Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Blog 5: Reading Patchwork Girl
Discuss your reading so far of Patchwork Girl. Have you ever read a hypertext novel before? Are you having difficulty navigating through the story? Is a coherent narrative unfolding or is it unclear what the plot, characters, setting, themes, etc of the story are? How is reading the hypertext novel similar and/or different from reading a traditional novel? What strategies are you using to work through the unusual format of the story?
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The hypertext novel, Patchwork Girl, is unlike anything I have ever read before. When I loaded the disk into my computer, I was immediately overwhelmed by the layout of the story map. All I could see were lines and more lines leading to what seemed like an endless number of links to click. My first thought was that it would be impossible to read each and every one. Before I began reading, I expected each of the links to tell part of a story in an organized manner, resulting in a coherent plot line. However, the first link I clicked on, entitled “Dreams”, was a paragraph of text that started in mid-sentence and did not give any type of introduction or starting point to the hypertext novel. As I continued exploring, I came across many pictures of broken bodies and dotted lines, and I knew that reading this novel would be an interesting experience. I feel somewhat dissatisfied in that there is no strict way to read Patchwork Girl. I am only used to having a set beginning, middle, and an end of a story, and this certainly does not follow those guidelines. My strategy as of now is pulling up the outline view of the novel, clicking the links in order from top to bottom, and proceeding until the end. My goal is to decipher some type of storyline or message trying to be conveyed, thereby providing me with the satisfaction of comprehending what is being written!
Patchwork Girl is probably the most difficult story I have ever read. The hypertext format of the novel makes it very difficult to navigate through the story in a traditional linear format. Because of it is so difficult to read, I find Patchwork Girl to be a very interesting story. I’ve never had the chance to read a hypertext novel before. It’s reminiscent of some old mystery novels I’ve read where at the end of certain chapters, you could choose to flip to different pages for a different story. However, those novels were still in the form of a book, so they were easier to follow. The actual story of Patchwork Girl is very hard to follow. It’s still unclear exactly what the plot is supposed to be. I’ve only been able to gather that there are two characters so far. There’s a running theme of exploration and discovery. While the one character is exploring the world, the other is discovering what capabilities she has. I’ve been using the images and the map to help navigate the story. I’ve noticed a weak correlation between the images and the text that follows them. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out the plot and its resolution.
Patchwork Girl is my first experience with hypertext novels. So far, navigating through the story has been very difficult to follow. The navigation can be very confusing as there are many different routes to take and really no definitive way to know where you have been in the story and what you have seen. From what I have read, the plot and storyline are very unclear. The only similarity I see in a hypertext novel compared to a written novel is that written text is used on a page. This hypertext novel seems to travel in weird directions and patterns making it very hard to decipher the meaning where a written novel you can just flip the pages and know the order in which the story flows. My strategy when approaching this hypertext is using the map instead of following random links. By using the map I can see a type of pattern to follow as well as keep a mental track of where I have been in the story. It has been hard to adjust reading literature in hypertext form because I have been so accustomed to reading written literature where you just turn the pages of a book and follow the storyline.
I was excited to be reading something in a new format, but I was just as discouraged by the outdated technology; it felt like I was practicing one of those weird educational programs that we used to practice on in elementary school (But this hyper-text is just about that old, no doubt). I was confused about how the program worked, for it was not only text, but included a variety of ways and a few bottom on top that allowed for navigation and other sorts of interactive tools. I particularly liked the comment box, where I was allowed to write what I thought of each certain page, so that I will be able to come back and review any notes and to see how my views of each page might change with accumulation of knowledge. But where to start? I actually started by clicking every letter on the homepage, thinking that there were hidden links, until I learned about the Ctrl button. But as I went on, my navigation was not entirely unlinear; I did not jump from the map of the brain image to her diary. I followed each link and if there were more than one, I’d return to the previous page to click on the alternative route. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to read it completely randomly, or if I’m supposed to follow the slight guide of the author. Based on the path that I’ve gone so far, I’ve been reading sentences that are very very similar in theme: piecing together words and phrases from something that were created before to make a metaphorical quilt. I haven’t read Frankenstein, but my roommate told me that Frankenstein (surprisingly, he’s the scientist, not the monster) creates his monster from pieces, and it seems that this is what Shelley Jackson is doing with other literary works. Now I’m not really sure what this means, but it seems that so far, all of the words are taken from a few sources, primarily The Patchwork Girl of Oz and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I’m not really sure how to think of this as Shelley Jackson’s work. Is she trying to write something herself, will other links show her own words, or is she commenting on what it means to pieces together or patchwork other people’s works?
I find this interesting and educational, but I’d much rather read this in the form of a webpage with links.
Note: The one page that I showed to my roommate, to describe to her what I was reading was the sentence from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that described some character’s yellow eye. Because of that sentence, she tattooed the word ‘yellow’ on her shoulder. I found it interesting that Shelley Jackson is also exploring a new means of writing through her tattoo project called Skin.
Before Patchwork Girl, I had no experience in reading a hypertext novel. It’s very interesting that Jackson was able to create a story that could be read without having specific chapters to follow. From what I have read I can see a plot unfolding about this woman who’s body came from many different people. From her legs to her eyeballs, she is completely composed of different human body parts that all have unique characteristics from the person they once belonged to. So far, I am enjoying reading the hypertext novel; however, I am finding it difficult to read every link. The way the story is organized it is very easy to skip a link since there are so many connected to each link. I am not sure if skipping a link would make a difference or not, but I suppose it would depend which link you skipped and the information it entailed. To make sure I am hitting all the links I am reading once through with the map and then following the “links” icon on each one for a second reading to make sure that I hit every section of the book. In addition to skipping links, some of the texts are really random and start mid-sentence so you don’t really know what is going on. I am hoping that after reading all the links the ones that made no sense while reading will piece back together in the end. All in all I think it’s a cool experience to read a hypertext novel, I just hope the ending is more satisfying than the last two books we have read.
PatchWork Girl is the first hypertext novel I have ever read and will so far be the last because I am finding it rather difficult to read. When I first bought it at the store I figured it would either be like a storybook with a beginning middle and end, or a bunch of pictures with some audio on top. When I loaded the program on to my computer, however, I was surprised to find neither. As I finally made my way to what looked like the framework of this hypertext, I was amazed at how many links were inside the framework and thought it almost impossible to read and comprehend this novel. I find it rather difficult to read something that does not follow some sort of rigid storyline so patchwork girl is proving to be difficult to read. The first link I clicked took me to a picture of a brain cut up into sections with random words inside each section. Upon clicking the brain a paragraph of text shows up in what seems like mid-story with no reference to the beginning or background on the characters that are introduced. I think I will try to continue reading this novel in a fashion that follows the framework, taking one section at a time and trying to put it in a place that resembles a story line.
I’ve never read a hypertext before, and it’s a very interesting use of media. I must admit at the beginning I wondered if the hypertext would include sound, and was horrified at the thought of my computer screaming at me randomly. For the plot so far I can safely say that I’m totally lost. I picked the “journal” to start out with on a whim, and I have successfully jumped from somewhere in this chapter to the one all the way on the left without even knowing. I think so far my favorite slide (pop up?) has been the one titled “angel” that had how to do the slope of a line and ended with ninjas. At times I think the creator of her is the narrating voice. However a few times I thought it was actually her that was the narrator. I think so far the story is about the search of identity for both her and the creator of her. The scattering of the story across these multiple slides symbolizes how patched it is; thus the meaning behind the title is salient. Also, another interesting note I was curious about was if the creator of her is a female or male. I personally thought it was a she at the beginning, but a few times groin was mentioned so it may be a him? So far as well, I cannot place the setting or time frame. I felt the beginning was around the same time as perhaps Turn of the Screw. However, it gets into a very modern time frame with certain mentions of science and technology. It’s different from regular novels because I feel like I jumped in half way in a novel and I still don’t know what gender the creator is or who Percy is. When reading this hypertext, when finished with a slide I randomly click on words. If that doesn’t work, then words that are I think are pretty important. Finally if that doesn’t work, I resort to the old Crtl key trick. My method is pretty random and do not back track until the story forces me to. I suppose this is why I magically ended up in a different chapter.
Before beginning Patchwork Girl, I had never read a hypertext before and I must admit that I am having a hard time with it. So far, the story does not seem coherent and I am not sure whether I am to blame for reading it incorrectly or if it is simply supposed to read in such a way. I often find myself clicking on certain boxes which open up to blank screens and I worry that my computer cannot, for some reason, show me text in all the places I should be reading text. I feel that reading this hypertext novel is very different from reading a regular novel in that it lets the reader, in a way, make up the story for themselves because it is up to the reader to choose what they read and when. It is an interesting concept but I’m finding that it takes some getting used to. I continue to think about one of the first things that I read on the map entitle “this writing”, which expresses the confusion that one is likely to endure in reading or in this case, writing, a hypertext novel. To help me get through the novel with more semblance, I have been following the layout in the box entitled “Outline: body of text”, which I think lays the segments out in a more chronological order than the map does. Overall, I would say that the idea of a hypertext is very interesting and it seems a good tool to promote discussion but, personally, I see myself remaining more attached to the traditional novel.
Patchwork Girl is the first hypertext novel I have ever had the opportunity to read. The only other “alternate” reading experience I have ever had is a Goosebumps novel where you get to choose the plot of the story. I have never enjoyed novels where you have to manage plot or work your way to the ending. I feel the way this novel is laid out is akin to the way a toddler tells a story. Because we have the opportunity to choose where we join into this novel we are presented with no context with which to base a story off of. This novel is based off of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and while I see where the basis for the novel is derived from, the way Patchwork Girl is laid is utterly confusing. All the other novels I have read in my life, whether it be a classic by Dumas or a contemporary horror like The Haunting of Hill House have a definitive start, middle, and end. The confusion of this novel, coupled with the confusion of getting used to the layout of how to read the novel make for quite a challenging read. While I do not like this style of how the story is laid out I do enjoy the fact that it is a challenge to over come and that is what keeps me attempting to read it.
I have never read a hypertext novel before. So Patchwork Girl is my first. I have however read a few online novels but they simply books scanned onto the computer. When I opened Patchwork girl I tried to ignore the manual and just go through the story, but that didn’t work. So I read the manual/help guide hoping that it would give me a clearer understanding of how to navigate the story…it didn’t. After playing with it for a while and clicking around I decided to just use the map to navigate the story. I’m not really liking that there isn’t a set way to navigate through the story. I have tried to read a few parts and it is already confusing but I can necessarily discuss it with anyone because everyone is reading something different. While it is interesting and I’m glad I am learning a new technology, I much prefer books. I can pop out Patchwork Girl on the bus on read it during dull accounting lectures. By the time my computer loads and the box pops up and I figure out where I finished reading last time, I could have read 30 or 40 pages in another novel.
I have never read a hypertext before. I do not particularly care for the Patchwork Girl story for this reason. I am having difficulties navigating since the maps are done differently than was shown in class. The special arrangement of the stories is quite different. The stories I have so far read are little more than blurbs that seem to be written in the moment, as if in a diary of the character’s mind. They are little bits here and there collected into the total story itself. The reflection of the story being made from pieces, is however, a brilliant way to show that the character herself is made up from bits and pieces that don’t seem to fit together, but are made to be a coherent being. So far it is unclear what is happening in the story aside from the fact that her body has been made from pieces of others, taken from graves, to become a whole person. Themes besides being whole and personal identity are not yet apparent to me at this point in the reading. The differences from a traditional novel, in that readers pick where to read from next, is part of what’s making it difficult for me to read this text. Traditional books have a clear order and set flow of ideas, whereas this text does not. It flows depending on the reader’s personality at the time of reading it. To work thru the story I am using the outline map and going down the list and reading the stories as they pop up on the outlined list.
Patchwork Girl is the first hypertext book that I have ever read. From the time I put the disk into my drive, I realized that reading it wasn’t going to be easy. From the organization of the novel to the plot, it all seems very weird. There is no coherent topic that is coming about within the book. Each story seems to jump around to different topics and that makes it harder to come up with a central theme that is apparent in traditional books. There is no reading this book from beginning to end because I’m starting to think that there is no real beginning or end. It’s also different from reading a traditional novel because the pictures seem to tell more of a story than the actual words do. Usually, pictures are the support in book. Because the story is so out of order, and I am the type of person who needs things in order, I am using the map to keep track of what I am reading. I’m thinking that the map will is there not only to help me navigate throughout the story, but also be a means to an end. Meaning that by using it as a guide, I can get some coherence and answers from the story.
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