Language
The story “Faith” by Nick Hornby is written in Standard British English, and it mixes narrative and descriptive passages with dialogue. It is important to note that the dialogues between Sarah and Paul contain colloquial language and, at times, vulgar references, such as in the following examples: ““It doesn’t work like that, you berk. Anyway, it would be nice if you wanted to screw for other reasons occasionally. It used to be about lust, not ovulation.”” (p. 47, ll. 11-13); “„Maybe it’s me,“ says Paul. „Maybe it’s the smoking. Maybe I’ve only got, you know, seven thingumagics per whatsit. Sperms per ejaculation.“ (p. 45, ll. 1-2)
Note that the words “thingumagics” and “whatsit” are informal names for something whose name is forgotten or not known. Their use in the dialogue reveals that Paul is not entirely sure how conception works, which is reinforced by his humorous reply: “Not much point in doing it, though, is there?” he says. “What with your period and everything. If I haven’t got many sperm, I don’t want to waste them.” (p. 47, ll. 8-10)
In the story, author Nick Hornby employs some stylistic devices meant to make the text more attractive to the readers:
- Imagery
- Repetitions and enumerations
- Similes
- Rhetorical questions
- Symbols
Repetitions and enumerations
Repetitions and enumerations are employed several times in the story, mostly in order to render Sarah’s state of mind and her reluctance to have a baby with Paul:
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Symbols
The “morbid symptoms” (p. 46, ll. 25-26) that Sarah mentions come to symbolise the failure of her relationship with Paul:
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