A Comic Novel
This work is often described as a comic novel. Much of the humor is situated in the era in which it was written; humor that may not inspire as much laugher as it once did. For instance, this description of a temple sounds like something straight out of a routine by a 1950's standup comic:
"The few times I stepped inside there," Dingleman once said, "I felt like a Jesuit in a whorehouse."
The Age of Irony Commences
The era also saw the first flickering of what would become almost the norm in novels written by new young authors in the 1960’s: the ironic inversion of the conventional. This style of writing was perfected and reached its zenith with Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 where every page features a joke like the one displayed here. Such irony is so pervasive in the fiction since then that it is entirely possible to read the line without even realizing there is a joke:
“the wind began to cut quicker across the fields, suddenly the sun went out like a light”
Lazy Writing
One craves for irony in this example; it would explain the shockingly uninspired use of metaphorical imagery. Even in the 1950’s, however, this would be on exhibit as an example of distinctly uncreative engagement metaphor and simile.
“The silence that fell was so thick you could cut it with a knife, but Mr. Dermott didn't notice that Rocky turned pale as a sheet.”
Ironic or Not?
The author returns to the subject of sunlight disappearing with a simile that works as ironic zinger, but may actually lack irony. A traffic light can change quickly, of course; usually to red when you are trying to catch green. But as you sit there waiting for the green to come back around, the momentum with which those lights change seems anything but quick.
“The sun went, darkness came quick as a traffic light change, and the snow began to gleam purple.”
Situating the Theme
The overarching theme of the novel is placed within context by the aforementioned Mr. Dingleman, with his aversion to being inside that temple. When Duddy mindlessly repeats a platitude about a man without land being a nobody, Dingleman forces the issue:
"There's something wrong. A mistake somewhere when a boy your age is already pursuing money like he had a hot poker up his ass.”
