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Snow in August

 

            Throughout the novel Snow in August by author Pete Hamill, power words and the power of individual words are apparent. From fantasy to realistic, religious to secular, at some times in this book words are as loud and as powerful as actions. Power words are used for good as well as for evil. These words make up one of the major themes of the novel.
             One of the fantasy power words presented in the book is Shazam. Shazam stands for the names Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. This magical word combines the power of all six into the mighty Captain Marvel, the legendary comic book character. When he needs to fight, "no matter how sinister his enemies were, no matter how monstrous their weapons, all he needed was to shout the magic word" (Hamill 3). Michael Devlin, the main character, who is captivated by Captain Marvel, tries the powerful word for himself but to his chagrin is does not work. Shazam is clearly one of the most powerful words in the novel.
             But the theme mentioned is not just power words but also the power of words. Michael, after witnessing the beating of Mister G, has the power to send the culprit, Frankie McCarthy, to jail for what he's done. The power of the phrase "I saw Frankie beat up Mr. G" is great for Michael. But, for his own safety, he does not inform the police of his knowledge. Rabbi Hirsch informs Michael, "You keep quiet about some crime, it's just as bad as the crime" (Hamill 156). But the power Michael possesses is still great.
             At the end of the novel, when Michael makes the Golem for the sake of Rabbi Hirsch and his mother, there are several powerful words that help bring the Golem to life. The first is ""emet", Yiddish for "truth." The second is the secret name of God, "YHVH." Both of these small words, as well as individual letters of the alphabet, give power and life to the Golem. The power to create the Golem is huge, because the Golem, who is there for the sole purpose of helping, is a great being with insurmountable strength With the Golem's powers, Michael can overcome the Falcons with ease, and makes them look ridiculous; "Frankie backed up his face was full of terror .


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