A writer’s style distinguishes him from other writers. The style a writer uses to write a story clearly indicates the tone of a story,vital for the reader to understand the story. The style of a writer is made up of different traits and characteristics used to write the story. These traits and characteristics include and are not limited to symbolism, characterization, and other elements. When evaluating a literature piece for style one should analyze the following five elements: diction, images, details, language, and sentence structure. Two well-known American writers with completely different styles are Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. Hemingway and Faulkner’s similarities and differences in style become apparent when comparing and contrasting two of their famous short stories, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway and “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner.

Diction involve word choices a writer makes for his story. These word choices may be used to achieve an overall feeling from a reader toward a story. Diction also reflects the writer’s attitude toward his subject.

Ernest Hemingway’s choice of diction in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” are simple

“The boy, crouched on his nail keg at the back of the crowded room, knew he smelled cheese, and more: from where he sat he could see the ranked shelves close-packed with the solid, squat, dynamic shapes of tin cans whose labels his stomach read, not from the lettering which meant nothing to his mind but from the scarlet devils and the silver curve of fish-this, the cheese which he knew he smelled and the hermetic meat which his intestines believed he smelled coming in intermittent gusts momentary and brief between the other constant one, the smell and sense just a little of fear because mostly of despair and grief, the old fierce pull of blood.” (Faulkner 145)

Although William Faulkner like Hemingway paints clear images, he uses a different technique in doing so. Faulkner’s images are given in complex wording with excessive details. The store description shows an example of this, “smelled like cheese” (Faulkner 145) and “ranked shelves close-packed with the solid, squat, dynamic shapes of tin cans whose labels his stomach read...the scarlet devils and the silver curve of fish” (Faulkner 145).

The five basic elements interrelate to create the style of a writer. After the reader understands style, the tone and the true meaning of a story become apparent. The style of both Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner are different with only a few similarities. One style (Hemingway) being simple and to the point, the other (Faulkner) complicated and full of details. Although the differences are many, one apparent similarity is the informality in the overall language of both stories. Neither style ranks better than the other. The reader changes the value of each style depending on what they appreciate reading.

Sentence structure in Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” includes regular speech patterns. This would include short, choppy, simple and direct sentences. Examples of these types of sentences include, ‘“He has plenty of money.”’ (Hemingway 141) and “‘Nothing.”’ (Hemingway 141) Hemingway’s sentence structure also includes long, compound but simple sentences. “In the day the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference.” (Faulkner 141)

The language used in “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner includes colloquial, informal, with some interior monologue. The southern drawl creates a particular colloquial dialect. “‘Naw,’ he said. “Hit don’t hurt. Lemme be.’” (Faulkner

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