Language
Style of writing
The language used in the short story “Joy Ride” by Toni Pivac is neutral. Since the events are presented from the perspective of a child, the language is also easy to understand.
There is little dialogue in the story, as the focus is more on what Whata experiences. At the beginning, the short dialogue between Whata and Hemi is filled with informal exclamations such as “oi” (l. 1), “ea!” (l. 4), “aw” (l. 6), and “nah” (l. 10), which are typical in childish games. Informal expressions such as “Nan” (l. 12), “bro” (l. 10), “pissed” (l. 10), and “bum” (l. 165) are also often used in the everyday speech of children. Some of these informal elements, such as “bickies” (l. 94) and “jandal” (l. 81) also reflect the characters’ New Zealand dialects and offer authenticity.
The dialogue also includes the idiom “away with the fairies” (l. 126) that Whata’s mother uses to chara...