Kiss and Tell

       Illustrating an awkward interaction between a teenager on a date, and her parents in "Kiss and Tell," Alain de Borton utilizes characterizing syntax to create a comic scene about a common teenager trying to stray from the path her parents have beaten. Borton uses different syntax for each character to further characterize their personality. It seems that Isabel is trying very hard to distance herself from her parents, but by her description of her mother's "willow tree" dress, it is evident that her strides are not very successful. Later in the story her mother suggests that it is a "pity [Isabel doesn't] have more of a cleavage" for the dress she is wearing. These two quotes suggest that Isabel and her mother are actually very similar because they comment on and describe things in a the same manner. Her father seems to be on a different realm, clearly seen when he is "looking at the light fixtures" and "losing tickets to the car park," but not so different that Isabel did not inherit anything of his. Isabel's detailed description of her parents at the beginning is very similar to her father's description of the light fixtures towards the end. These examples give comedy to the fact that people may wish to be nothing like their parents but, in the end, there is nothing much that you can do to prevent it from happening.