Language

Style of writing

The language of the story “What Anton Learns in the Queue” by Janis Freegard is generally easy to follow and understand. The author uses contractions both in the dialogue and the narration, which helps convey the protagonist’s voice and keep a generally informal tone throughout the story: “Anton wishes she’d just queue in silence, like everyone else. He feels obliged to reciprocate. ‘And what’s your name?’ ” (ll. 67-68).

We encounter short and fragmented sentences which emphasise certain ideas and convey Anton’s thought process: “Anton looks up to see clouds gathering. Typical. It’s going to rain on their gig. Everyone will leave” (ll. 49-50). This reflects Anton’s pessimistic thinking, as it suggests he believes bad things often happen to him.

Fragmentation is also used to illustrate the images in Anton’s memories:

A different scene. His grandparents’ house at the beach. Granddad watering the vege garden. Grandma spreading grass clippings around the roses. Granddad coming up behind her and planting a big kiss on top of her sunhat, his eyes all crinkly with love. (ll. 138-141)

We also encounter the French phrase “joie de vivre” (l. 129), which is often used in English to express an enjoyment of life.

Descriptive language and similes

Descriptive language is created from the beginning of the short story, and it helps with Anton’s characterisation. The precise information about him – his clothing, exact height and age (ll. 1-3) - helps introduce the straightforward and precisely logical approach to life that is typical of Anton.

The description of the 'perfect' woman’s appearance also helps with Anton’s characterisation indirectly, as it shows the type of woman he prefers. Here, we also find a simile, as the woman’s lips are compared to peony petals: “Her soft pink lipstick has been immaculately applied. Her lips look like peony petals. She’s wearing form-fitting design...