comment on style/language

Along with shifts in point of view go relevant shifts in language and meaning. Specifically, when the story is being told from a particular character’s perspective the ideas, sensations, and experiences are all described in words that define that point of view. This principle and practice are referred to above in terms of the brief section portraying events and experiences from the perspective of one-year-old Elizabeth, but is also true of the sections narrated from other perspectives – in particular, those of Mattie and Elizabeth’s mother, Ann. The overall effect of these shifts of language ties in with the overall effect of the above mentioned shifts in point of view, in that both techniques create a clear sense of the individual identities and experiences of each character.