What is the author's style in the story, An Unlucky Man?

The language that the author uses to craft the short story is simple, accessible, and unadorned. All of the author’s linguistic choices are dictated by the first person narrator's point of view. This means that because the unnamed narrator possesses narrative authority over “An Unlucky Man,” the distinct ways in which she perceives the narrative world inspire the ways in which the author renders it on the page. Because she is only eight years old, the narrator’s linguistic handling is straightforward and plain. Therefore the author’s accessible linguistic patterns exist in accordance with her narrator’s vantage point. If the author were to have used ornate and complex syntactic constructions or elevated diction, the narrator’s account would appear less authentic and believable.

Because the first person narrator is a child, she infrequently comments upon or makes interpretative statements about her experiences. The reader might refer to the passage in which the narrator leaves the hospital with the man by way of example: “We went out to the parking lot. Standing, I came up to a little above his waist. Dad’s car was still next to the ambulances, and a policeman was circling it, annoyed. I kept looking over at the policeman, and he watched us walk away. The breeze wrapped around my legs and rose, making a tent of my uniform. I had to hold it down while I walked, keeping my legs awkwardly close together” (289). Although the reader can interpret the image of the circling police officer as foreshadowing, the narrator does not impose this significance on the cop. Rather, she simply describes him as he is. With her skirt and the wind, the narrator simply explains what is happening with her clothing. She does not describe or comment upon the complex emotions that this experience is creating for her. Therefore, the author’s approach to language and style is sparing. She is presenting the narrative world in this raw and unadorned manner in order to verify her narrator’s experience and to immerse the reader in this childhood consciousness.