Janebr asked:

I am enjoying the book, but why does Kingsolver always use "that" instead of "who"? It is driving me nuts. Is there some reason? Is that typical in Appalachia?

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2 years ago
4 answers

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IvanOpinion Interesting that you raise this, because I did not notice it. It is the sort of thing I normally would be aware of, but I'm guessing the reason I missed it is that I 'read' the audiobook and the narrator sounded authentic to how Demon should sound, so the unusual pronoun seemed 'right'.

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Mark Jamison It’s a local dialect thing like “whenever” instead of when. I have two friends from southern Ohio, both of whom speak exactly like Demon.

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Sandra Hill I totally agree with Janebr…the author’s use of “that” instead of “who’” was so annoying. I was born and raised in southwest Virginia and yet have no idea why “that” instead of “who” was used. I do wish a better answer was available to the readers WHO care to know.

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