Language

Style of language

The language of the short story “Gravel” by Alice Munro is generally easy to follow and understand. 

However, the language can appear fragmented. Comments, explanations, and repetitions are sometimes inserted in the middle of a sentence: “I went to see a professional person about this once and she convinced me – for a time, she convinced me – that I must have tried (…)” (p. 92, ll. 2-3). This is done to draw attention to the line, imitate a natural speech pattern and the thought flow of the character, and strengthen the message of the text.

The choice of words indicates an informal style of writing. Certain informal expressions, such as “getting cross” (p. 87, l. 17) or “you think so?” (p. 87, l. 32), are used. Contractions such as “she’d” “I’m” “didn’t”, etc. are present throughout the text. They are also used in dialogue, giving it authenticity and conveying a feeling of familiarity between the characters.

Descriptive language

The author often makes use of vivid and descriptive language which appeals to human senses to add depth to the story, especially in connection with characters...