Hurston changed between dialects in the story to help add an important aspect at the time which was the community’s geographical difference in the way they speak. The use of different dialects also helps visualization. The way the characters are seen to the audience is very different compared to the way the characters would be understood as if they were simply described as having the southern dialect. Since there is much conversation in the story, the use of the exact way people speak draws a clearer image in the setting as well as personifies the writing.
One thought on “How and why does Hurston use dialect in the story? Note that the characters’ speech and the narrator’s are in different dialects, with the former being Southern African-American speech and the latter being more traditionally grammatical American English, and so the story has two registers of diction.”
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I agree with your response in that culture, defines the situation and the actions of the characters. The accents signify a time of poverty and simple living, which helps facilitate the events that occur in the story. In a sense, the author could portray the characters and the time period a lot better by using the accent, making the story more immersive.