Rhetoric

What is up with Brett and being in love? She saw Pedro Romero in the bull ring and was immediately in love with him. She knows she is hurting most of the men around her yet she still does what she wants. Brett even says it herself: "I do feel such a bitch" (pg 188). And she should. I don't think she cares for anyone around her. She may say she loves Jake but I think that is all just an act, a form of irony.

Then Brett goes and actually talks to Pedro and flirts with him. The kid is nineteen years old! And what is she...thirty-four?! That is just wrong on so many levels. She successfully uses rhetoric to get Pedro to leave with her. Jake should stay away from Brett because all she will end up doing is hurt him and add even more to his misery.

Irony and Pitty

Bill Gordon is a very interesting and fun character. He is a writer so he says things that are entertaining and sometimes confusing. I am still trying to figure out what he meant by "show irony and pity" (pg 118). Then he starts to sing the song and says "when they're feeling...oh, give them irony and give them pity" (pg118). I think he means when someone is feeling sorrow or maybe even anger, one is supposed to say something that they don't even mean but will make them feel better and show pity on them. It is like a false act and pretty much lying to the person if you don't really mean what you say or show. This may be foreshadowing the fact that Bill may use this later in the novel with the situation of Jake and Brett. He will try to comfort Jake when Brett is married to Michael, but actually, I don't think he really cares.