Vernacular

Chapter XV contains the literary term vernacular. It is actually applied many times throughout the entire novel depending on what country the crew is in. In this specific instance, the group is in Spain witnessing the running of the bulls and the bull-fighting events; therefore, the Spanish language works its way into the chapter in quite a few paragraphs. Spanish words or phrases are spoken by both the 'crew' and the Spanish people. In this chapter, the words I found were "arriba," "fiesta," "peseta," "aficianados," "mucho suerte," "torero," "matadors," "barrera," "picadors," and "jota" (pages 162-171). Quite a few of these Spanish words were necessary for me to look up in order to continue to understand the novel. For instance, I knew that the word fiesta translates to party. However, I did not know that the word torero meant bullfighter, which is incredibly pertinent to understanding this part of the novel. In recognizing the different vernacular, I now understand why it is so useful; it makes the reader focus more intently on the story. Seeing Spanish words definitely caused me to pay better attention to the story and have a better understanding of the novel in this chapter.