Language

The language of “How Did I Get Away with Killing One of the Biggest Lawyers in the State? It Was Easy” by Alice Walker is simple and easy to follow, coming across as a narrative monologue in which the first-person narrator presents how she ended up killing a lawyer. The narrative style—without much dialogue— makes us think that the story is in the form of a confession, as eac…

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Similes and euphemisms

A few similes help convey the narrator’s perspective on the events, herself, and other characters. The grass in front of the capitol building is described as being “like a rug” (l. 11), a simile which suggests that as a child the narrator was impressed with the softness of the gra…

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Rhetorical questions

The story is filled with rhetorical questions which are meant to engage the reader with the story, while also giving the impression that the story is a monologue or a confession. For example, the narrator ask…

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Symbols

Some of the most relevant symbols in the short story are the Capitol building, the lawyer’s house and office, the magnolia flower, and the lawyer’s gun.

The Capitol building with its golden roof, eagle, and the soft grass surroundin…