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(lost in stitched-up fragments)
Books are meant to be read in a linear type of fashion—and not just novels or short story anthologies, but any type of book out there in existence. One can always expect books to follow a straightforward structure comprised with three main components: a beginning, middle, and end. Any sort of deviation from this universally accepted format is considered unorthodox, and Shelley Jackson, in her hypertext titled Patchwork Girl, alludes to the fact that some even go as far as to consider these deviations as "hybrids, monsters, with no fixed or repeated morphological outlines" since understanding the story becomes a challenge, and inevitably, meaning is lost (body of text\ mixed up\ bad dreams). This sort of consideration sounds a little extreme, but it has always been hard to swallow changes to tradition, especially traditions that are so deeply engraved in everyday habits and routines. It comes as no surprise, then, that deviations are viewed as abominations, undeserving of the same level of critical analysis that are freely given to traditional texts. Jackson, however, makes use of these deviations to show that the monster of a story that they create—nevermind that it is "cobbled-together of unmatched parts," and "crazy-quilted"—is just as 'whole' and cohesive as traditional texts have always been (body of text\ mixed up\ bad dreams).
What Shelley Jackson posits, even in the midst of her own hypertext, is an argument that persuades the reader to suspend traditions for the sake of appreciating literature in a different way—a kind of thinking outside the box when it comes to enjoying a deviated presentation of the text. Patchwork Girl demands this kind of appreciation due to the very manner in which the text is written, broken up into five major parts that each cover several segments of the literary "[monster]" Jackson has pieced together (body of text\ bodies too). Particularly, in "body of text," Jackson makes use of this section to emphasize the importance of parts—whether body parts, parts of a written language, or parts that make up the entirety of Patchwork Girl—because it is through these parts that Jackson shows the reader that the hypertext is composed of stitched-up fragments, and that each individual fragment, no matter how miniscule, is what inevitably paints the complete picture (body of text\ cuts, body of text\ dotted line, body of text\ think me).
Picking up Patchwork Girl and expecting it to flow like any other traditional book is the first misconception everyone is likely to make, since it begins with a picture of a woman littered with dotted lines, presumably the 'cover' of this hypertextual book, followed by a title page with all the necessary credentials, thus giving it some semblance to the traditional way a book is set up. However, the reader is quick to discover that every attempt to read it linearly—either by clicking the arrows or following the storyspace map—leads to a dead-end comprehension of the text at large, because oftentimes these attempts do not go further than a few pages, nor do they lead anywhere at all. Not only that, but trying to recreate the same path one has taken would prove to be unsuccessful and impossible, something that Jackson warns the reader of because "consistency is one thing you cannot really expect of [the text]" (body of text\ blood). Frustration is imminent, thanks to the lack traditional linearity and consistency as aforementioned, but Jackson also reminds the reader that this is "a whole with a kind of haze around the edges," so if one gives up so early on, there is no hope for them to understand the story completely, since it should come as no surprise that, much like with a traditional book that is difficult to follow, one has to actually interact this particular text, struggle with it and against it, in order to see what it is hiding behind its "haze" (body of text\ hazy whole).
Perhaps the single most appropriate line that encompasses the entirety of Patchwork Girl is this: "When I take something apart that once seemed whole, I make an unnerving discovery" (body of text\ cuts). This particular quote is fitting simply because it addresses the issue of fragmentation, which is mainly how the hypertext is structured, and the notion of interacting with the text as entirely separate pieces instead of trying to understand it as a whole. The fact that Patchwork Girl "seem[s] whole" is already indicative of the time-worn habit of applying the traditionalist standards of linearity to the text, when, in actual fact, the hypertext is far from being the "whole" that is being referred to here, but "whole" in the sense of stitched-up fragments (body of text\ cuts). Given the highlighting of parts and the complete improbability of a linear reading, what Jackson wants the reader the focus on is not the frustrations that arise due to the deviations, but rather the notion that it is through these deviations that one can unravel the many mysteries of Patchwork Girl, and also discover a complete redefinition of what makes up a story along the way.
---
It is also because of this that this essay takes on an almost-reverse structure, since it was felt that a traditional one, made up of the very guidelines Jackson's monster is violating, is insufficient with regards to delivering its intended message. A message that amplifies the notion that it is through deviations from the norm that one can unravel the many mysteries of Patchwork Girl, and also discover a complete redefinition of what makes up a story along the way.
----
Particularly, in "body of text," Jackson makes use of this section to emphasize the importance of the parts—whether body parts or parts of written language—that make up a whole, because it is only when one views the text as many stitched-up fragments, instead of painting a complete picture, that a true appreciation and understanding can be formed.
to encourage its readers view the text as many stitched-up fragments rather than as a whole, to appreciate the fragmentation instead of trying to understand
What Shelley Jackson posits, even in the midst of her own hypertext, is an argument that persuades the reader to suspend traditions for the sake of appreciating literature in a different way—a kind of thinking outside the box when it comes to enjoying a deviated presentation of the text. Patchwork Girl demands this kind of appreciation due to the very manner in which the text is written, broken up into five major parts that each cover several segments of the literary "[monster]" Jackson has pieced together (body of text\ bodies too). Particularly, in "body of text," Jackson makes use of this section to emphasize the importance of parts—whether body parts, parts of a written language, or parts that make up the entirety of Patchwork Girl—because it is through these parts that Jackson shows the reader that the hypertext is composed of stitched-up fragments, and that each individual fragment, no matter how miniscule, is what inevitably paints the complete picture (body of text\ cuts, body of text\ dotted line, body of text\ think me).
Picking up Patchwork Girl and expecting it to flow like any other traditional book is the first misconception everyone is likely to make, since it begins with a picture of a woman littered with dotted lines, presumably the 'cover' of this hypertextual book, followed by a title page with all the necessary credentials, thus giving it some semblance to the traditional way a book is set up. However, the reader is quick to discover that every attempt to read it linearly—either by clicking the arrows or following the storyspace map—leads to a dead-end comprehension of the text at large, because oftentimes these attempts do not go further than a few pages, nor do they lead anywhere at all. Not only that, but trying to recreate the same path one has taken would prove to be unsuccessful and impossible, something that Jackson warns the reader of because "consistency is one thing you cannot really expect of [the text]" (body of text\ blood). Frustration is imminent, thanks to the lack traditional linearity and consistency as aforementioned, but Jackson also reminds the reader that this is "a whole with a kind of haze around the edges," so if one gives up so early on, there is no hope for them to understand the story completely, since it should come as no surprise that, much like with a traditional book that is difficult to follow, one has to actually interact this particular text, struggle with it and against it, in order to see what it is hiding behind its "haze" (body of text\ hazy whole).
Perhaps the single most appropriate line that encompasses the entirety of Patchwork Girl is this: "When I take something apart that once seemed whole, I make an unnerving discovery" (body of text\ cuts). This particular quote is fitting simply because it addresses the issue of fragmentation, which is mainly how the hypertext is structured, and the notion of interacting with the text as entirely separate pieces instead of trying to understand it as a whole. The fact that Patchwork Girl "seem[s] whole" is already indicative of the time-worn habit of applying the traditionalist standards of linearity to the text, when, in actual fact, the hypertext is far from being the "whole" that is being referred to here, but "whole" in the sense of stitched-up fragments (body of text\ cuts). Given the highlighting of parts and the complete improbability of a linear reading, what Jackson wants the reader the focus on is not the frustrations that arise due to the deviations, but rather the notion that it is through these deviations that one can unravel the many mysteries of Patchwork Girl, and also discover a complete redefinition of what makes up a story along the way.
---
It is also because of this that this essay takes on an almost-reverse structure, since it was felt that a traditional one, made up of the very guidelines Jackson's monster is violating, is insufficient with regards to delivering its intended message. A message that amplifies the notion that it is through deviations from the norm that one can unravel the many mysteries of Patchwork Girl, and also discover a complete redefinition of what makes up a story along the way.
----
Particularly, in "body of text," Jackson makes use of this section to emphasize the importance of the parts—whether body parts or parts of written language—that make up a whole, because it is only when one views the text as many stitched-up fragments, instead of painting a complete picture, that a true appreciation and understanding can be formed.
to encourage its readers view the text as many stitched-up fragments rather than as a whole, to appreciate the fragmentation instead of trying to understand