DEVIANT LANGUAGE: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF RANI IN WHAT REMAINS AFTER A FIRE (2025) BY KANZA JAVED

Abstract

This study explores the use of deviant language in Kanza Javed’s short story Rani from the collection What Remains After a Fire (2025). The story reconstructs memory, trauma, and domestic life through fragmented syntax, unconventional narrative shifts, and lexical deviations. By applying stylistic analysis, the study examines how deviations in grammar, lexis, and narrative structure create psychological depth and reflect social, cultural, and familial dynamics. The analysis shows that Javed’s deviant language foregrounds characters’ subjectivities, particularly Daddi’s fragmented consciousness and Annie’s perspective, while encoding themes of memory, grief, and intergenerational relationships.