Language
The language of the short story “Eating Sugar” by Catherine Merriman is descriptive and easy to follow. The author combines colloquial, everyday English with more literary, figurative speech. Dialogue and narrative passages are evenly combined, but the focus falls on one of the character’s (Alex’s) thoughts and perspective.
The choice of words reflects the context of the story—a British family on holiday in Thailand. We notice specifically British expressions, but also Thai words or the way some Thai people would use English. Most of the words are related to the Thai natural setting: the hot climate and lush vege…
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Imagery
...had stepped down from the open back of the Toyota songthaew after a hurtling five-mile ride from their beach bungalow into vivid colours and the scent…
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Contrasts
The author uses contrasts to convey the paradoxes of Thai society and the way they puzzle Alex and his wife:
Modest Thai women cov…
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Similes
Various similes help the author express deeper meanings about the characters and the action. The simile “the Thais drove like men possessed” (p. 17, l. 11) is meant to suggest that from Alex’s perspective, Thai people are reckless drivers.
To suggest the idea that the Thais knew unspoken rules of behaviour that Alex’s family could not understand, the author uses the following simile: “They set an h…
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Metaphors
A few metaphors contribute to making the descriptions more vivid and to further conveying something about the character’s perspective. The stray dogs are depicted as “prostrate forms” (…
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Rhetorical questions
A number of rhetorical questions are used to convey Alex’s line of thoughts. In his mind, the man carries short dialo…
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Repetition
Repetitions have the role of emphasising Alex’s anxieties and frustrations. When he thinks “Anything could happen. That was wh…
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Symbols
The story also includes a few symbolical elements which add to the themes of the narrative. The stray dog in the forest market is symbolic of Alex feeling isolated and lost in a country where he does not feel at home.
Natural el…
