Update Your Privacy Policy 4B Emily Howard

The Age of Earthquakes uses rapid syntax and images to convey the quickening pace of life and time in the era of the Internet and technology. The sentences are short and repetitive and, with only a few exceptions, there are very few sentences each page. This creates a quick pace, rocketing the reader through the novel and breakneck speed, as well as creating a sense of panic and anxiety, the lack of control due to the fast speed. The few pages that are filled with text force the reader to slow down, a huge shift from flipping quickly through the other pages. The contrast emphasizes the speed at which the book, time, and life are moving, illustrating some of the definitions that the book provides. The images used, as well as the text, is all black and white, keeping it monotone similar to webpages. This familiar imagery, both merely implied and explicit, connects the messages gleaned from the text back to not only the reader but from the reader to the online community as well; it makes it easier for the reader to make those connections between what they are reading and what they experience online daily. Combining questioning with the use of second person additionally involves the reader, even involuntarily, to a greater extent than if it had been first or third person. However, the novel manages to stay away from an accusatory tone, further drawing the reader in instead of pushing them away with accusations; the novel connects the entire readership instead of alienating the reader with guilt or blame. The Age Of Earthquakes utilizes fast diction, familiar imagery, and second person to connect the reader to the speed of the 21st Century and technological advancements, as well as the decreasing use for time in its traditional sense.