Peace Like a River Lesson Plan

How does the author describe the tornado that lifts up Jeremiah? What literary techniques does he use?

Enger uses a number of dramatic metaphors to describe the tornado. He describes it as if it’s a person “birthed from a yellow cloud… a pale umbilical rope” and eventually growing to be a “strong slender lady hip-walking through campus.” He describes the noise of it as “like a whole mountain breaking loose and skidding sideways over the ground.” He also describes some elements of the storm with dramatic (but not metaphorical) language, taking time to focus on individual pieces of the major picture. For example, he describes the lightbulbs torn from their fixtures,...