Quotes and Analysis From Pages 166 – 182 of AHWOSG

 

• “After I get over my fleeting paranoia that Milton’s making fun of me in particular.” (Page 169)

Eggers shows in this quotation how Dave is self obsessed. He says that he thinks it’s about “me in particular,” showing that he is always relating things to hi, with the adjective “particular.” The noun “paranoia” shows the excessive worry that Dave feels about things, but the adjective “fleeting” tells us that it is only brief, contrasting to earlier in the book where he could use multiple paragraphs to describe his fears.

 

• “Whom I had coerced into leaving his girlfriend and job in Washington to move to Berkeley to be part of the start-up.” (Page 169)

Eggers uses the verb “coerced” when talking about convincing his friend to move. This suggests that he is persuading an unwilling person and so shows a talent for persuasion. Dave convinces his friend to leave his “girlfriend and job” to be part of the “start-up,” something which is typically unreliable. This shows that Dave is trusted and respected by people he knows.

 

• “We offer work to everyone.” (Page 173)

Eggers uses pronouns to shows Dave’s desperation to work with and believe in him. The pronoun “everyone” shows this sense of desperation, he is taking anyone who will give their services. We see here his need for his magazine to work. The personal pronoun “we” shows that Dave feels his magazine workers are all part of one thing, that they are a collective already.

 

• “I can’t in my wildest fantasies see myself making it past fifty or fifty-five.” (Page 175)

Dave used a verb to show how much he things about death. The verb “fantasies” shows that Dave spends time thinking and dreaming about death and how he will die. It is reviled in this quotation that he cannot see himself “making it past fifty or fifty-five.” This may be linked to Dave’s parent’s deaths and how he is surround by death and so assumes that he will die young as they did.