill was thinking about the music that flowed in the city’s veins. He established a mood that was calm for the readers when he said “the music flowed in the city’s veins.” Zentner gives the reader a visual when he described Dill walking down a path with his mind completely occupied. Zentner uses the literary device, descriptive style, “The cicadas’ hum throbbed like a heartbeat on an ultrasound” (18) in The Serpent King. Zentner uses descriptive style to describe the way the “cicadas’ hum throbbed steadily like a heartbeat on an ultrasound.” He uses the comparison of the “heartbeat on an ultrasound” to describe how the cicadas’ hum throbbed. This style of writing helps the reader to imagine how the “cicadas’ hum throbbed” compared to a “heartbeat on an ultrasound.” Zentner uses the literary device, descriptive style, “Rolling hills and a lush carpet of trees surrounded blocky beige buildings with slit windows” (21) in The Serpent King. Zentner uses descriptive style to describe the way rich layout of trees surrounded blocky beige buildings with slit windows. This descriptive style gives the reader a visual of the deceptively beautiful part of Nashville. Zentner uses this allusion, “You get yourself some new clothes? So you don’t look like Dracula?” (33) in The Serpent King. Zentner uses this allusion to make a comparison of “Dracula” to describe how Travis dresses. This allusion helps the reader to better imagine that Travis dresses like Dracula in his dad’s point of view.

The Serpent King shows that even though life has taken you through many rough turns from the beginning, it is always worth living. It has many themes that have been identified, but one that stands out is, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” This theme plays a huge role in the Serpent King, it shows the characters deepest thoughts. Another example is when Travis got judged for his staff that then led him to die later in the book.

The Serpent King has taught me that even through hard times in life, there are good in your life as well. I’ve noticed from reading this book that Dill, Lydia, and Travis are three protagonists with three very different influences. Dill is humble, wise, an outcast, and doesn’t have much hope for his future, but Lydia finds a way to convince him that he needs to go to college. Lydia is highly positive and she’s not afraid to tell someone the truth. Travis is sacrificial because he would put anyone before himself in any situation. Emotionally, Dill, Travis, and Lydia go through a lot in this story. For example, they have to go through Travis’s death, which is not easy. I know that at that point in the story I was already balling my eyes out because I had no idea that such death was taking place. The Serpent King showed me that even though life takes you through a lot of twists and turns, it is still worth living in the long run. For example towards the end of the book Dill said, “I’m going to miss this.” This example shows that Dill just enjoyed being around his friends through rough times. The Serpent King has showed me to always stick to your closest friends because they will always be there for you no matter what situation you are in. The Serpent King has significance on my awesome and sometimes terrifying world because even though life has been horrible, it is still worth living because these are the days you are going to remember the most when you are in highschool.