Language in Mark Twain's True Story (ENGL 338)

The first thing that stands out in this short story is how language is used to illustrate class. We don't know much about the narrator, but we can assume he is white and privileged to some extent. In a way, Twain also masks where the narrator lives as his few lines of dialect do not have any accent to them. "Why, I thought—that is, I meant—why, you can't have had any trouble. I've never heard you sigh, and never seen your eye when there wasn't a laugh in it." Compare this to Aunt Rachel, whose words are often misspelled and punctuated in such a way that makes her accent come alive even through written word. "Has I had any trouble? Misto C—, I's gwyne to tell you, den I leave it to you. I was bawn down 'mongst de slaves; I knows all 'bout slavery, 'case I ben one of 'em my own se'f." The second sentence there indicates a lack of formal education (or else she might have said I am going to tell you, and then I'll leave it to you.") Given her background (a former slave) we can use these contextual clues to key in on the character of Aunt Rachel, but the language and how it is written allows that to come alive that much more. It should be noted that her words aren't necessarily wrong. Aunt Rachel does communicate effectively, but how she speaks does give us more insight as to her background, especially when compared to the narrator.