Societies throughout time have always struggled with outsiders. Humans easily notice differences and are quick to despise them, outcasting any person in whom they see these discrepancies. While the specific targeted characteristic may vary, this idea is ever persistent. In Jessica Brody’s novel Unforgotten, she highlights through angry, fearful diction and personification that people often look upon differences negatively, ultimately hurting those targeted. Brody relies heavily on diction to illustrate her idea that people are upset by outsiders. For example, at Sera’s witchcraft trial, she describes the townsfolk as having “shocked faces” and “stormy eyes narrowed in accusation” (Brody 83). These phrases demonstrate the hatred and fear that the people felt towards Sera because of her abilities and appearance. Particularly, “shocked” shows how sharply frightened they were …show more content…
Describing their eyes as “stormy” shows how ominous and dark their expressions were towards her, and how cold they must have seemed; even “accusation” highlights the strong feelings of distrust and separation that these people showed towards Sera. Everything about the villagers’ expressions further emphasizes their dislike and distrust towards her, and this is definitely shown through the language used in this scene. Additionally, near the end of the book, Sera reflects on the many experiences she had facing trepidation from others, including “the horrified look on the old Chinese man’s face”, “the distrust in [the horse’s] eyes”, and “the screams of rage” from the angry Londoners (Brody 317). The descriptions of each of these events include very purposeful word