Types of speech

The novel contains primarily bookish vocabulary (“the apparent  purpose”, “determining upon a line of action”, “convulsive leave”), but dialogues contain colloquial, very informal vocabulary. The speech of Mamzelle Aurélie, her cook, her neighbour Odile and the children is characterized by the technique of graphon: “jus'”, “fo' me”, “Dieu sait”, “n' botha”
, “with 'em”, “otha way”, “don' spare 'em” ( Odile); “'Tain't”, “'im”, “w'at” (Marcéline); “fo'”, “plantation'”, “chil'ren” (Mamzelle Aurélie). Such speech can be characteristic of a particular
dialect of the region the characters live in. This region can be close to France, because the pronunciation is similar (the omission of sounds, Frennch words as “Bonté” – “make me a favour”).