Most people don't focus on the writing style of a novel and tend to pay more attention to the broader contours of the story . When reading Trouble by Gary Schmidt, the reader should pay attention to the writing style because he is different from most other writers in many ways. The author pays more attention to the clever writing of the novel than just the storyline, which forces the reader to think more about what they are reading to understand what is happening. Gary Schmidt has a unique writing style as he uses a prominent motif with the word Trouble, as well as a distinct italicized story that, when finally put together, is understood, and each character's personality has a role in the change the tone of the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay When the basic framework of Henry's life is explained at the beginning of the novel, Gary Schmidt says that "Henry's father Smith told him that if you build your house far enough from the Trouble, then the Trouble will never find you” (Schmidt 1). Trouble's motive is introduced early on, which shows the reader how important he is to the Smith family. It's also the beginning of an essential part of how Henry makes his decisions. When Henry explains why he climbs Katahdin to Thaddeus Baxter, one of his reasons is to "discover how to live with trouble" (240). Henry and his family use the Trouble motif a lot since Henry's father says it at the beginning, and Henry says it near the end of the story. Having Trouble being mentioned near the end of the story shows that this is the motif, since it is used throughout the book. The author uses this to show the meaning of the word Trouble to the Smith family by making it a motif. With the italicized paragraphs at the end of several chapters of the story, the reader must put all the paragraphs together to understand the whole story. The reader does not know what the italicized font means at the beginning of the story, but later readers realize that it is Chay's point of view. A sample of the first italicized font is "He first saw her from above...", referring to when Chay first saw Louisa at school (26). The reader won't think much about italicized paragraphs at first, except that they are confusing when they stand alone. As the reader progresses through the book they realize that this is Chay's point of view and when put together it makes a lot of sense. Without knowing how to put all the stories together in italics, the reader cannot fully understand what is happening. One of the biggest allusions to the fact that the italicized parts of the novel are Chay's thoughts is when Chay leaves because of all the unrest in the town, a snippet of this moment is "He packed the volume of Keats” (123). This line shows that Chay is italicized because very early in the book explains that Chay received a volume of Keats from his father. Once the reader recognizes that Chay's thoughts when he is alone are italicized, this may be important later in the book. Italicizing is a writing concept that is not often applied in other writing, and which makes Gary Schmidt's writing different from others. Additionally, each character plays a different role in changing the tone of the story throughout the book. Sanborn is the hilarity of the novel. When Henry, Chay, and Sanborn are at the chowder restaurant, he says, "I never got my shake" (175). The book has a rather depressing plot, so when humor is introduced, the reader becomes happier. Sanborn represents humor, he tells.