Language
The language employed in the short story “Vanity” by Charles Baxter is Standard English, and it is very easy to understand by a large range of readers, be them young or old.
Even though most of the story is rendered through dialogue, there are still some descriptive passages which are worth mentioning.
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The author employs several language devices in the text, some of which we will outline below:
- Onomatopoeia
- Rhetorical questions
- Ellipsis
- Epithets
- Similes and comparisons
- Symbol: the hedgehog
Rhetorical questions
An interesting series of rhetorical questions is employed by David Lowie when he talks about the Las Vegas showgirls. As you can see, his questions are humorous and meant to entertain the readers:
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Ellipsis
Through ellipsis, we understand the removal of several words that are not necessary for a certain sentence to be understood. In “Vanity”, ellipsis is employed in dialogue and it has the role of rendering the way in which a real-life natural dialogue flows. Here are some instances when ellipsis is used:
Similes and comparisons
Several similes and comparisons enhance the portraits of the two main characters. For instance, David expresses himself in a “nonverbal animal-like rumbling” (p. 1, l. 23), “like a dog having a nightmare” (p. 1, ll. 23-24).
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Symbol: the hedgehog
Hedgehogs are associated with energy and with people enjoying life to its fullest. At the same time, the hedgehog symbolizes the animal which, although small, manages to survive in a world filled with more dangerous creatures.
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