The sentence structure of this passage is solely based upon a conversational dialogue between Ole Golly and Harriet. The young girl exemplifies the language of a child through her frustration of Ole Golly’s inability to answer her. Harriet says, “If people are alone all the time, I feel sorry for them,” (96). Her observation of Harrison Withers prompts this thought but Ole Golly does not directly respond to the statement. Instead, she recites literary greats to Harriet, indirectly offering her own opinion. When Ole Golly says, “That inward eye which is the bliss of solitude,’” she is quoting Wordsworth. She proceeds to quote Cowper, Emerson and Shakespeare, all to an unknowing Harriet. These old English writers’ quotes alter the dialogue. Ole…show more content… The inclusion of old literary texts seems odd, given the audience is primarily children. For example, Ole Golly saying, “‘This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man’,” would be rendered obscure to Harriet and the young audience. They would not know that Ole Golly is citing Shakespeare’s Hamlet, or encouraging Harriet to be true to herself and do not pretend to be anything else, regardless of other people’s opinions. However, the meaning behind the quote offers a universal moral. Nevertheless, the meaning of Ole Golly’s literary wisdom is misunderstood by an increasingly aggravated Harriet. Welsch emphasizes her growing infuriation through capitalization and the repetition of the word, “What.” “WHAT?” Harriet screamed with exasperation,’” as Ole Golly fails to directly answer her question. This encapsulates the frustrations felt by Harriet and the reader. Harriet exemplifies the language of a child, expecting a straight forward answer and when she does not get it, throws a temper tantrum. When she finally answers, she concludes, “No,” said Ole Golly, looking up quizzically at
