Language

Style of language

The short story “Chicken Little Goes Too Far” by Margaret Atwood is written in an informal style. The narration uses contractions, and the style is casual and conversational, giving the story a natural feel. The sentences are short and simple. For instance: “Chicken Little went away, disconsolate. He took refuge in a bar. He had a few drinks.” (ll. 40-41). 

There is a lot of dialogue in the story, with each character given a unique voice. From the reaction of each character, we can realize what sort of person they are supposed to represent, usually hinted at by their job. For instance, Skunky Punky, the bartender, speaks coarsely, using short, clipped sentences, with colloquialisms: “The bitch not treating you right? So get a different chick, if you want my opinion. Play some golf. Work off some energy. Do you good.” (ll. 44-46). This suggests his lack of education. In contrast, Turkey Lurkey, the teacher, expresses himself using advanced vocabulary and long sentences: “The rising of the earth is simply displacing the sky. It’s due to natural geocyclical causes and is not the result of human activity, and therefore...