Linguistic peculiarities of the story

The story is written in simple language which is easily to read and comprehend. The images of characters describing are extremely vivid and striking.

The informal atmosphere of the story is reached through the usage of dialectical words (toldja, wanta, don'tcha, can'tcha), colloquial (a dope) and low-flown ("Like hell you are." "Like hell I am", “Get the hell out of here!") vocabulary. Such word-stock emphasize the informality and teenage-like reality. The usage of low-flown vocabulary in Connie’s speech underlines her age, as this is typical for a teenager to include such words into their speech. Arnold Friend speaks, using dialectical words, low-flown vocabulary, colloquial words, which presents him as a low educated, ignorant, unmannered person.

There are many cases of metaphors and similes in the story, which are used by the author for several purposes. The writer uses a lot of similes for describing Arnold’s appearance, focusing reader’s attention on his eyes and hair. When the author speaks about Connie she uses a lot of metaphors, for example to underline her daydreaming habit “to a single face that was not even a face but an idea, a feeling” and  her emotional state which is shown in a progress from the first thought of danger to overflowing horror and then absolute emptiness “Connie felt a wave of dizziness rise”, “She was hollow with what had been fear but what was now just an emptiness”.