The one hundred short stories in the volume feature a wide variety of language and meaning; they are all originally written in standard English and most are written for a broad audience with no specialized education. Most of the stories feature fairly limited vocabulary but some—for example, "The Next in Line"—are full of complex terms and seldom-used words. While most of the stories are fairly basic in interpretation this is not always the case. For example, "The Next in Line" features a multi-layered reality, advanced character development, an intricate plot, and a variety of methodologies rarely found so successfully executed in short stories. Many of the stories share a commonly-derived meaning from repetitive narrative elements.