Language

Style of language

The language of the short story “Dip in the Pool” by Roald Dahl is formal. Sometimes, vocabulary specific to ships and sailing is used in order to reflect the setting.

The narration does not generally contain contractions or slang. However, when the narrator presents Botibol’s inner monologue, contractions and interjections are used to make the thoughts appear more realistic, for example: “Seven thousand dollars was plenty of money. My goodness, yes!” Another example of this is when Botibol imagines what he would say to his wife when he gives her the car he wishes to buy with the auction money: “Hello, Ethel, honey, he would say, speaking very casual. I just thought I'd get you a little present”. Here, Botibol imagines a potential conversation so his thoughts reflect the casual way he would speak to his wife. The...