Stylistic devices and vocabulary

  Reading the story it’s hard not to notice that it’s written in journalistic style.

   The author uses lots of dialectical words (toldja, wanta, don'tcha, can'tcha), colloquial (a dope) and low-flown vocabulary ("Like hell you are." "Like hell I am", “Get the hell out of here!"). With the help of these words the author underlines Connie’s age, because it’s typical for a teenager to use such words; also she shows   Arnold Friend as low-educated and ignorant man, because of his speech.

Speaking about the stylistic devices, the author uses a similes "...he hadn't shaved for a day or two, and the nose long and hawk like, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up and it was all a joke..."to show Arnold’s passion toward the girl; "His eyes were like chips of broken glass that catch the light in an amiable way." to describe Arnold’s appearance. Also there are different metaphors “to a single face that was not even a face but an idea, a feeling” to show Connie’s daydreaming habit; “was, the back yard ran off into weeds and a fence-like line of trees and behind it the sky was perfectly blue and still” to describe her emotional state which is shown in a progress from the first thought of danger to overflowing horror.

   It’s necessary to say that the author creates the story as an allusion to the tradition of Western European allegory known as Death and the Maiden. Here Arnold Friend is death personified and Connie is his young, female victim. Arnold Friend, with his wild black hair and connection to music, is an allusion to Bob Dylan, an American singer-songwriter, artist and writer.

   I believe that Oates brilliantly uses all expressive means and stylistic devices to present her characters and to make the reader create an image of their personalities.