And further adventures of Scout and Eric - the tunnel made of words?
17 comments:
Naomi
said...
The machine that Microft Ward creates seems like a man-made Ludovician. It seems fit that the machine would want to hunt down the Ludovician to discover how it works to be able to emulate it and copy its system. Machines felt really important in this chapter even more generally. Machines are things that people create to embody a concept. Machines do work that come from a person’s concept. Momentum has also been mentioned a lot in the past few sections. Momentum is velocity times mass, and describes the potentiality of motion. Eric is on a journey, trying to move forward from his continual memory loss by looking at his past. His life depends on the concept of momentum. The shark is also affected by momentum. The concept of his stealing of memories is manifested by a physical motion – momentum. His momentum brings out the momentum of concepts he disrupts as he hunts for Eric’s memories – like the ground coming up because the momentum of all actions past that took place come up.
Again, we have yet another short story within a story. The whole idea of Mycroft Ward, (get it? Microsoft word!), trying to imprint himself into various other bodies is extremely mind-boggling to say the least. It’s a very creative and extended use of the science fiction world of ideas and concepts being full-fledged living organisms seen in Raw Shark Texts. It seems tough to imagine about 1000 brains worth of information stored in this all knowing system that keeps growing and growing exponentially. With 1000 people all connected together via this strange network, that’s literally over 24,000 hours of information and knowledge being gained daily. I find it ironic that the only thing that the system focuses on is improving the system in various aspects. With technology like this, Ward and his 1000 other selves could be working towards a more humanitarian goal such as curing cancer or solving world hunger and probably come up with a solution in a matter of days if not several hours. So far, this whole concept is my favorite part of the novel and I am very interested to see where Hall goes with this one.
As for the rest of the chapter not really much happens besides some dialogue scenes between Scout and Eric. Oh yeah, and I did mention the FREAKING SHARK ATTACK? I don’t know about anyone else, but that whole scene freaked me the hell out, especially that giant up-close illustration that came out of now where. Hall really does some crazy stuff with those illustrations. They make you be a more active reader especially when you take a little over twenty minutes to stop and try and decipher them.
Going back to Eric and scout, their conversation in the library gave me a lot of insight into both of their characters. I noticed that, while they both seem to neglect the outside world for different reasons, Scout is still connected to it by the family that she left behind when Mycroft Ward tried to take control of her. With Eric, he really doesn’t have any connection with anyone or anything outside of his life of fleeing from the shark. Though they seem to bond over the fact that they’re both in the similar situation, Scout seems to miss her old life, at least a little bit. Eric really doesn’t know any other life so he can’t make this connection.
I really enjoyed seeing that Scout's and Eric's relationship grow. Eric's feelings for Scout are the exact same feelings that he had for Clio. He feels like he knows her in some way but knows that she is not Clio though she acts and reacts the same as Clio. What I found strange in this chapter was how part of Mycroft Ward gets into Scout by her computer. When she revealed this to Eric I just suddenly started thinking whether later on in the book she was going to become possessed by this part and betray Eric. They are close to finding Fidorous when they catch a trail of notes. This trail leads them to a pile of notes where underneath there is a chair which has a hole underneath it. It's really cool how the entrance is just a bunch of note covered walls. This is probably to keep Ludovician out if it is after Fidorous confusing it with many thoughts. A reference in this section is Mycroft Ward being Microsoft word. Some Alice in Wonderland references are going down the rabbit hole.
The relationship between Scout and Eric is a huge breath of fresh air in this book. It's so real and it brings so much joy to Eric. It is frustrating that Scout seems to be a lot like Clio, but I think that's also exactly what Eric needs. He doesn't need somebody that's constantly nice to him. The way that Scout challenges him, doesn't always give him what he wants, doesn't tell him what he wants to hear... That's what he needs. He needs authenticity in this world of chaos and as a reader, I feel that's exactly what Scout brings to the table for him.
As far as their adventure into unspace goes, I love it. It's amazing how Hall mixes reality with something so made up, and yet makes the made up aspect of it seem so real. When Eric is in the tunnel of words and he took notice to all the words and thought about how people had to spend all this time creating it, I almost felt a major sadness in him. Almost as if it killed him even more than most times that he built a whole life that he could no longer remember. It was like seeing the words for him brought more pain to the surface than he was originally letting.
Woah! Lots of weird stuff happening here. So not only does Scout have part of this Mycrofts brain inside her head, but there's this vast conspiracy in place to keep this guy alive? Things are starting to get mighty complicated in this tale. I like the idea of a man being able to forestall his death and gain immortality by impressing increasingly divided parts of his mind onto people. The fact that at least recently he's been using the internet to do this by somehow hypnotizing people like Scout I believe may provide another angle on why Eric can't use the internet. I know that he originally couldn't because the shark would supposedly find him, but I can't help but wonder if Mycroft has his fingers into that particular pie more than has been let on. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Scout knows more than she lets on about this scheme of immortality gone wrong. I truly loved the way that the shark attack was introduced in this chapter. It seems to be ripped right out of the scene in Jaws where the sherif is throwing chum in the water, and the shark comes right up next to him, causing him to back into the boat cabin, leading to the famous line, “We're gonna need a bigger boat.” Another topic of interest I believe is the growing relationship between Eric and Scout, or perhaps a remembrance of a forgotten relationship that had already existed. In fact, these snippets of human affection almost mirror those between Eric and Clio, she being the forward and confident one with definite goals in mind, and he being the clueless and slightly goofy one. At this point, I'm almost convincing myself that the part of Mycrofts personality that was imprinted on Scout was somehow part of Clios personality.
I did not enjoy this chapter too much because of Scout's confusing history. I did enjoy the shark attack, the pictures keep the reader engaged. As for the microft ward part, I became pretty confused. I like the idea behind it but its making the story too complicated. I think the fact that Scout misses her old life must make Eric's suffering and confusion even more intense. its like he knows he should be missing his life but cant even remember what he missed. the word tunnel is a very cool idea, and is part of the reason i like this book. the details are so impossible that they make sense.
I liked this reading. First off I would like to point out the Mycroft Ward sounds a lot like Microsoft Word. I found it cool but nonetheless creepy that Mycroft Ward immortalized himself by implanting various parts of him into different people. In the first chapter of this reading we also find out that the “it” or this machine that Ward is making wants the shark. The shark would better help standardize more people into the same-self. I really love the way Hall writes dialogue. Ch. 21, “Erm,” is a small intimate chapter between Scout and Eric. It does not have much excitement but Hall writes the dialogue so well that it engulfs the reader. Oh and by the end Eric and Scout sleep together. : ) I am a sucker for a good romance. My favorite line was: “You’re not going off the bridge,” (212). At the end of the chapter Scout and Eric are attacked by the shark. The only way they were saved was by going into this library. As I read that part I kept thinking, “A library! Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” It felt funny that such a conceptual thing, like the shark, makes sense.
"...a part of me got stolen, i mean, a part of me in here," (pg. 197) Wow thats just too sketch. "The it is deactivated, a mass of information packets, like virus code, but it's there inside my head and there's no way of getting it out." (pg.197) The whole concept of the mycroft ward is just a little too much. Its crazy that people get like cloned and upto date on everything in a matter of short periods. I keep forgetting that this is a book haha . i nearly freaked out when Scout got sucked up by the computer by just taking an IQ test, now im scared to be online or on the internet ...omg this can be a trap noooooo lol haha. >>>>>ERM<<<<<< " Just let go, let yourself sink down with the crabs." (pg.209)damn finally he kissed her it was about time Eric damn eric u should know that when a girl takes her clothes off in front of a guy, it usually means something gosh get upto date yo lol >.< x)... Yay no one is going off the bridge. I like the scene where Scout describes her sister and the shit that went down between them haha lmfao.
So Mycroft Ward=Microsoft word hahahaha! We all knew Microsoft was evil. I like that through out his story Scout kept reiterating that Ward wasn't a bad guy nor were his intentions but they morphed into something evil. It makes me think that no matter what someone's intentions are their actions can easily become evil. Mycroft Ward reminded me of the Borg for Star Trek. Both of them take over people and share collective memory.
Scout's story is so creepy! I really don't want to click on random sites now, not that I really did before but now I really really don't want to. I love that it was her "alcopop-drinking, short-skirt-wearing, hanging-around-Spar type superbrat" (pg. 220), sister saved her from being fully integrated into Mycroft Ward. It was so cute how Scout told Eric that she liked him. I loved when they both said that they weren't going to throw each other off a bridge.
I loved the shark attack scene!!!!! I'm so glad Ian was in his cage for that. I wish that the page with the shark on it had been on the next page so we wouldn't have seen it before reading the preceding page. It's so cool that it actually looks like a shark!
I love that the safest place to be during a conceptual shark attack is in a library! I always knew libraries were inherently good.
The beginning of this reading with the Mycroft Ward story was a little annoying. It really bothered me. I felt like it went on and one when it was really only 10 pages. The one thing I did like, was that I learned more about Scout, and how she was found. I thought it was interesting how she was found through an IQ test online. It reminded me of all the ones that pop up on facebook and such. I really liked chapter 21 for some reason. The title "Erm..." fit it perfectly. I felt bad for Eric when he found out he only has one more day of being a "normal" person. I think I liked it so much because he didn't go into detail about what happened when it happened. He kind of let it hang until the next page.
The overall tone of this section was lighthearted, and Scout and Eric seemed to interact (assuming scout is clio) like they used to before all the sharky memory stuff happened. This was a nice break from the intensity (except for that one small part where Eric was almost eaten by the Ludovician), but it also seems like the calm before the storm.
The story of Mycroft Ward, the story of how "What had once been a single human personality became a vastly intelligent mind-machine focused only on survival, on growing bigger and bigger and bigger with no regard for anything else at all." (pg. 204) reflects the growth and spread of many modern day things, which both benefit the present and harm the future.
Hall's use of stories-within-the-story serves to ground the reader in the world he's created. Including the Lightbulb Fragments functioned in the same way. It might be because we're 200 pages in, but the Mycroft Ward story didn't come across as being fantastical. I accepted its logic and kept reading. There's always going to be a force of good and a force of evil, and Mycroft Ward is just the right impossibly powerful villain for the job. Erm...as for the second half of the reading, Scout and Eric followed the convention for every adventure movie on the road wjth camping--the "I'm cold, let's share a sleeping bag" ploy. This is a proven movie seduction technique. Even Brokeback Mountainhad it. Well played, Scout.
In this reading, I thought that Mycroft Ward was a reference to Microsoft word because it sounded like it. My thought was right because when we discussed it in the classroom; we came up with the same conclusion. The whole story after the chapter had to do with technology and about an intelligent man who came up with this idea that revolutionized the whole technologic era. The guy is mention at the end of the first paragraph on page 204. Then after that whole story, we go back to the lives of Scout and Eric. We find out with what we read that poor Scout had a REAL life before. I thought it was really well explained in the part where Scout and Eric seduce each other. I really got imagery in my head. I could kind of make a movie. For some reason, I don’t know why, I really like the title “A Tetris-Gap of Missing Bricks”. I keep thinking that it’s kind of creepy that he keeps thinking that Scout is Clio. I find it even weirder that he wants to tell her that he thinks she is his ex. That would just kill the moment and probably their relationship. AAAAAAAAHHHHH SHARK!!!!!! The up close illustration was SCARY because I turned the page and literally screamed and fell off my chair…hehehe just kidding. The library again is a place of sanctuary. The shark won’t go because he would be blocked away by all the different ideas of different books Eric would be distracted by.
I found the description of what was "inside" Scout to be very interesting. It made interesting allusions to the idea of human brains being just like circuits. The circuits in the brain or in a computer can make conceptual things real. They only need to be activated in a certain way. This is interesting when you think about what Eric went through with his shark.
Eric went looking for the shark to try and bring back Clio. The shark then caught onto his memories. This then gives Eric a purpose. He now has a way to get Clio back or to just forget all the pain of losing her. He wanted to erase or bring back what could no longer be real. The conceptual shark is a good way to do that because it can erase Eric's memories and end his suffering or it can bring Clio back by holding onto the memories.
One thing I really liked about the Mycroft Ward story was the desire for survival built into the code. It seemed very ironic that this particular code sequence would replicated itself and grow stronger. This creates a monster that is only compiling information. It is no longer about preserving a personality, it is now only about survival. This seems to defeat the goal of Mycroft Ward. He no longer survives, only information does. He is no longer a person, he is just a "hungry" machine.
The relationship between Eric and Scout seems to progress quickly but it doesn't seem forced. They are both very lonely and had to give up their entire lives for survival. Their relationship helps to raise the stakes in the book. We now care about Scout because Eric is invested in her. Her possible connection to Clio also helps to move the story along giving a further driving force to the novel.
While I have enjoyed each of the past stories within a story, the Mycroft Ward one was quite confusing and it felt as though it dragged on and because of this I found myself constantly drifting off and rereading. What I do take away from this story though is that Mycroft Ward is this evil machine that implants himself into various other bodies in order to live forever. Hahaha, I love how almost everyone got so excited and pointed out the Mycroft Ward-Microsoft Word relation. I find this relationship to be so interesting because I have never truly thought of Microsoft Word as this evil thing with so much power, that everyone connects through. I've always just viewed it as a printable multi-use cyber piece of paper. I'm sure that if The Raw Shark Texts were written more recently, it would be Facebook that is used as a reference in Microsoft Word/Mycroft Ward's place.
I couldn't believe that part of Mycroft Ward is in Scout's brain! What a weird idea. I think the concept of Mycroft Ward is really strange and just altogether confusing. How could something be made up of bits of people? I didn't really like the story about Mycroft Ward because stories within stories really confuse me, and I end up thinking that that story is the actual story of the book (essentially, I mix everything up). Even though I didn't like the story, I did like that we found out about Scout's brain and Mycroft Ward. I cannot believe that Scout is only twenty-one! I totally imagined her older. I found it funny how they had sex in a sleeping bag! So hilarious. I think that it was kind of sad how Eric was thinking of telling Scout how she reminds him just of Clio. "Tell her how you felt when you first saw her, about the tattoo on her toe, how your hands knew just when and where to touch her, how you could both be so in synch the very first time..." Bad idea, Eric. Bad idea. I loved the picture on page 217. I feel like the pictures keep getting better and better!
17 comments:
The machine that Microft Ward creates seems like a man-made Ludovician. It seems fit that the machine would want to hunt down the Ludovician to discover how it works to be able to emulate it and copy its system. Machines felt really important in this chapter even more generally. Machines are things that people create to embody a concept. Machines do work that come from a person’s concept. Momentum has also been mentioned a lot in the past few sections. Momentum is velocity times mass, and describes the potentiality of motion. Eric is on a journey, trying to move forward from his continual memory loss by looking at his past. His life depends on the concept of momentum. The shark is also affected by momentum. The concept of his stealing of memories is manifested by a physical motion – momentum. His momentum brings out the momentum of concepts he disrupts as he hunts for Eric’s memories – like the ground coming up because the momentum of all actions past that took place come up.
This was a pretty exciting chapter in many respects. I'm growing to used to how Hall starts new chapters exactly where previous one have left off; chapter 19 ends in the middle of a conversation which continues in chapter 20. This gives a sense of realness of the story I believe, the story doesn't just stop going when you finish a chapter or put the book down. This is interesting in comparison to the instances in which Hall glazes over certain elements of the story, such as when Eric escapes with Scout, and the reader doesn't see them return to the Hotel.
I wasn't sure what to make of The Story of Mycroft Ward, is there really some being using the internet to grow and collect new nodes to a massive multiple-person entity? The concept is unsettling and prompts Eric to say he's loose inside his own skin, a feeling not unlike the one the story gives me.
I wasn't much surprised by the relationship that developed between Eric and Scout, but I suppose that's because it's somewhat cliché, perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye…
Not sure what to make of the mound of papers Eric is to enter, is Trey Fidorous living inside his own musings? Who knows.
Again, we have yet another short story within a story. The whole idea of Mycroft Ward, (get it? Microsoft word!), trying to imprint himself into various other bodies is extremely mind-boggling to say the least. It’s a very creative and extended use of the science fiction world of ideas and concepts being full-fledged living organisms seen in Raw Shark Texts. It seems tough to imagine about 1000 brains worth of information stored in this all knowing system that keeps growing and growing exponentially. With 1000 people all connected together via this strange network, that’s literally over 24,000 hours of information and knowledge being gained daily. I find it ironic that the only thing that the system focuses on is improving the system in various aspects. With technology like this, Ward and his 1000 other selves could be working towards a more humanitarian goal such as curing cancer or solving world hunger and probably come up with a solution in a matter of days if not several hours. So far, this whole concept is my favorite part of the novel and I am very interested to see where Hall goes with this one.
As for the rest of the chapter not really much happens besides some dialogue scenes between Scout and Eric. Oh yeah, and I did mention the FREAKING SHARK ATTACK? I don’t know about anyone else, but that whole scene freaked me the hell out, especially that giant up-close illustration that came out of now where. Hall really does some crazy stuff with those illustrations. They make you be a more active reader especially when you take a little over twenty minutes to stop and try and decipher them.
Going back to Eric and scout, their conversation in the library gave me a lot of insight into both of their characters. I noticed that, while they both seem to neglect the outside world for different reasons, Scout is still connected to it by the family that she left behind when Mycroft Ward tried to take control of her. With Eric, he really doesn’t have any connection with anyone or anything outside of his life of fleeing from the shark. Though they seem to bond over the fact that they’re both in the similar situation, Scout seems to miss her old life, at least a little bit. Eric really doesn’t know any other life so he can’t make this connection.
I really enjoyed seeing that Scout's and Eric's relationship grow. Eric's feelings for Scout are the exact same feelings that he had for Clio. He feels like he knows her in some way but knows that she is not Clio though she acts and reacts the same as Clio. What I found strange in this chapter was how part of Mycroft Ward gets into Scout by her computer. When she revealed this to Eric I just suddenly started thinking whether later on in the book she was going to become possessed by this part and betray Eric. They are close to finding Fidorous when they catch a trail of notes. This trail leads them to a pile of notes where underneath there is a chair which has a hole underneath it. It's really cool how the entrance is just a bunch of note covered walls. This is probably to keep Ludovician out if it is after Fidorous confusing it with many thoughts. A reference in this section is Mycroft Ward being Microsoft word. Some Alice in Wonderland references are going down the rabbit hole.
The relationship between Scout and Eric is a huge breath of fresh air in this book. It's so real and it brings so much joy to Eric. It is frustrating that Scout seems to be a lot like Clio, but I think that's also exactly what Eric needs. He doesn't need somebody that's constantly nice to him. The way that Scout challenges him, doesn't always give him what he wants, doesn't tell him what he wants to hear... That's what he needs. He needs authenticity in this world of chaos and as a reader, I feel that's exactly what Scout brings to the table for him.
As far as their adventure into unspace goes, I love it. It's amazing how Hall mixes reality with something so made up, and yet makes the made up aspect of it seem so real. When Eric is in the tunnel of words and he took notice to all the words and thought about how people had to spend all this time creating it, I almost felt a major sadness in him. Almost as if it killed him even more than most times that he built a whole life that he could no longer remember. It was like seeing the words for him brought more pain to the surface than he was originally letting.
Woah! Lots of weird stuff happening here. So not only does Scout have part of this Mycrofts brain inside her head, but there's this vast conspiracy in place to keep this guy alive? Things are starting to get mighty complicated in this tale. I like the idea of a man being able to forestall his death and gain immortality by impressing increasingly divided parts of his mind onto people. The fact that at least recently he's been using the internet to do this by somehow hypnotizing people like Scout I believe may provide another angle on why Eric can't use the internet. I know that he originally couldn't because the shark would supposedly find him, but I can't help but wonder if Mycroft has his fingers into that particular pie more than has been let on. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Scout knows more than she lets on about this scheme of immortality gone wrong. I truly loved the way that the shark attack was introduced in this chapter. It seems to be ripped right out of the scene in Jaws where the sherif is throwing chum in the water, and the shark comes right up next to him, causing him to back into the boat cabin, leading to the famous line, “We're gonna need a bigger boat.” Another topic of interest I believe is the growing relationship between Eric and Scout, or perhaps a remembrance of a forgotten relationship that had already existed. In fact, these snippets of human affection almost mirror those between Eric and Clio, she being the forward and confident one with definite goals in mind, and he being the clueless and slightly goofy one. At this point, I'm almost convincing myself that the part of Mycrofts personality that was imprinted on Scout was somehow part of Clios personality.
I did not enjoy this chapter too much because of Scout's confusing history. I did enjoy the shark attack, the pictures keep the reader engaged. As for the microft ward part, I became pretty confused. I like the idea behind it but its making the story too complicated. I think the fact that Scout misses her old life must make Eric's suffering and confusion even more intense. its like he knows he should be missing his life but cant even remember what he missed. the word tunnel is a very cool idea, and is part of the reason i like this book. the details are so impossible that they make sense.
I liked this reading. First off I would like to point out the Mycroft Ward sounds a lot like Microsoft Word. I found it cool but nonetheless creepy that Mycroft Ward immortalized himself by implanting various parts of him into different people. In the first chapter of this reading we also find out that the “it” or this machine that Ward is making wants the shark. The shark would better help standardize more people into the same-self.
I really love the way Hall writes dialogue. Ch. 21, “Erm,” is a small intimate chapter between Scout and Eric. It does not have much excitement but Hall writes the dialogue so well that it engulfs the reader. Oh and by the end Eric and Scout sleep together. : ) I am a sucker for a good romance. My favorite line was: “You’re not going off the bridge,” (212).
At the end of the chapter Scout and Eric are attacked by the shark. The only way they were saved was by going into this library. As I read that part I kept thinking, “A library! Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” It felt funny that such a conceptual thing, like the shark, makes sense.
"...a part of me got stolen, i mean, a part of me in here," (pg. 197) Wow thats just too sketch. "The it is deactivated, a mass of information packets, like virus code, but it's there inside my head and there's no way of getting it out." (pg.197) The whole concept of the mycroft ward is just a little too much. Its crazy that people get like cloned and upto date on everything in a matter of short periods. I keep forgetting that this is a book haha . i nearly freaked out when Scout got sucked up by the computer by just taking an IQ test, now im scared to be online or on the internet ...omg this can be a trap noooooo lol haha. >>>>>ERM<<<<<< " Just let go, let yourself sink down with the crabs." (pg.209)damn finally he kissed her it was about time Eric damn eric u should know that when a girl takes her clothes off in front of a guy, it usually means something gosh get upto date yo lol >.< x)... Yay no one is going off the bridge. I like the scene where Scout describes her sister and the shit that went down between them haha lmfao.
So Mycroft Ward=Microsoft word hahahaha! We all knew Microsoft was evil. I like that through out his story Scout kept reiterating that Ward wasn't a bad guy nor were his intentions but they morphed into something evil. It makes me think that no matter what someone's intentions are their actions can easily become evil. Mycroft Ward reminded me of the Borg for Star Trek. Both of them take over people and share collective memory.
Scout's story is so creepy! I really don't want to click on random sites now, not that I really did before but now I really really don't want to. I love that it was her "alcopop-drinking, short-skirt-wearing, hanging-around-Spar type superbrat" (pg. 220), sister saved her from being fully integrated into Mycroft Ward.
It was so cute how Scout told Eric that she liked him. I loved when they both said that they weren't going to throw each other off a bridge.
I loved the shark attack scene!!!!! I'm so glad Ian was in his cage for that. I wish that the page with the shark on it had been on the next page so we wouldn't have seen it before reading the preceding page. It's so cool that it actually looks like a shark!
I love that the safest place to be during a conceptual shark attack is in a library! I always knew libraries were inherently good.
The beginning of this reading with the Mycroft Ward story was a little annoying. It really bothered me. I felt like it went on and one when it was really only 10 pages. The one thing I did like, was that I learned more about Scout, and how she was found. I thought it was interesting how she was found through an IQ test online. It reminded me of all the ones that pop up on facebook and such. I really liked chapter 21 for some reason. The title "Erm..." fit it perfectly. I felt bad for Eric when he found out he only has one more day of being a "normal" person. I think I liked it so much because he didn't go into detail about what happened when it happened. He kind of let it hang until the next page.
The overall tone of this section was lighthearted, and Scout and Eric seemed to interact (assuming scout is clio) like they used to before all the sharky memory stuff happened. This was a nice break from the intensity (except for that one small part where Eric was almost eaten by the Ludovician), but it also seems like the calm before the storm.
The story of Mycroft Ward, the story of how "What had once been a single human personality became a vastly intelligent mind-machine focused only on survival, on growing bigger and bigger and bigger with no regard for anything else at all." (pg. 204) reflects the growth and spread of many modern day things, which both benefit the present and harm the future.
Hall's use of stories-within-the-story serves to ground the reader in the world he's created. Including the Lightbulb Fragments functioned in the same way. It might be because we're 200 pages in, but the Mycroft Ward story didn't come across as being fantastical. I accepted its logic and kept reading. There's always going to be a force of good and a force of evil, and Mycroft Ward is just the right impossibly powerful villain for the job.
Erm...as for the second half of the reading, Scout and Eric followed the convention for every adventure movie on the road wjth camping--the "I'm cold, let's share a sleeping bag" ploy. This is a proven movie seduction technique. Even Brokeback Mountainhad it. Well played, Scout.
In this reading, I thought that Mycroft Ward was a reference to Microsoft word because it sounded like it. My thought was right because when we discussed it in the classroom; we came up with the same conclusion. The whole story after the chapter had to do with technology and about an intelligent man who came up with this idea that revolutionized the whole technologic era. The guy is mention at the end of the first paragraph on page 204. Then after that whole story, we go back to the lives of Scout and Eric. We find out with what we read that poor Scout had a REAL life before. I thought it was really well explained in the part where Scout and Eric seduce each other. I really got imagery in my head. I could kind of make a movie. For some reason, I don’t know why, I really like the title “A Tetris-Gap of Missing Bricks”. I keep thinking that it’s kind of creepy that he keeps thinking that Scout is Clio. I find it even weirder that he wants to tell her that he thinks she is his ex. That would just kill the moment and probably their relationship. AAAAAAAAHHHHH SHARK!!!!!! The up close illustration was SCARY because I turned the page and literally screamed and fell off my chair…hehehe just kidding. The library again is a place of sanctuary. The shark won’t go because he would be blocked away by all the different ideas of different books Eric would be distracted by.
I found the description of what was "inside" Scout to be very interesting. It made interesting allusions to the idea of human brains being just like circuits. The circuits in the brain or in a computer can make conceptual things real. They only need to be activated in a certain way. This is interesting when you think about what Eric went through with his shark.
Eric went looking for the shark to try and bring back Clio. The shark then caught onto his memories. This then gives Eric a purpose. He now has a way to get Clio back or to just forget all the pain of losing her. He wanted to erase or bring back what could no longer be real. The conceptual shark is a good way to do that because it can erase Eric's memories and end his suffering or it can bring Clio back by holding onto the memories.
One thing I really liked about the Mycroft Ward story was the desire for survival built into the code. It seemed very ironic that this particular code sequence would replicated itself and grow stronger. This creates a monster that is only compiling information. It is no longer about preserving a personality, it is now only about survival. This seems to defeat the goal of Mycroft Ward. He no longer survives, only information does. He is no longer a person, he is just a "hungry" machine.
The relationship between Eric and Scout seems to progress quickly but it doesn't seem forced. They are both very lonely and had to give up their entire lives for survival. Their relationship helps to raise the stakes in the book. We now care about Scout because Eric is invested in her. Her possible connection to Clio also helps to move the story along giving a further driving force to the novel.
While I have enjoyed each of the past stories within a story, the Mycroft Ward one was quite confusing and it felt as though it dragged on and because of this I found myself constantly drifting off and rereading. What I do take away from this story though is that Mycroft Ward is this evil machine that implants himself into various other bodies in order to live forever. Hahaha, I love how almost everyone got so excited and pointed out the Mycroft Ward-Microsoft Word relation. I find this relationship to be so interesting because I have never truly thought of Microsoft Word as this evil thing with so much power, that everyone connects through. I've always just viewed it as a printable multi-use cyber piece of paper. I'm sure that if The Raw Shark Texts were written more recently, it would be Facebook that is used as a reference in Microsoft Word/Mycroft Ward's place.
I couldn't believe that part of Mycroft Ward is in Scout's brain! What a weird idea. I think the concept of Mycroft Ward is really strange and just altogether confusing. How could something be made up of bits of people? I didn't really like the story about Mycroft Ward because stories within stories really confuse me, and I end up thinking that that story is the actual story of the book (essentially, I mix everything up). Even though I didn't like the story, I did like that we found out about Scout's brain and Mycroft Ward. I cannot believe that Scout is only twenty-one! I totally imagined her older. I found it funny how they had sex in a sleeping bag! So hilarious. I think that it was kind of sad how Eric was thinking of telling Scout how she reminds him just of Clio. "Tell her how you felt when you first saw her, about the tattoo on her toe, how your hands knew just when and where to touch her, how you could both be so in synch the very first time..." Bad idea, Eric. Bad idea. I loved the picture on page 217. I feel like the pictures keep getting better and better!
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