The first part of the chapter is titled the Speed Ethos. Ethos means the behaviors or tendencies of people. In this section Roth talks about how speed identifies our society and how we live our life by the activities we engage in. We have gone as a society from foot, to horse, to buggy, to car, to speed trains to planes, to jets and even to rocket ships. We use speed to define our lives, and this has changed progressively due to the need for convenience.
Speed is relative to social settings.
Reaction I feel this is all true. Our technological speed over the years and decades has either followed or initiated changes in our social speed. Due to automobiles we can live in one community and commute to another community to work everyday. This is often done in excesses of sixty miles for many people. In our society we expect to witness events as occurring rather than as occurred.