Through the use of a dramatic event of the balloon accident, it is obvious to the reader that Jed Perry is becoming infatuated with Joe Rose. We can see this unfolding, and also Joe’s attitudes towards this in the form of various techniques and styles used in the novel. Firstly, the use of first person narrative throughout the novel gives us an insight into Joe’s innermost thoughts and feelings. The use of “ Had I known what this glance meant to him at the time and how he was to construe it later and build around it a mental life, I would not have been so warm”.
We know from these words, that Jed is going to become obsessed with Joe further in the novel, and we can see Joe’s reaction towards this. At the beginning of the conversation in chapter two, Jed approaches Joe asking him “ are you alright? ” an immediate attempt at controlling the conversation. Joe does not reply to Jed showing the disinterest Joe has in engaging in conversation with Jed. “ My silence was hostile”. It becomes apparent as you read, that Joe is the less confident speaker, even though he seems to be the most educated shown through the use of first person narrative, which gives an insight into his analytical and rational mind.
Jed pushes the conversation to a place in which Joe is not comfortable with, shown by phrases such as “ I was embarrassed and my first thought was not to offend a true believer”. We expect to see appropriate feedback from Jed, however he instead gives inappropriate ‘ quirky’ feedback. This is shown further by the non verbal responses such as smiling. “ The most joyous of smiles was spreading slowly across his face. I wondered if he had heard me right”.
The lack of adjacency pairs throughout the speech between the characters, also gives us an insight into the attitudes of Joe towards Jed. Joe is abrupt and sharp in his replies, showing us the lack of relationship and connection between the two. This is shown further in the choice of pronoun used. Jed tries to build a connection between them by associating them together for example using “ we”. When Jed does this, Joe stops him attempting to separate them by using the words “ I” and “ you”. There is a difference between the utterances of the two characters expressing the diverse views.
For example Jed is eager to talk to Joe and doesn’t want him to leave shown by phrases such as “ Parry wasn’t giving up” and “ He must have known that he’s only chance of keeping me now was a radical change of tone”. Jed is also the one who asks all the questions, showing us how he wants to talk to Joe and won’t give up. Jed’s utterances and sentences are lengthy where as Joe’s are highly elliptical, for example “ thanks but no” emphasising the irritancy of Joe, with Jed. This is shown by the repetition of sorry used in various sentenced by Joe. This has been shortened from I’m sorry to sorry as Joe gets more impatient with Jed.
Most of Joe’s utterances are short, emphasising how Joe does not wish to speak to Jed. It is noticeable that Jed Parry uses question marks in his speech perhaps to show insecurity. “ Clarissa’s really worried about you? I said I’d come down and see if you’re alright? ” This contrasts with Joe’s American twang, which helps Joe to hide his true feelings and annoyance at Jed. It is obvious that Joe has a negative attitude towards Jed, and we can see it through the various techniques used by the narrator. By the use of first person narrative, we can sense that this will only get worse in the following chapters.
