Thrasher uses many of the idioms from the period and place of her story, often in an almost poetic fashion. Her use of simile and metaphor paints vivid pictures for the reader—for example, "They had evaporated and faded away like gray wood smoke in a heavy fog, leaving me feeling as lost and unwanted as a poor relation at a family reunion." Her dialogue is lightly peppered with colloquialisms typical of the people, place, and time.