Wright's tale is told in the third person with occasional lapses when, as author, he speaks to the reader. During these times he moralizes and touches on the preachy tone his early critics noted. He begins this book talking to the reader with an allegory about the two trails of life — one leading to the higher, sunlit fields — and one leading to lower ground. Always, not just in The Shepherd of the Hills, there is a guiding element for mankind in Wright's writing.

Wright's use of dialect is very accurate, for he listened to the people of the Ozarks and recorded it faithfully. He uses it to distinguish the various characters and insert local color. He also used it to discern the various levels of book learning. When Sammy begins her studies from the "character-forming" books, her speech pattern changes as she assimilates knowledge. When her...