Phrase: Word. Words. The words. Confusing words. Wordy words. Words that are confusing. Words.

"In the case of Homer's muddy and twisting torrent of words, the subject no longer seems to be the agent producing or controlling his speech; rather, language "leaps out" with its own force and stupefies the listener"(254).

I would not argue with this analysis of "balancing" sentences, as I found myself quite "stupefied" when reading many of the excerpts. Ngai's essay goes into the reasoning behind writing in this style often using Beckett as a forerunner. I however do not find this form of writing aesthetic at all. I find it confusing and difficult to navigate and very circular, just as Todd does of Homer. Ngai quotes Legrand saying, "The mind struggles to establish a connection -- a sequence of cause and effect -- and, being unable to do o, suffers a species of temporary paralysis" (254) which I similarily found myself in after reading Stein's As a Wife Has a Cow: A Love Story.