Tucker Max Sounds Like...

Thinking about words that decribed Tucker Max’s writing was difficult at first, but after looking over the word list we made in class, I found it easier to help explain what I saw in his writing. I’d like to read an excerpt from Max’s first book.

The people at my table begin talking about energy healing. Everyone is mesmerized by a girl who took a class on it. I tell them that energy healing is a worthless and solipsistic pseudoscience. They think energy healing is a real science because the instructor of the girl’s class went to Harvard. One guy calls it a “legitimate, certifiable science,” while making air quotes with his fingers. I tell them that they are all “Legitimate, certifiable idiots”, because they believe in horseshit like energy healing,. Two girls call me close-minded. I tell them that they are so open minded that their brains leaked out. They all glare at me with disapproval. I hate everyone at my table.

           

            The first word that grabbed my attention to describe Max was colloquial. He writes in an informal, conversational type style that sounds like he is speaking directly to you. He also uses words that may sound vulgar and may be disapproved by most.

I also think that indefatiguable is another great word that helps understand how Max writes.  He not only sounds like he is incapable of being tired out, but he writes about the parties, and clubs, that he goes to, the nights that he is out until three or four in the morning, and almost makes the reader feel the exhaustion that he doesn’t seem to ever have.

Now,  in the excerpt above when Max was talking about energy healing, although most would not have gotten fired up about the topic, he did. Max has to write in a way that gets an immediate reaction from his readers.  He calls people idiots because of their opinions, and seems to always get in some type of argument with whoever he is talking about in his stories. Not only does he sometimes offend the people that he is talking about, but he also irritates the reader at some times. I think the word to better describe what Max is doing here is agonistic. He’s agonistic because he is argumentative and looking for an immediate effect. He wants to make the reader question whether they believe what he is talking about, and also spark an interest for what he has to say next.

To better understand what Max does not sound like would be to use the word artificial. Max is a writer that is honest and upfront. He is telling the truth and doesn’t care whether it offends the readers, or anyone else for that matter. Vulgarity doesn’t bother him and neither do anyone’s opinions.

Although there are many other words to describe Max and his unique fratire genre, I think that some of the words we went over in class did a good job in helping me understand a little bit more of how Tucker Max sounds.