One of my favorite writing styles Eggers uses to convey tone is on page 103 when he actually uses a music bar to show us exactly how a woman uttered the sentence "What a good brother you are!" (I would try to insert some form of musical bar in here but I would shame myself.) I can not think of a better way to convey tone than to actually insert musical notes of how the person was talking. Someone should do this for an entire essay. I volunteer Patrick.
Also, on page 117-120, I enjoy how Eggers used Toph to play out an imaginary conversation between them. At first I thought Toph had become some badass philosophical genius but I like to think Eggers took this opportunity to show the reader how he want to express himself with Toph.
pp. 119
"All this energy from you! Were you drinking soda before bed?"
"And poor Dad. Why not just leave him alone? I mean --"
"God. Please. So I'm not allowed to talk about --"
"I don't know. I guess so. If you feel you have to."
"I do."
"Fine."
"I can't see past it."
"Fine. So you're going to stay up tonight, most of the night, like every night, staring at your screen..."
This, in my opinion, was such a powerful method Eggers uses to convey just how serious this subject is for him. Personally, I do this all the time. I constantly daydream of conversations I wish I would have with certain people. Usually blown opportunities on dates.
Good stuff, Anthony. I think you did find one of the more clever examples of tone--te actual musical tone. Now, Eggers is characterizing someone else's voice there and it's not exactly indicative of his tone, but you clearly understand the way he's switching to undercut himself.
ReplyDeleteA good post.
I'd like to see some of those madeup conversations. Maybe you could build an entire essay or post around just internal dialogue.
Anyone else see other passages that do what Anthony's suggesting?
ReplyDeleteOr do you dispute his readings in any way? Group A seems to include some healthy disagreement about the ultimate effectiveness of Mr. Eggers.
Healthy!
Anthony, I disagree with almost everything you just said. In a good way. (Healthy! (for Dave)) Personally, I prefer Ackerman; I thought I preferred Eggers at the beginning, but now I just feel like I'm reading hundreds of the same anecdotes said in the same tone (occasionally livened up by a unique bit like your musical example, yes) and with the same underlying message: "I don't have it all together, I tell myself I'm trying, but am I trying? I don't know, I don't know anything, youth!" It gets exhausting after a bit, for me. He has plenty of ego going on, but he makes it so clear that it is always so unfounded that it's frustrating. I want to see him actually take pride or be sure of something about himself, even though that's nigh impossible to do in retrospect because past-selves always suck. While Ackerman is full of yadda-yadda, it's in a more stylized way that I personally prefer. I feel like sweet D had some confidence behind her writing that Eggers lacks.
ReplyDeleteSweet D. Made my day right there. (Healthy disagreement here, since we are all different people with different preferences) I can take Ackerman to an extent and then I just want to laugh at her and not in a good way. I genuinely laugh at most of Eggers's jokes and self-deprecation. Personally I think that his ability to be over the top about how much he sucks shows that he has self-confidence. I'm not sure that anyone could write about a naked photo shoot the way he does if they didn't have confidence in their living/writing abilities.
DeleteOh my gosh I died when I saw the music staff. I literally sang it to myself to see if he drew the notes in the correct places. He did.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think that Eggers uses variations of the internal dialogue thing often, another being the whole section with the MTV interview. He's basically interviewing himself, and his questions are meant to dig a bit deeper into how he really feels about things. I agree that they are a tool for him to say what he means without explicitly saying "My parents are dead and things are hard and I don't know if I'm doing them justice or raising my brother right."
And I think that what Dave the Professor says about an internal dialogue essay would be really cool.
As much as I enjoy being selected for volunteer work, I'm afraid I'm not talented enough (musically or otherwise) to write an entire essay with full notation.
ReplyDeleteI am also enjoying Eggers much more than Ackerman. I think the way Eggers uses Toph (and others) to voice his own thoughts is an interesting device and I kind of like it, though I'm not sure if I object to fictionalizing real people so willy-nilly. I have conflicted feelings about it, I guess.
I totally agree that Eggers is better than Ackerman, and actually think AHWOSG is my favorite novel I've read this year so far. The latter section you shose is one of my favorites. I think it really captures how Eggers intertwines reality and message, and sometimes that reality must be throw to the way side. When he does this I like that he acknowledges it because it adds some truth to the falsification, and if that was less of an oxymoron it might actually make sense. Truth's the wrong word actually; realness in fiction is a better way to say it.
ReplyDelete