Language

Style of language

The style of language in the short story “To Keep the Faith” by Michael Becket is casual, but the imagery created with the words is vivid and poetic. This allows the reader to connect with the events and the characters presented in the narrative. There are many adjectives in the text, most of them in groups of two: “hard, seamed hands” (p. 118, l. 3), “small, steady flame” (p. 120, l. 28), “Siobhan Culrose, large and safe” (p. 121, l. 18). This helps enhance the descriptive nature of the story, painting a clearer picture in the mind of the reader.

The story contains plenty of dialogue, giving it a dynamic feel. The language spoken by the characters is evocative of their particular dialect and accent, commonly used in Northern Ireland: “ ‘ ‘Twas the like of them as killed me Dad’ ” (p. 119, l. 42). Another feature which illustrates the characters’ dialects is th...