Complete Sentences for Crying Out Loud

There are three things I have noticed about chapter 8: the dialect, the missing information, and the imagery. In this chapter we are introduced to Bill Gorton, also a writer, who just arrived back from Vienna and Budapest. For the most part, I'm pretty fond of Bill and his open personality; however, his dialect is driving me crazy! I'm not sure if this is the first time it has been like this, but Bill cannot speak full sentences for his life. The dialect he uses makes it hard to follow and comprehend the idea he is trying to get across. For example, "Can't remember. Tell you anything I could remember," and "Not so good, Jake. Injustice everywhere. Promoter claimed nigger promised let local boy stay," (page 76-77). The audience can infer that he is an intelligent man by his success that he has earned from the book that he wrote, but the way he speaks does not justify his knowledge.

Not only are sentences incomplete, but there is missing information at the beginning of the chapter as well. Where did Cohn go and why did he randomly disappear? Although the author did not make Jake seem concerned or suspicious about Cohn's disappearance, I am not fooled. The fact that Brett, Cohn, and Frances all went missing about the same time means something, I just have yet to figure it out.

Last but not least, the imagery. When Bill tells of his travels to Vienna and Budapest he provides great detail of the people and the surroundings he experienced. "Looked like Tiger Flowers, only four times as big. All of a sudden everybody started to throw things...knocked local boy down." Of all the amazing things Mr. Gorton could have seen on his travels, he tells of the most cruel story. In my opinion, I think the author wanted to include news of the outside world in order to give the audience a feel for the ongoings of the time period. It helped me to see that during the time, racsim was a major issue. Then, later on in the chapter we are introduced to another new character, the infamous Michael. The author includes a lot of specifics when describing Michael. "You look very fit, Mike," and "He was tanned and healthy-looking," (page 84). The words used to convey Michael are flattering and masculine, most likely used to show a comparison between him and Jake. It seems as though Jake is criticizing Michael their entire first encounter. Jealousy?