Language

Style of language

The language of the short story “One More Thing” by Raymond Carver is generally easy to follow and understand.

The choice of words indicates an informal style of writing. Certain informal expressions, such as “keep your nose out of things” (p. 9, l. 8), are used. Contractions such as “you’ve” “it’s” “don’t”, etc. are present throughout the text. They are mainly used in dialogue, giving it authenticity and conveying a feeling of familiarity between the characters.

Certain words are written in italics to show emphasis in dialogue: “ ‘Cancer starts in the brain’ ” (p. 9, l. 30).

The text contains many detailed descriptions in connection with the characters and the setting. The author makes use of vivid and descriptive language which appeals to human senses to add depth to the story.

We see this when the narrator describes L.D. packing his belongings. “He made his way into the bedroom and took one of her suitcases from the closet. It was an old white Naugahyde suitcase with a broken clasp” (p. 10, ll. 26-27). Here, the narrator combines descript...