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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage is one of the most quietly accomplished pieces of writing in the book. Notice the structure: a description of the practice (holding on to Winn-Dixie), an analogy (the way Winn-Dixie tries to comfort Miss Franny), and then the small revelation that the practice has a second hidden motive (so he wouldn't run away). The 'another reason too' is the chapter's emotional center, and DiCamillo refuses to name what the second reason is. The reader has to supply it from memory of the previous chapters. Notice the four verbs in the second sentence: 'held on to him and comforted him and whispered to him and rocked him.' The polysyndeton — the repeated 'and' between each verb — slows the sentence down and lets each act of care feel complete. This is the syntax of devotion. Copying this passage teaches a writer how to render love through accumulated small actions and how to trust the reader to feel a hidden grief without being told what it is.
There were a lot of thunderstorms that summer, and I got real good at holding on to Winn-Dixie whenever they came. I held on to him and comforted him and whispered to him and rocked him just the same ...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell the chapter. Then identify the moment Opal's care for Winn-Dixie becomes mixed with her grief for her mother. What signal does DiCamillo give us?
Discussion Questions
- DiCamillo uses polysyndeton in the sentence 'I held on to him and comforted him and whispered to him and rocked him.' Four verbs joined by 'and' instead of by commas. Analyze the rhythmic effect. Why does DiCamillo slow the sentence down here, and what does the slowing tell us about Opal's state of mind?
- Miss Franny's fits are never given a medical name. DiCamillo could have specified epilepsy, or stroke, or some other condition. Instead the word 'fits' is left to do all the work. What is DiCamillo's craft commitment in refusing to medicalize Miss Franny's experience?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
the rhetorical figure of repeating conjunctions like 'and' between items in a series, used to slow the rhythm and give each item full weight
Item 2
deliberately not stated — when a writer leaves something unsaid because the reader can supply it from context, often producing a more powerful effect than direct statement
Item 3
a comparison between two things that are not obviously similar, used to illuminate a quality they share
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Critical Thinking
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