Language

Style of writing in lines 46-68

Your exam question asks you to focus on the style of writing in lines 46-68 from Sandra Marslund’s short story “The Other Couple”. This is the passage which begins with the narrator attempting to have a conversation with her partner, which he successfully avoids. 

The passage contains both dialogue and narration. The dialogue is realistic because it gives the impression of spoken language. The suspension points after the narrator’s first two lines suggest the narrator’s partner keeps interrupting her. The “YOU” in line 50 is written in capital letters, to signal that the narrator speaks it louder, stressing the point that it was her partner who made the decision, not her. 

Their conversation highlights their imbalanced relationship. The narrator’s partner o...