Language

Style of language

In the short story “The White Cat” by Jim Brannin, the style is fairly casual and conversational. This is because Hattie’s internal monologue echoes throughout the story. The effect of this is that the reader’s sympathy for the character is ensured. 

Hattie only speaks with another person when Heather brings up her food. Their interaction is very brief. It appears as if Hattie tries to open a conversation with Heather, but the attempt is cut short as the girl only reacts with brief sentences: “ ‘OK, then, gotta go. See ya.’ ” (l. 84). This furthers the impression we have of Hattie’s isolation and loneliness throughout the story.

Hattie’s other attempt at communication is the letter that, at the beginning, has no recipient (l. 1). This shows that, at first, the letter might only be something Hattie writes because she needs to communicate with someone. At the end, Hattie decides to address the letter to ...