Hemingway uses the Spanish word for nothing, "nada- (Faulkner 145) to substitute words from the Lord's prayer, in the old waiter's speech of despair and loneliness to interrelate the theme. Building a sympathetic feeling from the reader toward the character's way of seeing his lonely world as nothing, was Hemingway's intention in doing so. .
In comparison to Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner's use of diction involves more complicated words due to the fact they're slang and misspelled. Some misspelled words and slang are "kin.hisn.[and] hit- (Faulkner 145) which stand for the words can, his, and it. The reason for the use of a southern accent as diction is to set the mood of where the story takes place. Racist slurs such as "nigger- (Faulkner 146) also make up the diction of the story. Such racist slurs are used to build a certain attitude toward the character who says them. Faulkner describes Abner's walk as "stiffly- (Faulkner 146) which also affects the reader's feelings about a character. Sarty uses the word "bovine- (Faulkner 152) to describe his fat sisters. For many readers who are not familiar with the south or the last century the complex word usage in "Barn Burning- mean many things and nothing at times, this affects the reader's attitude toward the story as a whole. .
Images are visuals a writer gives a reader through figurative devices such as similes and metaphors. Images are used by a writer to draw attention to certain characteristics that may be interrelated with the theme of the story. The use of images allows us to bring the story to life in our minds.
In his writing Ernest Hemingway brings many visuals to life simple matter. "It was late and everyone had left the café except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the trees made against the electric light."" (Hemingway 141) Another image follows instantly, of a girl and a soldier hurriedly passing by, "The street light shone on the brass number on his collar.