Style Mapping

Authors choose words.  Words define language.  Language shapes literature.  In Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoevsky, and The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, the authors use different forms of the English language to prove their points.  In the passage from Stardust, Gaiman is denotative, has a middle elevation of diction, and a sound that is neither harsh nor musical.  His description of the town of Wall is straightforward and literal - it isn't until later in the book that a more poetic language is developed.  The words are simple and easy to understand, but still manage to explain the location perfectly.  They are not assuming or overly colloquial - they are merely middle-of-the-road words that get the point across.  There isn't a large amount of musicality to the words in this passage, but the story speaks for itself.  I read it a few years back and I think of it as a mix between a fairy tale and an adventure story.  Even though the language is not  elegant or coarse, it has a style of its own that works for the novel.  Crime and Punishment is almost the complete opposite.  In this book, the author uses language that is connotative.  It is poetic, lyrical, and metaphoric, causing implied feelings rather than definite understanding.  The elevation of the diction is high and often complicated.   I have found many vocabulary words from this class by reading it.  They are elegant, scholarly, and intricate.  Finally, the sound of the piece is musical.  The sentences flow together and create harmonies that are sweet and melodious.  The Things They Carried is different still.  It is both connotative and denotative at different times.  When O'Brien is describing definite details, the words are exact and journalistic.  However, quite often he uses figurative language that is much more suggestive and metaphoric.  The elevation of his diction is pretty average - not rude or flowery - and the sound can be described as both grating and melodious as he switches between describing the horrors and beauties of war.  Clearly, the three authors have very different styles that all suit their piece of literature.