From Text to Tech: Theorizing Changing Experimental Narrative Structures

It is my objective with this thesis to examine the relation between form and content in the experimental post-modern American text. I seek to redefine our understanding of what it means to be an “author,” as well as a “reader.” In doing so, my project offers a space to begin bridging traditional and experimental scholarship to suggest a coexistence between print and digital forms. Through a progression of the mediums, I analyze how different narratives challenge the boundaries of their form. The texts on which I focus are House of Leaves by Mark Danieleski, the enhanced ebook version of The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Danieleski (with a brief consideration of Tender Claws’ Pry), and Ken Levine’s BioShock Infinite. With each text, I break down how the specific medium strategically facilitates or disrupts the reading process, and how it lends itself to examining the narrative’s chosen thematic elements. I also examine reader interpretation, for which I have drawn from fan forums, media outlets, and social media surveys I conducted. Although these works are labeled as experimental, their incorporation of modern innovations ultimately blend with traditional modes of storytelling. Literature scholarship has largely focused on the parameters of what a novel is, as well as how print text has changed over time. However, as creators seek to utilize other mediums to convey their narratives, the question of the specific means of transferring the information to the reader should be called into question.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Ortega, Alejandra Marie

• bioshock infinite

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/57184

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/57184