Author Style

Different authors use different styles of writing to express the ideas.  The style of writing is what paints the picture of the story.  In the story So This Was Adolescence, by Annie Dillard, there are two major traditional writing styles exhibited.  The first style Illustrated in So This Was Adolescence is comparison/contrast.  In this style, the author compares or contrast the character with specific mannerisms of others.  The next style is imagery.  Imagery helps the reader to visualize what is happening to the character.  Annie Dillard uses both of these styles to tell her story.

The first style is comparison/contrast.  Dillard utilizes comparison/contrast to compare herself to characters in books.  She longs to become a woman such as those in romance novels.  "I envied people in books who swooned."  She shows that by comparing herself to these characters that she strives to pass her adolescent stage.  When she would become frustrated she tried to look for an escape such as people in books.  She stated that "People in books split wood," which would symbolize her longing for an escape from her monotony.

The second style is visualization. Dillard utilizes this style well.  When reading such lines as "I was a boulder blocking my own path," and "...a live wire...shooting out sparks..," the reader can visualize her as the boulder or the live wire out of control.  This style makes the story easier to follow and lets you feel as the character does, like you were there with them.  When Dillard describes herself "--whipping the bed with a belt, like a creature demented!!"  you almost become afraid, like there was a monster in the room with you.  Visualization lets you live the story, not just read it.