Because almost all the text in the book is dialogue, and the primary characters are all young people, the language is frequently immature and crude. For instance, at the end of the first chapter Enid is complaining about the magazine she is reading and she yells, "God, look at these stupid cunts!" (p. 14). The phrase reveals Enid to be a fairly typical teenage girl by using colloquial and foul language. However, not every character uses such crass words, and Clowes often uses this difference to bring out differences in personality.