Chelsea’s Blog

Glog: 3/10/2009

FML

Society, as a whole, depends too heavily upon technology. There are times at which it can be useful; however, other times prove it to be nothing more than a large burden.  Sven Birkerts, author of The Gutenberg Elegies, believes that today’s society, especially the baby boomers, are living in too much of an electronic culture and I must agree. Birkerts pointed out that years ago, he and his friend co-managed a used and rare book store in Ann, Arbor Michigan.  One day they received a call from an English professor that was not much older than them, and said he was “selling everything,” meaning his entire collection of books. The professor had a remarkable collection of wall to wall books, and sold the collection to them for hardly anything. Both Birkerts and his partner were very curious to why this man wanted to get rid of such as collection.  They soon found out that he was switching his life style.  The professor was leaving books behind and stepping into the electronic future with the help of one device, a computer. Birkerts later quotes that, “A change is upon us-nothing could be clearer…The shift is happening throughout our culture, away from patterns and exhibits of the printed page and towards a new world distinguished by its reliance on electronic communications.” This is a very valid statement about society moving towards an electronic culture.  Moreover, I believe we cannot abandon or forget about the purpose as well as the importance traditional ways of life before the technology “boom.”  I am not in any way trying to “dis” technology; for I would be the first to admit I am a techno geek. However, I do think that as a society, we relay too much on something that does have many flaws.  Take for example the computer. Much of society has their “life” on their computer/laptop.   Yet in a second a computer could crash and one’s stress level would be astronomical. 

            You may be wondering why the title of my paper is called FML.  If you do not know what this acronym, I am sorry; you need to “get in on” the texting abbreviations. The term is used when one is having a really bad day.  But I can even say F-M-L is NOT only used when texting. The acronym has become very popular.  I can say with confidence that I hear someone say FML at least three times a day.  Ironically, this just goes to show how abbreviating words to make texting easier has carried on to everyday English.

Today I had a very FML kind of day.  I can say that I wrote this very Glog about two days ago on a totally different topic. However, I foolishly did not post it to Compost and instead saved it to my computer.  I told myself I will read over the day before it was due and send it in.  As one can see I am posting this at 2:40 in the morning due to the fact my computer crashed and I had to re-do this assignment.  I couldn’t believe that the one tool I own which I 100% trusted died on me. Not only did my computer die, so did my pictures, addresses, saved assignments (not to mention a study guide I had just completed for economics that took me hours) music, videos ext. I looked to my computer to make my life a hell of a lot easier, and over the last couple of hours my computer has reversed the favor-making my life living hell. Technology is in no way shape or form perfect.   Thanks computer or should I say technology.     

Blog

Chelsea Simpson

April 3, 2009

Media not Perfect but is Patchwork Girl

Shelley Jackson hypertext titled Patchwork Girl could be looked at as a modern day sequel to the novel Frankenstein. Before I could even start reading Patchwork Girl, I began the process of trying to figure out how to download this software onto my computer, which for someone who is not a computer person is very hard. It was frustrating when I couldn’t figure out how to open it onto my computer after having already spent so much time into it. I finally gave up with trying to upload the software to my computer and used my roommates computer instead. With that said, because I was so aggravated I think that I went in to the reading with already having a negative perspective on the media.

When I finally opened up the reading, I found myself at what looks to be the title page, which was a female body. On this page one can decide what to read by clicking the different sections or chapters. I at first found myself fighting this media and not enjoying what I was reading but instead getting very frustrated. I was very overwhelmed and lost on how to go about reading this story because it is an electronic media and I have never read anything like this before. I am one that likes structure as well as having a set number of pages to read with a beginning and end to a novel. Patchwork girl is quit the opposite of a text that has “order.” As I began to read the experts, I started to somewhat understand what was going on. Patchwork Girl is a monster like Frankenstein who Shelley created so that Frankenstein would have a companion. For the first 10-15 minutes I didn’t really focus that much on reading per say, instead trying to figure out where I wanted to start reading. I still found myself fighting this media and not enjoying it; however, once I clicked on “the graveyard” section I started reading with a different mind set. I told myself I am not reading to get to a certain destination, rather I am just going to read and see where I end up. Once I did this I started having fun with it and actually started to enjoy what I was reading. In this section the reader is informed about the where the Patchwork Girl’s body parts came from as well as background information.

I really enjoyed being able to click on the name of a body part and be able to find where that body part came from. One thing that caught my eye is a first one may think that that Patchwork Girl has perfect body parts or finding something positive about each one. For example, Jackson quotes that the Patchwork Girls liver being, “[my liver is] modest, effect, shapely, and affectionate.” The reader later find out that her finger is from that of a robber, which shows that perfection in a sense is impossible. Ironically, I later found a quote on perfection which sates “The human, more than human resurrected body is a body restored to wholeness and perfection, even to a perfection it never achieved its original state.” I thought it was interesting perfection came up because as I was reading I was think the patchwork Girl is “perfect.”

All in all after reading I began to like how I could choose what I wanted to read or where I wanted to go. I really did enjoy the graveyard section. Unlike the novel Frankenstein, I like how you found out who body parts where used to assemble the Patchwork Girl. As I read I was thinking in my head, this “monster” seems perfect. After every body part the Patchwork Girl tells a positive of the body part; for example, when she sated “[my liver is] modest, effect, shapely, and affectionate.” After reading more I saw that her finger came from a robber which I found to be like a “curve ball,” in the midst of all these perfect body parts. Later on I read I section on perfection. I thought that this was very ironic because I was thinking about that very topic as I was reading the graveyard.

Therefore, I am still not a total fan of “Patchwork Girl” but it is growing on me. If I had to ask Jackson any questions I would ask her how she came up with the set up for her media. When looking at some of the sections I almost see a body, and I wonder if she did that intentionally or not. When looking at the lines connecting the boxes I think of veins which could be an effective way to engage the reader and get them in the mind frame of the Patchwork Girl.

Blog 3/20/2009

Writing Machines

‘Technotexts’ and Electronic Literature

After reading the first chapters of Writing Machines by Katherine Hayles, one may notice that the title is very well suited for this book. Katherine Hayles suggests that, “[the] physical form of a piece of writing does have an effect on the words and how the reader interprets them.” In chapter two, of writing machines Hayles refers to a term she uses called ‘techno texts.’ which is an example of such works. She explained ‘technotext’ to be “when literary work interrogates the inscription technology that produces it, it mobilizes reflexive loops between its imaginative world and the material apparatus embodying the creation of physical presence.” In other words, ‘technotexts’ is a piece of literature that connects the technology that produces texts to the text’s verbal construction. Hayles also explains that technotexts could be classified as a hypertext. Hypertext can be either print or electronic media. The three major characteristics of hypertext are multiple reading paths, chunked text, and lastly a linking mechanism. Electronic literature therefore can relate to this term of hypertext and is also brought up in Hayles writing. Hypertext does not have to be electronic. An encyclopedia has linking pathways and many different reading paths.

The first part of the article describes the way a person reads a work of literature. A person may have a different experience reading the same work if the work is read on a computer instead of on a piece of paper. Something about reading a work on a machine creates a different experience for the reader. The second part of the article discusses technotexts and hypertext. Hypertext has been around for a while in printed works. The internet and computer mediums make hypertext a more efficient and useful tool. Instead of having to print and waste a ton of paper, hypertext electronically is one click and a person is done. The internet has made hypertexting much more effective. Hypertexting has changed the way people read just by being able to jump to another story or link quickly. This may make some one wonder if hypertexting is a good thing on the internet. It seems to be helpful, but it could also waste time? The answer is that hypertexting can be distracting, but when used correctly is a helpful tool that is easier to use thanks to the internet. Links on pages are also usually helpful because they lead you to other information that is pertinent to the specific subject one is studying. Using links or hypertext from a site is quick ad it is effective.

Hypertext is effective. It leads the reader to other sites that are often helpful. It is confusing how reflective loops between the material world and the imaginative world are linked, creating a physical presence. It is also confusing as to which physical medium of literature is more effective for the reader. There are benefits to reading something off the internet, while there are also benefits to reading something from a paper medium. Finally, how can we truly know the effect of the physical form of literature on our brains?

BLOG 3

Throughout the coarse of chapters five through fifteen, various events have transpired. In chapter five, Victors creation of has come to life. Victor begins to realize that he has created a monster. At the end of the chapter Victor becomes ill, and Henry helps nurse him back to health. Henry Clerval suggests that Victor should write to his family. In chapter six, Victor receives a letter from Elizabeth about his family and a new character Justine is introduced. Elisabeth asks Victor to come back home. Victor eventually writes back to his family and says that his health was restored and he was thinking about coming home. The main event that occurred in chapter seven was that William, Victors brother, died. Victor decides to go home. He begins to think that the monster which he himself created killed William. Victor then speaks with Ernest and soon after Justine is accused of murdering William. Victor thinks that he can prove that Justine is not guilty of the murder. In the next chapter, Justine’s trial starts. There was a lot of evidence that pointed Justine to the murder. When Justine dies at the end of the chapter, Victor feels extremely guilty for what has happened to not only Justine but William as well. In chapter nine, Victor feels that the monster he created will do much more evil. Elizabeth becomes very depressed and feels like there is nothing left to live for. Towards the end of the chapter Victor talks about his trip to Chamounix and the feeling he had then is the same as he feels now. Chapter ten begins with Victors being much happier. His spirits are uplifted when he spent the day roaming through the valley (in Arverion) and sees the beautiful setting. The monster then reappears and asks for Victors friendship. The monster begins to tell his story and Victors agrees to listen. After reading chapter eleven the monster starts to tell his story from his perspective. The monster begins talking about a day when he got very hungry and felt alone in the forest. He decided to leave the forest and the monster went to a nearby community to find food. When he goes into the community the townies are frightened and scared. He looks for shelter and finds a place to rest by a cottage. He can see a family, that consists of an older and younger man as well as a young girl, when peaking out of his shelter. He realizes that words and letters are used as a form of communication. In chapter twelve, he becomes aware that the family is unhappy and he doesn’t understand why. The monster quotes “If such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being should be wretched…What did the tears imply, Did they really express pain?” The monster suggests that the family is sad because they are impoverished. The monster begins to learn and apply words such as Agatha, Felix, brother and son. After that, the old man that lives in the cottage tries to lift the spirits of the children. The monster is determined to learn how to communicate and his goal is to try and help the family; and the Spring time soon arrives. In the beginning of chapter thirteen, a lady on horseback dressed in a dark suit, and covered with a thick black veil arrives to the cottage. The lady’s name is later reveled as Safie. The monster notices that she doesn’t speak, however learns the language very quickly. He begins to notice that he is not the same as the cottagers and starts to wonder about himself. In chapter fourteen, the reader learns about De Lacey and the trail. Safie’s father got in trouble with the government and Felix created a plan for him to escape. They plan that they had devised did not work and the cottagers were sent to jail. They lost all there fortunes and they were sent to Germany. Safie found out were her lover lives and she went out to try and find him. The last chapter I read was chapter fifteen, In this chapter the monster finds books that he is very intrigued by them and compares his life to the books. The monster then finds all of Victors journals. At one point the quoted that, “ the more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim there protection and kindness ; my hearts yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creature…” In this quote the monster was talking about the cottagers and he desperately wants to be loved and accepted by them. He finally gets up the courage to go speak with De Lacey. The monster enter the house an tells De Lacey that he is has no friends.

After reading up to chapter fifteen in Frankenstein, I begin to see a pattern that Shelly uses different narratives as a key component in her story. She uses different perspectives so the reader can find key facts and begin to understand the different personalities from the different characters. Also, each narration helps the reader to find out important facts that only the narrator knows. In the beginning of the book, letters are introduced by an explorer by the name of R. Walton. The letters were of great significance because they are setting up the narration of this novel from this stranger’s perspective. The narration switches to Victor in the beginning chapter. With Victors narration the reader begins to see Victor personality come out. It seems to me that he was obsessed with his work (creating this monster), studies as well as having a very crazy mind. He also talks very down upon the monster which he created. At the very end of chapter ten the narration switches from Victor to the monster; the monster wants to tell Victor his tale and Victor agrees. After reading the first couple chapters of the monsters narration, I begin to understand why Shelly put the monsters narration in as a key component of this story within a story. The purpose of him narrating is so the reader can be informed about the true personality of the monster and to see that maybe he’s not such a monster after all. I picked out two quotes from the chapters which the monster was narrating. These quotes made me feel like he was actually not such a bad monster. Although some of the monsters actions may not have been appropriate, as a reader, I could start to understand why he did the things he did. The first quote that I picked out was “if such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being should be wretched…” I picked out this quote because at this point in the reading I feel like this monster does have emotion. Before this quote the monster was talking about how the cottagers were not entirely happy. The monsters personality begins to come through and the reader starts to see that the image that Victor established about the monster is not so accurate. The second quotes was “ the more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim there protection and kindness ; my hearts yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creature…” This quote stood out to me because, again the monster shows he does have emotion. The monster is very lonely and he wants to be loved so desperately. I almost cried when I was reading because the word choice Shelly used made me feel so sad and really feel bad for the monster and sympathize for him. Shelly used very descriptive words to catch the readers attention

Although I am starting to have a better understanding of Shelly’s writing style, I do have one question regarding the chapters I read. The only question I would ask would be is why Victors dream, which is assumed to be foreshadowing, let the reader know to much of what is to come ahead. I feel that I know exactly what is going to happen and not a general thought. I wish that the dream didn’t reveal as much as it did. I would ask Shelly is there a specific reason on why she did that? I think in this case the foreshowing was not as effective as it could have been.