Language

Style of writing

The novel Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin uses an informal style of language. 

The dialogue uses non-standard grammar and spelling, which reflects the characters’ southern dialect. For example: “ ‘I’s out front fore the preaching, talking to some boys my age, little younger, and one of em goes “You thank he’ll come back?”’ ” (p.198). Here, the non-standard spelling of the words before, them, and think, helps to show the characters’ dialect and pronunciation. Moreover, the use of the non-standard “I’s” instead of “I am” further exemplifies some features of the rural southern dialect. 

The narration also features passages full of descriptive words and figurative language in order to create vivid images. For example, when Silas comes across Larry’s hunting cabin in the woods he describes it as: 

Smaller somehow, darker wood, more weathered. Vines and kudzu had nearly overtaken the place. It seemed the heart of some struggle, as if the vegetation were trying to claim the structure back into itself, pull it down, the earth suddenly an organic breathing mass underneath. Silas could almost feel the friction, hear the viscous grumble of digestion. (p. 178)

Here, the descriptive paragraph highlights the passage of time, showing how much the cabin had changed sinc...