Jed and Joe

How does McEwan use dialogue and other linguistic devices to present Joe Rose and Jed Parry's relationship in the extract "I said nothing...' to 'What is it you really want me to do?...' page 63-64.

The extract begins with 'I said nothing...' Joe could not answer Jed; the short sentence shows Joe's reaction to Jed. He is shocked, taken back by Jed's advances. He is speechless and doesn't know how to react such an advance. Joe is being presented as the one in control of the supposed relationship - 'I love you too now, and there is a reason for it, a purpose.' - Already Jed has assumed that Joe loves him in return and emphasizes this with the 'I love you too'. Parry suggest that there is 'purpose' for their love, and this bring his religious element in play as Jesus was also portrayed to have a 'purpose' in his life. Within all this, Parry becomes more irrational and upfront 'Parry was speaking over me in a series of gasps' this shows that he had a lot to say, Parry felt like he needed to defend himself - Make Joe see sense - However Rose stays calm, which gives him control of the situation. He responds to parry in a calm yet firm tone 'I decided to be firm and reasonable'. The relationship is very much one-sided, Joe refuses to go along with Jed's illusion of love and he is determined to make him see that.

'An ambulance with a whooping siren went past and we had to wait '. This ambulance foreshadows a tragedy and represents something not being healthy, it sets the scene as a busy place surrounding them whilst they are caught up in a world of their own, lost in the moment. Joe wants to wait for the ambulance to go past so he could be heard clearly by Jed. Also the ambulance was a cold reminder to Joe that he had to go, escape Jed's fantasy.

By addressing Jed as 'Mr. Parry' Joe uses formal register to keep the relationship formal and unattached, using a discourse marker like 'look' instantly demands Jed's attention and the readers. McEwan then goes onto show how desperate Joe is to reinforce that he is not interested in Jed's advances. 'I don't know you, I don't know where you live, or what you do, or who you are. I don't particularly want to know either. I've met you once before and I can tell you now that I have no feelings for you either way...' McEwan uses simple sentence structures and a clear lexis here to show Joe as patronising but at the same time trying to help Jed understand fully that Joe is not interested in any way possible.

'We both paused suddenly'. This is the first time Joe and Jed have been associated together, drawing the reader in to find out why they have paused and whether the Jed has finally understood, however his response shows that he is still clearly oblivious that he is the only one in the relationship. At this stage, the reader feels sympathetic to for Joe, as he cannot seem to make Jed see the real truth. McEwan uses language to portray Joe as desperate to stop Jed's illusion, yet he is still intrigued as to how Jed could have come to such a conclusion 'I was interested to know, although I wanted to get away.'

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