Style and Technique

Style and Technique: The Trick is to Keep Breathing

Stream of Consciousness

  • Stream of consciousness is a key narrative technique used in the novel allowing an exploration of the protagonist Joy’s thoughts and feelings.
  • This gives a heightened sense of Joy’s interiority and her mental state.

Use of Typography and Format

  • Galloway uses varied typography and format, including multiple fonts, italics, and different sizes of text to reflect Joy’s changing mental state.
  • Unconventional text layouts mirror the disjointed and fragmented nature of Joy’s thoughts.

Word Choice (Diction)

  • Galloway’s word choice often conveys depths of emotion that the socially acceptable dialogues around Joy fail to acknowledge.
  • Words like ‘drowning’, ‘sink’, and ‘swamp’ contribute towards the water metaphor and the title’s symbolism which underscores Joy’s struggle with her mental health.

Imagery and Symbolism

  • Water imagery is used extensively, creating a symbol of suffocation and despair that mirrors Joy’s mental health struggles.
  • The novel’s title, ‘The Trick is to Keep Breathing’, serves as a recurring theme and symbolises Joy’s constant struggle to survive amidst psychological turmoil.

Use of Monologue

  • Janice Galloway makes use of monologue as a way to express the inner feelings and experiences of the main character Joy, gives the reader a direct connection to her inner world.
  • This helps to present mental illness from a subjective perspective, allowing readers to fully understand Joy’s experience with depression and anxiety.

Relevant Quotes

  • “Pictures of me available to the public have always been doctored.” – This quote reveals Joy’s struggle with societal expectations and parallels with the theme of appearance vs reality.
  • “I am not here, this is not happening to me.” – Reflects the mental state of complete denial, indicating the severity of Joy’s mental conditions.

Remember, this novel vividly portrays the complexities of mental illness through its innovative form and stylistic choices, thus providing many opportunities for textual analysis and critical interpretation.