I had a thought toward the end of class about the style of the book and the strange things Ryman included in the book. I see the book as broken up into three parts so far. In the first part, Ryman introduced Air which was strange but, I think, a reasonable thing for this type of book. In the second part, things go nuts with Mae's stomach baby and a talking dog. The third part that we read for today was like the beginning with nothing completely unfathomable happening.
Part of the change has to do with setting. The first and third parts take place in Mae's village and the second part mainly takes place in a different town and in the lab. Regardless of how realistic everything is, I think the changes are meant to suggest something about how people in different positions vary in their use of the technologies that become available to them. Mae and some of the villagers are using Air for business and to preserve the history of the Eloi. The government and Mr. Tunch's goals are much more questionable and bizarre.
-Rolando
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Rolando, when i got into into the middle of the book it was very interesting and was really into what would happen next. But where we are at now in the book, it seems that we are in a standstill, where it seems that it is ignoring what was brought up in the beginning of the book.This maybe caused by Mae trying to move on and mentions little of the past. But yes, the book seems to be divided in a strange manner but maybe there is a reason because Alenda Chang said the ending is crazy!
ReplyDeleteThe end is pretty crazy, I have to say, but we'll have to wait until Monday to discuss it.
ReplyDeleteRolando, I like this idea of a three-part structure. If the book were a music composition, I'd say it was something like: A --> B --> A' (A with a twist). I also think you've hit on something with the comment: "I think the changes are meant to suggest something about how people in different positions vary in their use of the technologies that become available to them." However, are we back to the argument that technology is only as good or bad as the people that use it? What would McLuhan say?