What is the author's style in The Best American Short Stories of the Century by Katrina Kenison?

The language in the story will change as the era in times change. There is a clear period of time that is shown in some of the story because of the different phrases and slang terms that are used. In the story "The Killers," Sam the cook is a black man who is called "nigger" (page 70). Sam answers the men when they call him by this term and even goes so far as to call the men "sir" (page 70). This dialogue clearly indicates a period in time although the date is never told in the story itself.