comment on language and meaning

The author uses language in the collection as a method of characterization to great effect, particularly with characters who are shown to have a rural/country dialect or are using African American Vernacular English (AAVE). For example, when Leo Banskoff first meets Mrs. Hart in “The Under Graham Railroad Box Car Set,” she declares, “Common sense is shy as rats in this world...That a soul would let a little toy have such power over 'em” (26). Leo believes, partially because of the way Mrs. Hart speaks, that she is a rube, that she is foolish to not know the worth of the train in her possession. In reality, as the reader comes to realize, she just does not care. Money is not as important to her as God.