Throughout the passage, Soto’s imagery dominates the phrasing. His sophisticated constructions and comparisons allow the reader to visualize the scenery just as the young pie thief himself would. As he is described wiping his “sticky fingers on the grass and [rolling his] tongue over the corners of [his] mouth,” the reader gets an accurate view of just how involved the juvenile Soto was in his indulgence. And as a burp “perfumed” the air, one can fully visualize a plump little child covered in his own sticky sin.
Soto’s diction, too, is sophisticated in its delivery throughout the passage. He does not use simpler constructions nor does he employ clichés, such as “the sun was rising.” Instead, he states quite poetically that the “sun wavered between branches of yellowish sycamore.” The detail used lets the reader know that young Soto isn’t solely focused on his pie; he also takes notice of the sun, passing cars, and the actions of Cross-Eyed Johnny.
Revealing a different aspect of Soto’s character altogether is his use of repetition. Though subtle, it serves to highlight certain points that would otherwise go unnoticed. For instance, Soto’s repetition of God’s residence in the plumbing is a recurring image in the short passage. It shows the six-year-old is fully aware of his wrongdoing and that his awareness prevails throughout the course of his actions. Not only is he aware though, he even speculates as to who knows of his sinful deed. “The driver knew. Mrs. Hancock…knew.” This further demonstrates the child’s guilty conscience and adds it to his character.
These devices together recreate a child’s misadventure when normally an author would have found passed time to be a writing barrier. Soto, instead, seems to have mastered the stream-of-consciousness style in which the youngster must think and has still managed to gracefully blend in mature writing techniques. Each one of these techniques slices and serves a different aspect of the young Soto’s guilt until the reader has had his fill.