So This Was Adolescence By Annie Dillard

: Author Writing Style Essay, Research Paper

So This Was Adolescence, by Annie Dillard: Author Writing 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.