In what ways does the writer's use of language convey the different moods she describes?

There are three distinct moods described in this extract: - apprehension, disappointment and happiness. Each has a distinct tone, as conveyed with the selection of words and phrases.

At the start of the extract, the writer conveys the apprehension of waiting for an acceptance letter by comparing it to feeling ill (consider the knotted-stomach feeling one gets when very tense). The phrases "...feeling so sick and dizzy", "I couldn't eat a thing" and "I looked so pitiful", and the comparison to jaundice all serve to create the picture of the poor little girl sick with worry.

This mood is highlighted by contrasting it with a more excited scene outside, where Mrs. Gillespie shouts and waves violently on receiving Colin's acceptance. The contrast between the scenes outside and inside mirrors the contrast between the normally "always aggressive elder daughter" and the pitiful figure described now.

The change from apprehension to disappointment is marked by a slow motion, almost frame-by-frame description of the passing of the postman: "He was almost level with our gate. He was level with it. He was past it...past it." This marks the moment when the girl's hopes are crushed, and she believes she has not been accepted.

The feeling of crushed disappointment is conveyed by continuing the description of slowness (when one is physically crushed, one cannot move quickly, which may have inspired the comparison). We are given the phrases "Walking stiffly, heart thudding" and the counting of footsteps "...walking, one-two, one-two" (perhaps intending to echo the thudding heart), and the repetition of the word 'going' ("Look where you're going", "I wasn't going anywhere"). The girl is almost run over by a milk float; any faster vehicle would spoil the imagery.

This mood ends with the mother catching up to the girl to tell her the postman had come back, and she had been accepted to High School after all. Disappointment is turned into happiness.

The third mood is conveyed more directly. We are met with a bombardment of words conveying happiness: -"ecstatic", "joy", "relief", "miraculous", "sweetness and light", "optimism", "all-embracing". The word 'happy' is itself repeated three times in a row (in capitals) after already using 'happiness', as if to ram the point home.

Again the mood is highlighted by a contrast, but this time more concisely with the father muttering ominously "Getting above herself already", and with a brief apprehensiveness from the mother.

Interestingly, this paragraph then becomes more abstract. Whereas before we had a passage of events, now we have a savoured listing of the details of the school ("There's a huge hall", "The headmistress is called Miss Wilson" etc.) culminating in a list of items ("leather satchel, gym shoes, tie..." etc.). She even mentions the name of the shop where they'd have to be bought.

So, the first two moods in this extract – apprehension and disappointment - are described by using language that implies comparison to sickness and slowness respectively, whereas the third mood – happiness – is simply conveyed with a barrage of happy words.