Language

Style of writing

The language in the short story “Scene from Girlhood” by Kara Lark is casual and conversational. The style of writing resembles that of spoken language at times. For instance:

She wasn’t satisfied even with equality; she had to be better. I didn’t care, and honestly, if not for her pointing such things out, I would never have noticed our differences at all. (…) 

I guess she had her reasons (ll. 41-44).

The sentence structure in this passage mirrors that of spoken language. The word “honestly” placed in the middle of a sentence is commonly used in dialogue to focus the listener’s attention and stress the speaker’s point. 

The expression “I guess” is also frequently used in speech as a “filler phrase.” It can express hesitance and doubt, but it is also used often to fill a silence in conversation or to start a new idea. In the above paragraph, it introduces the flashback which ...