Telescopic Text by Joe Davis _ Mandy

I chose "Telescopic Text" by Joe Davis. The first thing I thought was how clever! :) I don't think I've seen anything like this specifically before and maybe now that I've been had literary theory on the brain I can really appreciate what this interactive narrative does (at least that's the genre I think it is... no mentioned anywhere on wikipedia... someone should probably add that...). I like it because it's so simple and yet clearly demonstrates what narrative is... just an expansion on a simple act like making tea shows how much goes on during that process, or at least how much can go on. All he did was make some tea. Big deal right? But with each click you get more of the story, and the clicking is fun! It's like cracking open oysters... sometimes one contains a pearl of funny of thought. Kind of like Easter eggs on a website, you are suprised when you find one and that makes it even more fun to keep looking for more.

This wasn't about the text; so I guess a perfect structuralist essay? Like I said, so what, he made tea. But it was the interactive element and the sometimes funny sentences that would expand that made it... unique, creative, novel. So, there aren't any strong images, metaphores etc, except for the fact the reader is aware that making a cup of tea is mundane, reading "I made a cup of tea" is mundane, but adding interactivity and expanding upone the event makes the text do something much more, gets a bigger response and engagues the reader. I think it makes a point clearly, adding anything else, like image in an attempt to improve it... well maybe but initially think it's good as is.

Now, lets say someone not so into literary theory OR interactive narratives... or reading online for that matter encountered this text. I think they'd be confused as to what to do ... wouldn't know that the gray boxes are clickable and they wouldn't possibly get the idea, or get them thinking about narrative structure.