An interior monologue presents the innermost thoughts of a character in a direct way (which refers to a style in which the reader can hear the thoughts of the character directly) or in an indirect way (which means in a style in which the character comments or interjects). In The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, there are several examples of direct interior monologues, such as the following about Miss Amelia:
"She closed the place completely,...
An interior monologue presents the innermost thoughts of a character in a direct way (which refers to a style in which the reader can hear the thoughts of the character directly) or in an indirect way (which means in a style in which the character comments or interjects). In The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, there are several examples of direct interior monologues, such as the following about Miss Amelia:
"She closed the place completely, lighted the lamps, and sat solemnly over her grits. The reason for this was not that Miss Amelia feared the snowfall. It was simply that she was unable to form an immediate opinion of this new event, and unless she knew exactly and definitely what she thought of a matter (which was nearly always the case) she preferred to ignore it" (page 57).
In this interior monologue, the reader gains access to what Miss Amelia is thinking about as the snow falls. The reader could not know all this information simply from reading about Miss Amelia's movements. Instead, the narrative gives the reader an understanding of what Miss Amelia's motivations and feelings are as she closes her cafe, sits over her grits, and thinks with uncertainty about the snowfall.
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