Language

Given that the short story “Diary of an Interesting Year” by Helen Simpson is structured in the form of a series of diary entries, the language is economical and fragmented. The main reason for this – as stated in the story - is because of the narrator’s desire to conserve the paper in her notebook and make it last longer: “I’m going to start a diary. I’ll keep my handwriting tiny to make the paper go further” (ll. …

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Imagery

Because of the economical way in which the text is written, most of the diary entries are very short. However, note that the entries contain plenty of details that give the readers a vivid picture of society in the year 2040. For this, visual imagery is employed. The following two quotatio…

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Symbols

Symbols are very important elements in the story, as they mostly represent foreshadowing elements.

The rats that infest the narrator’s house become a symbol of fear and disgust but also of nature taking over the city.

Babies are not a symbol of happine…