Language

Choice of words and sentence structure

The language of the story “The Stack” by Rose Tremain is generally easy to follow and understand. Sometimes, the writer employs British slang words, such as “telly” (l. 5) and “ciggie” (l. 13), which give the story authenticity and help convey the story’s informal tone.

Throughout the story, the narration is mixed with dialogue. We encounter short and fragmented sentences, which are used to emphasise certain ideas and convey the protagonist’s thoughts: “The pub, he thinks but doesn’t say. With the fellas from work. Get the Guinness down.” (ll. 10-11); “ ‘Chewed and left. Stranded. And this is all your stuff, underneath. Cold and hard and messed up.’ ” (ll. 191-192).

Imagery

Imagery is usually constructed in connection with the characters and setting. For example, Katy’s appearance is compared to the garden and her father: “Katy and the garden have something in common: they’re both small and it looks like they’ll never be beautiful, no matter how hard anyone tries. Because Katy resembles her dad. Short neck. Short sight. Pigeon toes.” (ll. 27-30).

Imagery also helps convey the protagonist’s state of mind. For example, his unhappiness but also his views on women are reflected in his cynical attitude towards Katy’s dolls: “tarty little dolls that have tits and miniature underwear” (l. 34). Then, imagery is used to suggest McCreedy’s attraction for the girl he meets in the pub: “She smells of leather and her skin’s creamy white (…) she shows him the scar of the bite on her should and he touches it” (ll. 114-116).

Imagery plays an important role in the description of the restaurant scene. For example, the narrator describes how McCreedy’s wife and children behave at the table, seemingly paying no attention to him (ll. 169-172). This description is meant to give readers the sense that McCreedy is feeling rejected by his family. At the same time, he watches them as if he is watching a group of strangers, conveying his own feeling of rejection towards them.

The narrator also describes how McCreedy gathers the dishes from the table and stacks them and then how he tries to communicate his feelings using the stack as a metaphor for his life:...