Eraser Tattoo

By including specific details meant to ground the story in the real world, Jason Reynolds employs verisimilitude as a method of gaining the reader’s compassion and empathy for the characters. The story opens with a convincing description of the setting: “A car alarm whining down the block. An old lady sitting at a window, blowing cigarette smoke. The scrape and screech of bus brakes every fifteen minutes” (3-4). These details create a vivid and familiar image of the setting. Readers can relate to this warm and friendly neighborhood scene, which in turn wins over their empathy for the main characters and heightens the emotional impact of learning that Shay’s family is unwillingly moving away from their home.

Another example of verisimilitude in “Eraser Tattoo” is the colloquial dialogue among characters. Shay and Dante speak to each other using African American Vernacular English, including local colloquialisms and slang. This use of colloquial language serves to capture a sense of the local culture that is at risk of disappearing due to gentrification.