Reactionary Language and Characterization in Speedboat Lilly Milman College

In Renata Adler’s novel Speedboat, dynamic syntax is juxtaposed with images of violence to create an urgent, or anxious, tone in the narration. The narrator, Jen Fain, reveals details about her life through short bursts of anecdotal information rather than through a chronological plot—often leaving the reader guessing about who the narrator really is in the diegesis of the story. Jen’s tone is affected by her profession as a reporter, as she rarely refers to herself directly in the text, speaks in mostly objective facts, and keeps her narration concise. As a result, this draws attention to passages in the text that do not follow her typical narration style, such as when she is reacting to the thought of a twenty-four-hour curfew. The experimental style in this moment—the dynamic syntax, abstract imagery, and repetition—allows Adler characterizes her narrator through her manipulation of language rather than through concrete descriptions.

There is a rhythm to this passage that departs from the fact-based, reporter-like tone that is emblematic of the text, as seen in the references to herself and the repetition. This stylistic shift indicates that she is entering a narration style similar to that of a stream-of-consciousness,...