Language
The language of the short story “Dead Man’s Shoes” by David Evans is simple which makes it easy to follow the plot. However, the choice of words includes Dutch words meant to reflect the local colour of South Africa whose white inhabitants mostly descend from Dutch colonists. The meaning of these words is made clear through the context.
Dialogue is occasionally used to convey the way the characters speak and some of their traits, but most of the story is conveyed in the narrative mode by the first-person narrator.
Imagery is used in connection with the characters and the setting and is designed to create mental images in readers’ minds through descriptive words. Here is one example depicting the protagonist, Anne:
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Other important language devices which help the author convey a deeper meaning and make the story more appealing are irony, repetitions, allusions, similes, and symbols.
Irony
The author uses linguistic and situational irony to depict the characters and the action. The irony makes the text more humorous but also illustrates something about the characters: their wit or lack thereof, and the narrator’s ability to make fun of himself and the other suitors. For instance, the narrator describes himself and the other suitors in the following way:
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Repetition
Repetition is used in the text either to convey something about the characters or to create motifs. The repetition “none of us” in connection with the suitors is meant to suggest that although none of them mentioned Anne being rich, this was probably the main reason why they wanted to marry her: “None of us mentioned that. None of us talked about ten thousand morgen fully paid for…” (ll. 23-24);
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Allusions
Three allusions stand out in the text. An allusion is a reference to other literary/ art work or an historical event.
Firstly, “magnificent seven” (l. 54) is an allusion to characters in a 1960 American Western film called “The Magnificent Seven”. This is meant to emphasise that the seven suitors are exactly the opposite of the magnificent seven;
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Similes
A few similes help the author create vivid, creative depictions and to convey deeper meanings about the action or the characters. Hannes Snyman is described as “a man built like one of the oxen” (ll. 66-67) to suggest his strong physique.
When Jamie Roy talks about loneliness “like a jackal in the night to thieve her peace of mind” (ll. 100-101), the author wants to suggest the lengths...
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Symbols
The author does not use many symbols in this short story. The most important symbol is represented by the shoes. The shoes which allegedly belong to Anne’s late husband are a symbol of deceit as they were, in fact, Sam’s shoes all along. This suggests that the suitors never had any chance of marrying Anne, because her heart was probably already set on Sam:
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