Lyricism, Terseness, Stream of Consciousness, Lengthy Internal Monologue
Stugeon's writing style is like a chameleon: It changes often. In fact, it's one of the most unusual facets of More Than Human. Here are four common ways Sturgeon achieves his effects.
Lyricism
What's lyrical language? It's hard to define. You could say that lyrical sentences tend to be in the style of Romanticism. Some see Romanticism as a sign of good style, but others find it too "sentimental." We feel an example serves best. Here's Sturgeon describing nature's beauty, one of the forces that encourages the gestalt to grow:
It was spring, the part of spring where the bursting is done, the held-in pressures of desiccated sap-veins and gum-sealed buds are gone, and all the world's in a rush to be beautiful. The air was heavy and sweet; it lay upon lips until they parted, pressed them until they smiled, entered boldly to beat in the throat like a second heart. It was air with a puzzle to it, for it was still and full of the colors of dreams, all motionless; yet it had a hurry to it. The stillness and the hurry were alive and laced together and how could that be? That was the puzzle. (1.2.8)
A variety of stylistic techniques make the lyricism happen here. Notice the precision of some of the language: desiccated sap-veins, gum-sealed buds. These specific images are juxtaposed to more abstract declarations: all the world's in a rush to be beautiful. Notice the personification of the air, and the imaginative rendition of the air as a puzzle. Finally, the long sentences and semicolons allow Sturgeon to create grander feelings than short, terse sentences would typically allow.
How does the lyricism fit into the novel? We have an advanced life form growing in a rural, natural setting and evolving into an ethical creature that joins a society dedicated to protect humanity. Why shouldn't it be described in beautiful, poetic language? Others might find it corny or distracting, but that's their problem, not ours.
Terseness
Lyricism isn't the only trick up Sturgeon's sleeve. Check out this single sentence that opens Part 2:
I finally got in to see this Stern. (2.1.1)
We already know the narrator: someone with a bad attitude who seems to be in a hurry. He finally got to Stern. Stern is this guy, some punk the narrator has to deal with. He got in there, a straightforward, simple, and kind of aggressive way to describe entering a place. Last but not least, the sentence starts with "I": this character, whoever he is (Gerry), is going to be the subject, and he's going to be bringing his attitude with him.
All this terseness does a good job at expressing Gerry's bad attitude. It lets us know the hateful head of the second version of the gestalt means business, like when he gives the thousand-dollar bill to Stern, and will mete out punishment, as he does to Hip in Part 3.
Stream of Consciousness
Stream of consciousness is the direct output of a mind without the filters of structure or the need to be understood. Near the very start of the novel, we get a rendition of the wordless communications of babies:
"Without words: Warm when the wet comes for a little but not for long enough. (Sadly): Never dark again. A feeling of pleasure. A sense of subtle crushing and Take away the pink, the scratchy. Wait, wait, you can go back, yes, you can go back. Different, but almost as good. (Sleep feelings): Yes, that's it! That's the—oh! (Alarm): You've gone too far, come back, come back, come— (A twisting, a sudden cessation; and one less "voice.") . . . It all rushes up, faster, faster, carrying me. (Answer): No, no. Nothing rushes. It's still: something pulls you down on to it, that's all. (Fury): They don't hear us, stupid, stupid . . . They do . . . They don't, only crying, only voices." (1.1.11)
These are babies communicating with one another telepathically and wordlessly, kind of like Stewie on Family Guy. It's written in words, but we're told at the start of the passage that the italicized streams are really without words.
This passage takes the literal stream of consciousness of babies and outputs what it would be were it capable of being expressed in words. That's why you get a string of words such as "Warm when the wet comes for a little but not for long enough"; that might not make the best sentence in a book report, but it describes how a baby might think if its thoughts were written out, like the screenplay from Baby Geniuses, only better.
How does stream of consciousness fit into the novel? It pulls us into the sci-fi telepathy. The passage gives us a representation of what telepathy must be like. That's our theory, anyway. If you have a better one, feel free to telepathically transmit it to us. We'll be waiting.
Lengthy Internal Monologue
Sturgeon's stylistic techniques also include making use of long passages of internal monologue. In other words, thinking to yourself for a long time. But don't worry—these passages aren't just boring thoughts working toward some boring conclusion. Their syntax (like, grammar stuff) fills them up with emotion, showing how passion affects our logic and how logic affects our passions. Check out some of Hip's lengthy internal monologue when he regains much of his ability to remember:
In the morning, he thought comfortably, I'll go see my halfwit. But you know what, I think I'll take an hour off just remembering things. I won the sack race at the Sunday school picnic and they awarded me a khaki handkerchief. I caught three pikes before breakfast at the Scout camp, trolling, paddling the canoe and holding the fishing line in my teeth; the biggest of the fish cut my mouth when he struck. I hate rice pudding. I love Bach and liverwurst and the last two weeks in May and deep clear eyes. (3.13.2)
The sentences roll on and on as he thinks, showing his enthusiasm for remembering. They're filled with specific details, showing the clarity he's achieved after working hard on his memory with Janie's help.