Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Perhaps the author wanted the reader to remain aloof? If so, why?
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We agree that the style was affectless, but not the result. I was left with a sense of mostly repressed characters who had been ground down by life and circumstances. The rapper was the physical manifestation of all that repression.
The exceptions were Violet and Milo, and Christine for a while. It seems deliberate that she's different, still her own personality with agency, because she's not got her period yet. Poor thing, even her mother abandoned all hope for her once she was condemned to the technical school.
But in contrast to the flat style, there were also moments of sheer absurdity to point it up. The description of Hardborough's being essentially impossible to reach as access became more and more difficult showed how cut off most the residents were physically as well as emotionally. And the scene where Florence is hanging onto the gelding's tongue - we could have a field day with the symbolism of that. There was a lot of high humor mixed in.