Language

Style of writing

The short story "The African-American Special" by Jason Reynolds is written using conversational and informal language, which reflects the narrator’s train of thought. 

There is a heavy emphasis on the dialogue between the two characters: the narrator and Fortune, a bar regular. Their language is reflective of African-American vernacular, with a lot of idiomatic expressions, colloquialisms, and slang. The characters use phrases like "mommy'd they asses to death", “I ain’t never know”, and "couple of fish and a few loaves". 

The dialogue is also realistic and includes filler words that reflect the characters’ train of thought as they tell stories, for example...