Language

Style of writing

The language used in the short story “Appointment” by Olivia Parkes is informal and helps readers understand the narrator’s perspective and background. 

The choice of words suggests that the narrator belongs to the lower class. For example, words and expressions like “croaked”, “don’t fuck it up”, “merry hell”, and “bastard” equally highlight her social status and her anger towards her situation. 

At the same time, the narrative introduces complex, formal words now and then. For example, the narrator mentions: “environs”, “hellscape”, and “anachronism ”. These words contrast with the other informal language and highlights the narrator’s complexity and her potential to improve. 

One thing that stands out in the story is the narrator’s stream of consciousness. When Moira asks her about the hairstyle she wants, the narrator is startled by the question, as nobody bothered to ask her what she wants for quite some time. Through the stream of consciousness, the narrator expresses her desperate desire for change and her equally numbing fear of change: 

I explained that I was afraid of change but wanted desperately to be changed. I was out of control but could not let go. I couldn’t bear another inch of sudden loss. I wanted to look exactly like myself, but also like that Mexican actress in the detective show. 

The lengthy stream-of-consciousness portrays the narrator in a vulnerable ...