Language

Style of language

The language in the short story “Blackberries” by Leslie Norris is formal. The narration does not use any contractions, but there are a few inside the dialogue which offers authenticity to the text. 

A large part of the narrative consists of descriptions of the surrounding areas, such as Fletcher’s Woods, or of the boy’s experiences. For example, the first blackberry the boy eats when his father finds some in Fletcher’s Woods is described in great detail:

Its skin was plump and shining, each of its purple globes held a point of reflected light. (…) The boy put the blackberry in his mouth. He rolled it with his tongue, feeling its irregularity, and crushed it against the roof of his mouth. Released juice, sweet and warm as summer, ran down his throat, hard seeds cracked betwee...