About

This blog was developed for my electronic literacy class, and is used to explore the principles discussed in the various texts we have read throughout the semester. Through my posts I will attempt to connect the different texts to create an overarching concept that applies to electronic and print literature. I think it is always important to look at how literature can be interpreted in different ways, and to attempt to find out how the structure of literature can influence interpretation. This blog is my attempt to connect print and electronic literature in a way that shows how the concepts of Calvino can be applied to any type of literature.

I believe in learning through doing, and this is my chance to learn about different forms of technology use in the classroom by using it myself. I hope to be able to use this knowledge and incorporate it into my own classroom. Using technology and literature together can make reading a more entertaining experience for all involved. My goal as a teacher is to get students motivated to read, and to get them to make their own judgments about a text.

Learning

Creating a learning screen is something that I have never done before, but I feel that it is a very effective way of gaining a higher understanding of a subject like electronic literature. I think that the learning screen is perfect for a topic like this because it directly involves the component of technology, which is absolutely essential for electronic literature. The learning screen also makes it easy to use images alongside text. Images can often express ideas much better than words, and finding images online and linking them to a blog or website is much easier than incorporating images into a formal research paper. The experience of creating a learning screen is also beneficial for revising, as it can be edited at any time. This allows the student to go back and make changes without having to completely revise a paper and reprint it. The changes are made immediately, and can be seen by people all around the world.

I have written many research papers, and I am very familiar with that format. It was difficult for me to get into the groove of creating a learning screen, but once I figured it out there were no major problems. This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of using technology in the classroom to add variety and to help students learn in a way that suits them. Many students may have a lot of trouble writing a formal research paper, but they may be able to post online more efficiently than their teacher. Finding a student's strength area and using it to benefit them makes learning more fun and engaging. A learning screen allows a student to put some of their personality behind their work, as there are many different blog layouts and settings that make each blog or webpage unique. The creative aspect of the research paper is still present, but the form is more flexible and allows for even more creativity. I think that while a research paper is still a good way to explore a subject, learning screens enable a new way of thinking about and presenting information that can be useful when talking about a subject that is harder to pin down. This experience has opened my eyes to the world of technology in the classroom, and I plan on using some of what we have learned this semester in my own classroom.

Aesthetics

For my visualization of Haroun and the Sea of Stories I have chosen an image of colored water. I chose this image because I felt that it fit in well with the overall message of the story. When I thought about the main point of the story, I kept coming back to the importance of the ocean to storytelling, and how all of the people in the novel worked together to stop Khattam-Shud from destroying the ocean. All of the characters in the novel are extremely different from one another, but they are willing to work together to save their world from destruction. This made me think of how different colors can blend together to make something beautiful. I think that this image reflects the diversity present in the story, as well as the importance of the ocean, which is the most important place in the story. Without the storytelling waters, there will be no stories to tell, which would change the world forever, and make it a much more negative place. I also chose this image of water because it has a mystical quality to it. If you look at the image long enough, you begin to question whether or not it is really water at all, or something completely different. This represents the different worlds present in the novel, and how Haroun and his father are able to go in between them. I think that for such a complex novel, there needs to be a complex representation that is also simple at the same time. This picture is so complex because of the different colors of the water and how the light plays off of them, but at the same time it is extremely simple. Water is one of the most basic elements of life, and without it no one could survive. The storytelling waters are absolutely essential to Haroun's world, which is why I think this image works perfectly.

When I chose to use Haroun and the Sea of Stories as my book for this project, I did so because of the different ways it related to the principles discussed in Calvino's memos. I think the book relates to the principle of lightness in the way that the book reads. The language is simple and light, which makes the overall story seem light as well. The story is also happy, even when the situations the characters are in become dangerous. This overall happiness helps create a light atmosphere when reading the story. I feel that the principle of quickness is found in the novel in the way that the story is delivered. There are no points in the story where the plot lags to explain places or events in great detail. This keeps the story moving quickly, and makes the point of the story more evident. There is also a rhythmic feeling to the story, which is a trait that Calvino identified with the principle of quickness. Calvino's third principle of exactitude can be seen in the novel by the way that it is constructed. The novel takes the reader on a journey, and is planned out into the structure of a story that a storyteller might tell to an audience. The images used in the story are also clear and memorable, which helps pull the reader into the story. Visibility is the principle that I found the most important to the novel. The images used in the story are very creative, and make the reader wonder where they came from. The fact that the images are created by combining real people and places with the imagination of the author makes the story extremely complex. This requires the reader to dig deep to find the true meaning of all the images in the text. The complex images in the text also tie in with the multiplicity of the text. By pulling in different images and contexts, Rushdie created a novel that works as a sort of hyper-novel.

Online

When looking for online representations of Haroun and the Sea of Stories I noticed that the only sites I could find were ones trying to sell the text. While sites like Amazon give some information and reviews about the text, there is little information that can help make the book more interesting for the reader. There are also a few websites that have notes on the book, but they are more for college students trying to avoid reading the book, instead of an electronic version of the text. Salman Rushdie has several pages on publisher websites, but there is nothing that shows a digital representation of the text.

I think that this text needs a much better online reference point for readers. There is currently nothing that shows how this book can be interpreted into a piece of electronic literature. By creating a website that incorporates the text with images, sounds, and other effects, the text could become more interactive and entertaining for the reader. Rushdie's book is already very interesting to read, but reluctant readers may still be unwilling to read a book if it is nothing but blocks of text on a page. Having an electronic representation of this text would make it easier for reluctant readers to become interested in the story, and would help the book reach a larger audience. Rushdie has published his book in many different languages, and it would be much easier to have some sort of translation tool on a web version of the text instead of having to find a copy of the book in a different language.

I think that the piece "The Jew's Daughter" is a great example of how Haroun and the Sea of Stories can be converted into a piece of electronic literature. While reading, the story seems to gradually evolve, which matches well with the way each click causes the text to change in "The Jew's Daughter." I also think that, while it is somewhat simplistic, the online version of Briar Rose is a good example of how this text could be adapted for internet use. A series of images could be created to represent the different characters and places in the book, which would help make the story come to life for the reader. While there is not an online representation of this work at this time, I hope that in the near future there is a way to make the book more accessible and more interesting for readers all over the world.

Context

For the second portion of my project I have selected the book Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. This book is about a young boy named Haroun Khalifa who is the son of a storyteller. His father can no longer tell stories the way he used to, which leads to Haroun trying to find out why this change has occurred. This leads Haroun on an adventure into a strange world that revolves around the telling of stories. The land is in danger of being destroyed by Khattam-Shud, who wants to destroy the Ocean of the Streams of Story. This is where all of the stories come from, and the world could not exist in the same way without them. Haroun and his new friends work together to defeat Khattam-Shud and save the ocean from destruction.

I chose this book because I felt like it would fit well into the world of electronic literature. This book is unlike anything I have ever read, and it entices and confuses the reader at the same time. This is what I think electronic literature is meant for, because using technology allows for greater understanding of a text that would normally be difficult to read. The text itself isn't difficult, but the underlying messages and the strange words make it harder to read than a standard novel. Rushdie packs the novel full of references to real life events, but this can go unnoticed by the reader if they are not watching for such references. I read this book while taking a class in world literature, and my professor did a good job of explaining all of the references embedded in the story. While the text was entertaining in and of itself, I enjoyed it much more when I understood what the real life places and events hinted at in the story were.

I think this book is a great example of how the different memos presented by Calvino can be incorporated into literature. Rushdie uses different techniques of delivery than other writers, and is able to hold the attention of the reader. This book is the only one I could think of that can relate to each one of Calvino's memos in some way. The book's close resemblance to Calvino's memos, the ease with which it could be incorporated into electronic literature, and the personal connections that I made with the book are all reasons why I chose this book for the second half of my project.

Multiplicity

In his discussion of multiplicity, Calvino looks into the idea of the contemporary novel as an encyclopedia. There are many texts that attempt to include information from other sources, but many of them try to create a closed cycle when doing so. Calvino discusses the importance of keeping this cycle open so different information can be added to make the works more useful. In the past, encyclopedias have attempted to contain all of the information possible on a specific subject. Calvino shows that it is much more effective to keep the cycle open. It is important to include information from outside a specific work because this causes the work to be more effective at informing the reader.

Calvino likes the idea of links between different works, and I strongly agree with him. I think that by linking to different texts we can create a web of information that allows the reader to learn more information on a subject if they desire to do so. It is frustrating to read something and have no idea where to go to find out more information. I look at the concept of multiplicity as a sort of puzzle, because different sources are fit together like the pieces of a puzzle to create a work that is different. This is why I chose an image of puzzle pieces to represent multiplicity. The image has four puzzle pieces fitting together to create a whole. This is similar to the way that information compiled from different sources fits together in a work and makes it complete. I think that the way the puzzle pieces are all similar colors while still being distinct represents the way that the compiled information is different in many ways, but it still has something in common with the rest of the work.

Due to our contact with the world around us we are all connected, so it is important to apply this idea to literature as well. While trying to think of an example of literature that represents multiplicity, I had a hard time thinking of something. One book that stood out in my mind was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I think that this book does a good job of including references to other works and information to make the reader understand what is going on in the story. There are many times in the book where the characters mention something that would be common knowledge to someone of the same time period, but the reader today may not be familiar with it. The footnotes in the book help to make it accessible to readers of any time, and help add more depth to the story. This reminds me of the puzzle, because all of the pieces fit together to help the reader gain a better understanding of the text.

Visibility

Calvino focuses on the role of images in literature when he talks about the principle of visibility. He mentions that it is important to ponder where images come from. Calvino focuses on how the imagination creates images based on other images that people have been in contact with, but these new images can sometimes seem strange in their origins. How do we know where an image created in our imaginations comes from? Calvino also asks whether images are individual, or if they come from a sort of world soul. This idea is interesting to me because I have never really thought about where the images that I create in my imagination come from. There has to be some sort of influence that causes people to combine different images into something new, but it is impossible to be certain where these images come from.

The image that Calvino uses to represent this concept is the idea of images and the imagination as an iceberg. I have chosen an image of an iceberg to represent this principle because while we can see the image above the surface, there are many influences underneath that created the image. This is like the part of the iceberg that is below water. The iceberg is much larger than it appears to be on the surface. The images that we see are much more complex than they first appear. There are countless outside influences that cause the images to be created. If we want to understand what is beneath the iceberg, we have to go under water to find out. I think this is similar to the way that we have to concentrate on where images come from to try to gain an understanding of out own thought processes. It is impossible to simply look at an image and see where it came from, just like it is impossible to look at an iceberg above the water and see how large it is underneath.

I have no specific example of literature that supports this principle, but there are many works that begin from the end of the story and then go back to fill in all of the information that has happened in the past. I think that this represents this principle well, because there is no way that the reader would understand what had happened to the characters in the story without reading the rest of the story. By learning the previous information, the reader also gains a better understanding of the feelings that characters may have, and may understand why the characters reacted in the ways they did.

Exactitude

When Calvino discussed the principle of exactitude in his text, he focused on the need for a plan when creating a text. It is important to know where you are going with a concept, because it prevents the writer from getting off topic. Exactitude represents the importance of being clear and precise in a text. If a writer is not careful about being exact in his or her arguments, they may lessen the effect that their words have on the reader. Calvino also stressed the importance of using concrete images that would be memorable for the reader to catch their attention and hold onto it.

It is easy as a writer to become sidetracked and end up writing something completely different than you had originally planned. Doing this makes the finished work less effective. Having a plan and sticking to it allows the writer to develop his or her ideas within a set of guidelines. I felt that this was the most important point that Calvino made about exactitude. There are many works of literature out there that seem to jump all over the place, which makes them very hard to read and understand. It is nice to open a book and be able to follow the story without having to turn back to the previous chapter to understand how the chapters are connected. I chose an image of a man deciding which direction to take to represent the principle of exactitude. I think it represents the importance of making a choice about how to approach writing and sticking with your original plan.The man in the image needs to make a choice in which direction to take, which is similar to the way that a writer needs to make a choice about what path they want to take in their writing before they can truly begin writing.

When thinking about an example for this principle, I kept thinking about the book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This book takes the path of telling the story of America's first serial killer and sticks to it. There is a lot of information about the other events taking place at the time, but Larson never deviates from his original purpose. He is able to include other information to prove his point, but he is precise in what he includes. This precision makes the book easier and more enjoyable to read because it allows the reader to simply read, while other works may require the reader to sift through information to decide what is essential for understanding the overall concept. I'm sure there are works that demonstrate this principle much better, but this is the one book that stuck out in my mind.

Quickness

Quickness was one of Calvino’s principles that I connected with the most. He talks about how important it is to be economical in the way that information is presented to the reader. I have read many books that go on for pages on a subject that could have been addressed in one paragraph. I don’t think this adds anything to the story, but in most cases causes the reader to become bored and unwilling to finish the text. Calvino stresses in his book that it is important to look at the situation when deciding on appropriate means of expression. There are times when lingering on a subject for a long period of time may be a good idea, but at other times it is more appropriate to use speed in a narrative.

The rhythm of a story is extremely important because it influences the way that the reader interprets the text. By focusing on the principle of quickness we can better understand how getting to the point can make it much easier for the reader to understand a text. It is certainly easier to read a paragraph that gives you all of the information you need while keeping you entertained, as opposed to reading four pages to get the same amount of information. I have chosen an image of an arrow hitting the center of a target to represent quickness. I think that it shows the importance of getting to the point instead of lingering over unimportant details. Another way that the target can be viewed is by representing the understanding of the reader. If a reader is forced to read through a five page description of one event, they are more likely to miss the message being conveyed, and would not hit the center of the target immediately. Hitting the center of the target can represent the directness of the writer, or the reader achieving the intended understanding of the text.

Avoiding wordiness and intense language can help readers be more interested in literature and understand it better. I was thinking about a piece of literature to represent this principle and settled on a negative example to demonstrate what I understood to be quickness. The novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe was one of the hardest books that I ever had to endure, and one of the main problems I had with it was getting through pages of meaningless description. I think that the book is so full of description that it lessens the impact of the work. If Defoe had been more direct I think that the reader would be able to understand the book much easier. He winds the reader in circles instead of leading them directly to the desired sense of understanding he is trying to get across.

Lightness

One of the main points that Calvino makes when he talks about the importance of lightness in literature is that lightness involves precision and determination. There is no room for being vague when focusing on lightness. The language used in literature that has the quality of lightness seems to be weightless until the meaning actually seems to become weightless as well. Most readers have experienced literature that seems extremely heavy, which can make it harder to understand and enjoy the material. When the language used in a text is lighter the reader can focus more on the message than on interpreting the overlying language.

The image that Calvino used in the text to describe lightness was that one should try to be light like a bird, but not like a feather. When you think about this concept it becomes easier to understand what Calvino is trying to convey. A feather has no way to control what it does, but a bird is light enough to fly and defy gravity, but it can also determine its own path. I have selected an image of a bird soaring through the sky to represent lightness. I think that the image shows the importance of precision and focus, as well as showing how thought is involved. The bird is not merely floating through the air, but is controlling its movements. I also thought that the sky in the background helped to demonstrate the concept of lightness, because the bird is soaring through the air instead of sitting on a branch. The bird is floating through the air as well as going in a specific direction, which is what I felt that Calvino was encouraging when he talked about lightness.

The same concept can be applied to literature. I think that the area of literature that uses lightness the most is poetry. There are many poets that use light language to evoke a light happy feeling in the reader. I think that it is much easier to do this in poetry than it is in a longer work. Many poems not only read in a way that seems light, but they also appear more sparse and direct than other works. This adds to the overall feeling of lightness in poetry. There are certainly many poems that appear very heavy in nature, but I think that there are more that apply to the principle of lightness than those that rely on heaviness.