The Brain Drawing the Bullet-technical and mechanical
7
Tcehnical and mechanical aspects that add to meaning
plain
2017-11-18T10:59:52-08:00
Penelope Jankoski
The story is told by an unstable narrator and the fragmented, unreliable narrative creates an unsettled feeling in the reader. As the story progresses, the reader senses that the editor, who acts as the narrator, is becoming increasingly obsessed with William’s story and becoming more unstable, seen in his letters to “G”. Readers must click through at the end of each day’s column or letter to move the story along, this adds to the disjointed feeling of the narrative, as there is often a lack of continuity between letters from one day to the next. As the letters progress and the narrator’s identity becomes increasingly tied to that of William, readers are able to notice the unreliable aspects of his character and the merging of his identity with that of the shooter. The form “takes advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-alone or networked computer"(Hayles). The work’s effectiveness can partially be accredited to its hypertext fiction nature, as it is dependent on the reader. Although the readers authorial power is low in this story, as there are no alternative paths to take or high reader involvement in the plot, the story is still able to depend on the reader for continuation of the plot throughout the 110-day time frame. Because the reader must click through the story, they control the pace of the story and ultimately if the story ever finished. By placing the power to continue the story in the readers’ hands and only have fragments of text show up at a time, the author is able to empower the reader and culminate a feeling of control and investment in the story that contributes to high reader involvement.
