Suffering (Metaphor)
Pierre Anthon was determined to stay where he was – on the tree – and taunt his classmates. Unfortunately for him, they were not going to put up with that kind of nonsense. The kids gathered to decide what to do to put an end to it. Some of them suggested waiting till he climbed down whilst others wanted to “beat up on him.” The last option seemed to be more efficient than the first one, not to mention that the girls liked it more! Obviously, they couldn’t beat up on him, for it was the boys who would have “to bear the brunt.”
Not brave enough (Metaphor)
Pierre Anthon was a brave boy; the only one problem was that his bravery was used for wrong purposes. His sudden unwillingness to behave like other kids, terrifying preaching, and endless taunting could lead to rather unpleasant consequences. Even the stones that his classmates were throwing at him couldn’t stop him. What was more, the fact that they didn’t have “the guts to climb trees” made him laugh even harder. According to him, they were cowards. They were so afraid of reality and couldn’t accept the truth.
Absent-minded (Metaphor)
The plan to get Pierre Anthon down from the tree occupied minds of everyone in the class. Well, except for Mr. Eskildsen, because he was more concerned with the class’ inattentiveness during his lessons than Pierre Anthon’s tree adventures. The teacher “started growing suspicious” and asked if their heads “were full of sparrows” or whether they had just lost “whatever little it was that had been attached” to their necks. It was really frustrating! How was he supposed to teach them anything if they refused to pay attention to anything he said?
Ugly (Simile)
The school was “large and square” and “gray as concrete.” It was “in two stories and in essence an ugly building.”However, few of them ever had time to think about that, and “certainly not now” that they were spending all their time “not thinking what Pierre Anthon was saying.”The thought that Pierre was right was even uglier than their gray school. It seemed that the world itself turned into gray and unpleasantly looking mess.
Unbearable (Simile)
The decision was made. The whole class gathered together to get Pierre Anthon down from the tree. To do that, they needed as many stones as they could find. “One stone, two stones, many stones.” They were prepared! The only one problem was that it was a rather difficult task to get all those stones to the tree. So, it was agreed to use Holy Karl’s bike trailer. When they finished gathering stones by the streams where they were “big and round,” the trailer was “heavy as a dead horse.”
Broken (Simile)
Sophie was made to give up her innocence. She kept repeating “no and no and no, and shook her head again and again, and the rest of her was shaking some too.” However, Huge Hans was “merciless.” He even volunteered to help her lose it “the following evening at the old sawmill.” “Four of the boys were to stay behind to lend a hand if necessary.” The rest of them “would be sent home” to make sure they “couldn’t come to her rescue.” No wonder Sophie came to school “white as the classroom walls.”
