"Amis uses the 'four distinct voices' of Self's internal dialogue (money, pornography, aging and weather, thought and fascination) to encapsulate both the enticements and the destructive effects of his character's immersion within a commodified and consumerist culture" (Begley 86).
This sentence immediately stood out from the article to me. First, the specification of Self's "voices" is interesting. These things - money, pornography, aging and weather, thought and fascination - are certainly interests of his, particularly money and pornography, but to call them voices is different. However, it makes sense. His voice does differ as he talks about these different things, and they all make up different parts of his personality. When he talks about money, he gets repetitive, as if to emphasize its importance. There is an energy when he talks about money that isn't otherwise present. When talking about pornography, he assumes almost a business-like tone. This is perhaps due to his troubles in this area - it almost becomes a chore. Aging and weather are almost just passing thoughts, but strangely consuming passing thoughts. References to him being "middle aged" are frequent, and he quite often talks about the weather as well. Thought and fascination are often sad topics for Self - he doesn't like not knowing.
The second part of the sentence, "...to encapsulate both the enticements and the destructive effects of his character's immersion within a commodified and consumerist culture" is extremely accurate. These voices are, quite successfully, used to demonstrate both the enticements and the consequences of these enticements. They show Self's downward progression, as well as just how important material things and pleasure are to him.
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