Language

As the story “Could It Be Forever” by Nina Stibbe depicts the outcome of a prank made by children, the language that the author employs is fairly simple and easy to comprehend even by young readers. The story mixes narrative and descriptive passages with dialogue; the latter is very important, as it depicts the way in which pre-teenagers speak:

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Below, we outline some of the other linguistic and stylistic techniques employed by Nina Stibbe in her short story:

• Comparisons
• Repetition
• Metaphor
• Symbols

Comparisons

A comparison is employed when the narrator associates the name of the boy who apparently likes her with the name of the singer whom she admires: “This cousin of Celia’s was called Dave Cassidy – which sounded very like David Cassidy.” (ll. 5-6)

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Repetition

A repetition with humorous effects (which is also an enumeration) is employed when the series of people presumably receiving the letter is described:

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Symbols

The Snoopy stickers the narrator decorates her letters with symbolise childhood and innocence.

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