comment on language style

Because the novel is written in the first person from David’s perspective, the language of the novel functions to characterize and define David’s voice and personality. David is quite erudite and values intellectual and emotional immediacy. His descriptions of his life support those linguistic functions. For example, when describing how he feels during Helen’s unexpected visit during his and Claire’s vacation, he narrates, "We stare unflinchingly at one another, as though…[in] prelude to leaping precipitously into the most shameless and exciting copulation” (213). The ideas and diction of this statement are simultaneously intellectual and carnal, as David is highly preoccupied with the intersection of those realms.