2 Matching Annotations
  1. Jan 2017
    1. And what of narrative flow? There is still movement, but in hyperspace's dimensionless infinity, it is more like endless expansion ; it runs the risk of being so distended and slackly driven as to lose its centripetal force, to give way to a kind of static low-charged lyricism -- that dreamy gravityless lost-in-space feeling of the early sci-fi films. How does one resolve the conflict between the reader's desire for coherence and closure and the text's desire for continuance, its fear of death? Indeed, what is closure in such an environment? If everything is middle, how do you know when you are done, either as reader or writer? If the author is free to take a story anywhere at any time and in as many directions as she or he wishes, does that not become the obligation to do so?

      When people enter the age of hypertext, there are much more possibilities in the content. It is interesting to think about the ending of a hypertext story online. When should the author stop writing the story? Or simply where to stop it? Many online authors update their stories weekly, and thus between each updates, there emerges lots of interaction between the authors and their audiences. Normally, the reader’s comments in the previous chapter could have some impact on the content in next chapter. The comment could inspire the author to think differently to some extent, and the desire from the author always drives the author to write more. Here, Coover raises an interesting question: Who is the real author here?

    1. “That is all Utopia,” cried John Pool, the humorist. “The animals, my dear Pollock, will not follow your chemical programme, but will continue to devour one another according to the mysterious laws of creation. The fly will always be the vulture of the microbe, the most harmless bird the eagle of the fly; the wolf will keep on presenting himself with legs of lamb, and the peaceful sheep will continue, as in the past, to be ‘the tiger of the grass.’ Let us follow the general law, and while awaiting our turn to be devoured, let us devour.”

      This passage attracted me attention because the entire story is a list of prophecies, but here it talks about the law of natural. It suggests that we should just follow the law and see what will happen. “The wolf will keep on presenting himself with legs of lamb.” On one hand, it means a bunch of new inventions will emerge and take up the old stuff, but on the other hand, it could also mean that the old basis is always there, because the wolf is still eating the lamb. Personally, I interpret it as that certain things/patterns would retains among the rapid change. The world wouldn’t be Utopia, which has the hidden connotation that the fantastic inventions may substitute many old stuff, but the “advanced” technology would not take up the entire world. People are moving forward, but sometimes they still look back, looking for basis. For instance, after digital camera has prevailed the society for decades, the old film camera again caught people’s attention. Many contemporary photographer has started reentering the dark room and developing films. Here is the law of natural that we have no power to control. The insertion of this paragraph shows a more rational point of view from John Pool. This view stands out among a series of provocative inventions, it forces people to think differently, and makes the story more readable.