Book Anatomy · Daddy Long Legs
Daddy Long Legs: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 77 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
4,909 different words. On average 55 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 2,595 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
daddy, julia, college, legs, i've. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 13.33 words ending in 'ly' and 9.58 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 2.7% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 4.0% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 29% of sentences: i, the, it, but, you.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 427 |
| the | 128 |
| it | 89 |
| but | 88 |
| you | 87 |
| we | 81 |
| and | 79 |
| it's | 76 |
| dear | 65 |
| i'm | 64 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.78 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
52 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.38 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 18: The long lower hall had not been lighted, and as she came downstairs, a last Trustee stood, on the point of departure, in the open door that led …
Ch 1, para 19: Jerusha's anxious frown gave place to quick laughter. She was by nature a sunny soul, and had always snatched the tiniest excuse to be amused. If one could …
Ch 1, para 30: Mrs. Lippett overlooked the fact that Jerusha had worked hard for her board during those two years, that the convenience of the asylum had come first and her …
Ch 1, para 61: The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is divided into sections by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. It's …
Ch 2, para 9: He was a famous artist who lived in Italy in the Middle Ages. Everybody in English Literature seemed to know about him, and the whole class laughed because …
Ch 2, para 35: Nobody here knows that I was brought up in an asylum. I told Sallie McBride that my mother and father were dead, and that a kind old gentleman …
The book uses similes and metaphors sparingly but memorably. The central metaphor is the daddy-long-legs shadow (quote 1), which represents the mysterious benefactor. Other metaphors include Judy as a plant growing at Lock Willow and life as a journey or adventure.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 8, Ch 11
The shadow pictured grotesquely elongated legs and arms that ran along the floor and up the wall of the corridor. It looked, for all the world, like a huge, wavering daddy-long-legs. (Ch 1, para 18)
Daddy-Long-Legs. You don't mind, do you, Daddy? He's pure Jersey and has a sweet disposition. He looks like this--you can see how appropriate the name is. (Ch 4, para 84)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 62%, touch 16%, sound 14%, taste 7%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 209 |
| touch | 55 |
| sound | 48 |
| taste | 23 |
| smell | 1 |
Sight dominates throughout. Sound appears in theatre scenes and conversations. Touch is present in physical moments with Master Jervie. Smell and taste are minimal; the book focuses on visual impressions and emotional sensations rather than sensory richness.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 6, Ch 8, Ch 13
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
20 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.53 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of key phrases like 'Daddy-Long-Legs' and 'Master Jervie' creates rhythm. Lists appear in Judy's descriptions of college life and Lock Willow activities. The pattern of monthly letters structures the entire narrative, creating cyclical repetition.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 4, Ch 8
So I've decided to call you Dear Daddy-Long-Legs. I hope you won't mind. It's just a private pet name we won't tell Mrs. Lippett. (Ch 1, para 60)
I'm still 'Jerusha' in the catalogue, but I'm 'Judy' everywhere else. (Ch 2, para 26)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Few old word forms from our list.
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The book shows Judy's character through her letters and actions rather than authorial summary. Her growth appears in how she writes and what she chooses to share. However, some emotional states are told directly, as in her reflections on loneliness and identity.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 6, Ch 10, Ch 12
I could FEEL 'John Grier Home' written on my face. And then a few charitable ones would make a point of coming up and saying something polite. I HATED EVERY ONE OF THEM--the charitable ones most of all. (Ch 2, para 34)
It's different with me than with other girls. They can take things naturally from people. They have fathers and brothers and aunts and uncles; but I can't be on any such relations with any one. (Ch 6, para 66)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action rather than preceding it. Judy describes Lock Willow and New York as she experiences them. Settings emerge through her activities and observations, keeping the narrative moving forward.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 6, Ch 8
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 2.31 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 21 |
| saw | 18 |
| knew | 15 |
| felt | 11 |
| heard | 11 |
| seemed | 5 |
| noticed | 3 |
| wondered | 1 |
| watched | 1 |
| realized | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from anxious and formal in early letters to confident and playful by mid-book. Chapter 7 becomes reflective and philosophical. The final chapters grow tender and romantic as Judy approaches her revelation.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 12, Ch 13
Our lives were absolutely monotonous and uneventful. Nothing nice ever happened, except ice-cream on Sundays, and even that was regular. (Ch 7, para 1)
I believe absolutely in my own free will and my own power to accomplish--and that is the belief that moves mountains. (Ch 11, para 10)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy works through Judy's irreverent voice and self-aware observations. She makes jokes about her orphan past, her invented family, and her confusion about Master Jervie. Humour softens serious themes and reveals her resilience.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 9
I'm still 'Jerusha' in the catalogue, but I'm 'Judy' everywhere else. (Ch 2, para 26)
Given a tall rich man who hates girls, but is very generous to one quite impertinent girl, what does he look like? (Ch 2, para 66)
Ask Daddy Long Legs a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
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