Language

Style of writing and choice of words

The language used by David Joy in “Digging in the Trash” is descriptive and often informal, as suggested by idioms like “my grandfather was tough as nails” (ll. 57-58) or phrases like: “What my father would say is that his daddy was a fine carpenter and was hell with a twenty-gauge come rabbit season.” (ll. 98-101).

Overall, the text is fairly easy to read and understand, mainly because the writer uses storytelling as a way of conveying his arguments and ideas.

Some adjectives and adverbs convey positive imagery suggesting Joy’s nostalgia about the past and his love for the people he knows: “colored chocolate milk” (l. 2), “yellow fields” (l. 3), “a fine carpenter” (l. 99), “raw emotion” (l. 137), “beautiful” (l. 139), “strawberry-blond hair” (l. 230), etc.

However, most of the adjectives and adverbs used in the text have a negative meaning, as the author aims to emphasize the misery that comes with living in poverty. Some examples are: “worn down and wiry” (l. 10), “crazy–haired woman” (ll. 22-23), “horrible alcoholic” (l. 49) and “looking bitterly...” (l. 75).

The text is delivered in the first-person (“we”, “I”, “my”), as Joy focuses on personal experiences: “We drove there on birthdays and holidays.” (l. 1); “Nowadays, I make my living as a full— time novelist. I write about fathers...