Imagery
Despite being a child, Paddy鈥檚 narrative is full of interesting imagery.
In showing Paddy鈥檚 worries as his parents鈥 arguing intensifies, Doyle uses a simileA comparison using 'like' or 'as' to create a vivid image, eg as big as a whale; float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. when he describes how "Their fights were like a train that kept getting stuck at the corner tracks and you had to lean over and push it or straighten it.鈥
This imagery effectively conveys how their fights seemed to go over the same things continuously, but the simile is also one that a child might realistically use as it is related to a toy train.
Part of Doyle鈥檚 skill is keeping the childish voice realistic, but also integrating colourful and engaging imagery into the narrative.