Language and style

Style of writing in lines 16-35

In this section we will cover style of writing in lines 16-35 in Arhondia’s short story “Tom Corridan”.

The style of writing is generally informal, featuring many expressions that are not standard English such as “Da” (l. 20) and the use of “me” instead of “my” – “Me boy told me” (l. 21). We also see slang words such as “fecker” (l. 27) and “Jaysus” (a spelling that reflects the pronunciation of “Jesus” with an Irish accent) (l. 34). The section also features a number of swearwords, such as “Fucking” (l. 28) and “cunts” (l. 30). These elements add to the realism of the story and give the characters authentic voices, as well as reflecting the social setting of the story, specifically the Irish working class. The choice of slang word and alternative pronunciations also point to t...