Literary Analysis: "Hangman" by David Mitchell

The short story "hangman", by David Mitchell, helps portray the commonly used term "ignore the haters" in a  more mature and relatable way. Jason, the main character, has developed tis stammer that immediately diminished his confidence. He doesn't talk in class during school, and if he does he makes himself seem stupid by answering questions incorrectly. Mitchell uses multiple literary techniques to help him get across this message. For example he uses imagery to show how everything around Jason is sad. As he describe the rain on his way to the therapist office, "the wipers couldn't keep up with the rain, not even at the fastest speed", you get this sadness in the tone. Yet, this could also be a metaphor of Jason's life, how he couldn't fix his stammer no matter how hard he tried. Other techniques such as personification and similes were also used. All of these things were used to show Jason's coming of age into himself; meaning in order to come of age he has to mature and accept himself. Personification shows this perfectly. For example when he talks about how "hangman" was always inside him how "he'd slid his fingers into my tongue and was clasping his throat and pinching the veins that take oxygen to my brain." Jason never forgot about this nightmare that is hangman, this is a sign of immaturity. One must forget about the past and move on. But, as the story goes on Jason slowly starts to grow up. When he used this simile; "I asked if stammers're like zits that you grow out of...". This shows Jason's want to change, to become a better version of himself. David Mitchell uses imagery by painting a picture of the story for his readers, personification to help his readers relate and understand Jason as a character, and similes to express his want to be normal. The use of all of these techniques are used to convey the message that in order to come of age one must embrace all of their flaws and live without them getting in their way.