Category: Rhetorical question

A Bukowski, on the Rocks

On Bukowski and his brand of good dialogue.

Photo by Sérgio Alves Santos https://unsplash.com/search/bar?photo=OxKFC5u0980

Here is Charles Bukowski in his short story collection Hot Water Music. If you naturally skim-read, I recommend slowing down and reading the following dialogue at as close to speech-speed as you can (out loud would be even better).

Quote:

Back at the Red Peacock Louie went to his favourite stool and sat down. The barkeep walked up.
“Well, Louie, how did you make out?
“Make out?”
“With the lady.”
“With the lady?”
“You left together, man. Did you get her?”
“No, not really …”
“What went wrong?”
“What went wrong?”
“Yes, what went wrong?”
“Give me a whiskey sour, Billy.”

Did you notice a difference between how you pronounced the two versions of What went wrong?

What makes the Quote quiver?

Repetition with different emphasis and raw dialogue, unencumbered by sophisticated descriptions.

Continue reading “A Bukowski, on the Rocks”

Flies in Catch-22

Paradox, epanalepsis, and assonance in Joseph Heller’s quote about flies in eyes.

River scenery by J. M. W. Turner (because you’d rather see this than a closeup of a fly, I presume)

Quote: How can he see he’s got flies in his eyes if he’s got flies in his eyes?

The Quote appears one page after Joseph Heller explains the (in)famous catch in his novel Catch-22.

It reminds me of this (presumably) rather more famous quote from the King James Bible.

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:5)

How can you see you have a beam in your own eye (or that there’s a mote in your brother’s) if you’ve got a beam in your own eye?

(That was a rhetorical question!)

What makes the Quote quiver?

The hook.

Continue reading “Flies in Catch-22”