Language

Style of language

The language in the short story “The Grass-Eaters” by Krishnan Varma is informal. The author uses several casual idioms but the text also has many adjectives. Mostly, the language in the short story is conversational as the narrator relates his past experience, as if explaining to the reader what he and his wife had gone through.

Dialogue in the story is sparse. The only instances where dialogue is being used is when Ajit remembers his conversation with Misrilal: “ ‘It is not proper,’ said Misrilal, ‘not at all, for a school master to live in a pipe.’ He sighed deeply. ‘Why don’t you move into one of my buildings, Ajit Babu?’ ”. Here, the dialogue shows Misrilal’s words, while Ajit and Swapna’s words are usually only revealed ...