In which Eric learns more about why he is with Scout and Trey Fidorous
18 comments:
Naomi
said...
It was really cool that Eric and Scout were going through a word tunnel following a word map. I liked the play with words and language in this chapter a lot. On pg 228, Eric asks, “It’s not only paper though, is it?” about the books making up the dome. Once paper has words on it, the simple wood pulp and ink represents a concept. Books have concepts and MEANING, even though they are “just paper”. This tunnel, which is made completely from books and paper, actually creates something tangible from something that is usually conceptual – words. There was another Wizard of Oz reference, when Fidorous calls Scout and Eric “Dorothy” and “Tin Man” respectively, which fit perfectly because she has no home, and he, without memory, has no brain. Fidorous seems like a language scientist or technician to me. He sees words and language as a science – he tests memes, phrases, effects of words, etc.
Throughout most of the reading we find Scout and Eric crawling hands and knees through a word tunnel made out of discarded pieces of paper. I imagined these papers being all of the random thoughts that come of the head of Dr. Trey Fidorous. Just like the unconscious mind, the tunnel files and stores of all his thoughts and/or ramblings into its walls so that he may find them at a later date. Hall’s description of the THERA path made me very squeamish at some moments, almost as if they were crawling through a large sewage system. It’s hard to tell whether this is another part of un-space but it there have been some slight hints as to the true nature of Fidorous’ secret word cavern.
Besides this whole sequence of events, we finally meet the person Eric has been searching for during the last 100 or so pages. Dr. Trey Fidorous is the perfect example of a “word genius”. He reminds of a lot like Einstein but rather than being an excellent physicist and mathematician, he is a literary genius and master linguist. The whole description of his work on language viruses is very interesting and creative. Yet again, Hall has managed to add a new form of a language or word concept and turn it into an evolved organism. Though viruses aren’t living themselves, they are very much apart of the microbiology of our world and thus a part of the “language organism” kingdom. Much like viruses, Fidorous’ language viruses multiply through “host emails” and spread through a culture as popular meme.
Going to the last part of the reading, I had a feeling that Scout still had one last secret she wasn’t telling Eric despite their intimate sexual relationship. And to her gratitude, I do think Eric was kind of being a dick and childish. Much like Scout said, I believe she really was leading him back to Fidorous for both of their benefits. She had to be justified in the way she acted: she had no clue how he might react to such disclosure that it was better not to risk his reaction and pull a Arnold Schwarzenegger, “COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE”.
"We're all going forwards and we're never coming back." (Pg.254)this line gave me chills along my spine. In a sence this is true because what happens in the past stays in the past. I like the whole entrance to the first Eric Sanderson's room. I have a feeling that now he is somehow regaining his memory because now he can tell its his own room.Ive noticed that when Steven Hall refers colors and stuff he uses the color blue alot whether its deep blue, thoughtful blue or even sky blue i always think of the ocean. This makes me think that at any random point in the book the shark will come out lol....Im just paranoid i know i know. Best line on page 261,"You cunt, Sanderson, you selfish fucking cunt."
This reading is the chapter “It’s a Poor Sort of Memory that Only Works Backwards.” This is a perfect title for the chapter because in this Chapter Eric is discovering his past. He discovers “the First Eric Sanderson’s room.” In this Chapter and as we continue toward the end of the book we get more dialogue and internal conversation between Eric and his “inner-self” and Eric and his “previous self.” Eric in his bedroom finds a book written by Dr. Randle. In it the “First Eric Sanderson” has written a message to the present Eric Sanderson. Eric writes that the “Past and future are things of the mind, and a mind can be changed,” (260). I would assume that the “First Eric” is trying to motivate the present Eric Sanderson. I don’t know really if it is just me, but it seems to me as Eric progresses through this Chapter he becomes more assertive and not so “shy.” He tends to be taking more control of himself and his situation. Overall I would say this chapter made me feel like there truly was a “First Eric Sanderson.” I would not say I would have doubted that there was, but finding his room made me feel connected to Eric. I felt like I was closer to the “First Eric Sanderson” and things were going to turn out okay. I felt this when Eric finds Clio’s guidebook as well. She has just become more physical and less conceptual.
Aaahh sorry again! This is the right one for 253-267
On pg 259, one of the books is “How Your BRANE Works”… I wonder what “brane” is… On pg 260, the First Eric’s letter is really cool. The First Eric was completely focused on the future, because he knew that the Ludovician was about to take all of his memory away. He worried about what would happen to him, and also set about preparing the Second Eric. He thought of what the Second Eric would need; letters, materials, information. The Ludovician makes both Erics think about the past – the first Eric about the past that will be stolen and the Second Eric about the past he will never know because he can’t remember. The Second Eric, however, does think about the present, although not much so far. He was content with the present at the beginning, but began thinking about the future and past once he discovered the Ludovician. With Scout, he thinks about the present more than any other time (or maybe just as much as he did with Clio?) Pg 265, the Ludovician has a “ubiquitous dorsal MEME”!
Eric's journey to his old room was very well done, and Hall gives good descriptions of Eric's surroundings: "listening to the quiet of the books in the walls." And when Eric goes to get his bag, Hall uses his backpack as an allusion to current events: "Those two bags shouted heartbreaking out-of-date things about a careless sort of closeness which was lost now." Eric finding his old room reminded me of Memento, he found the room by instinct, not prior knowledge. Some part of the first Eric is still there. I'm a little skeptical as to why he wouldn't wonder earlier what the key on his ring was for, but whatever. The objects in the room proved mysterious, as expected. I can't helping thinking that Hall is foreshadowing when Eric thinks "undo it, prevent it, save her life somehow after she was already gone. Perhaps Scout really is Clio, and Eric can't remember correctly? Or not... The Ludovician passage was very cool, I loved the line: "each Ludovician shark came to be revered as a self-contained, living afterlife." Who knows, maybe this will prove to be true. I think it's interesting how deliberate Eric has become, as he repeats his own mantra to himself when entering his room "Be absolutely sure, then check again, and then check again.
In these pages Eric finds a bit more information on why the first eric went looking for Ludovician after Clio died. The first Eric has a room there so I wonder what he could have possibly have asked Fidorous about after Clio died. I really liked the belongings that were in the box Eric finds. I really thought the reaction that Eric had when he saw Clio's guidebook was sweet and sad. It just showed that he had these feelings he couldn't explain for Clio because he doesn't remember her and doesn't really understand what she means to him. But losing his memories didn't stop these feelings he felt inside stop since he was crying. In the end he knows who Scout is.
Sorry, this the real one for this section. Disregard my previous comment. Thanks!
Much like how Eric learns about a lot of information in this novel, the truth to how the Ludovician came to be set free and his motives behind the incident, (mainly concerning Clio) are revealed in the form of writing. In this case, it is in an encyclopedia of strange and unusual fish that Eric finds his next piece of vital information. Again, this plays on the whole idea of writing and conceptual thinking that is a crucial theme throughout the novel. For Eric, it is his way of forcing himself into this universe to discover everything that it has to offer. The only way for him to learn new and important facts is cognitively reading and finding them in documents or pieces of writing.
Other than this whole process, the events that happen in the first Eric’s room are very short yet satisfying. The whole sequence of events concerning Eric’s frustration over the First Eric’s actions is the main thing that stuck out for me. Though it starts out rather subtle, his thoughts progressively become very passionate and filled with malice especially when he starts thinking about Scout. In fact, the very moment he starts thinking of Scout is when things get pretty nasty and brutal. You can definitely tell he didn’t want their relationship to end but feels that he must hate and despise her for her unwanted betrayal. It is also to note that this is probably the first time that Eric has made the distinction, (out loud) between Scout and Clio. He was kind of telling himself that it could never be true before, but this is truly the first moment of real recognition for him.
The way that Eric gets the news of why Scout brought him to Trey Fidorous is wrong. There's no other way to put it. Fidorous is out of line to tell him what Scout's intentions were. Of course it's your typical love story. There are different motives for why they got together, but then they realized they really love each other. Fidorous has no right to step into that and make it his business. I do like that he admits to that and apologizes. It shows his strength in character, which I feel Eric learns a little bit from.
Fidorous is quite the character. Between his hair and the way that Hall describes him, one word comes to mind: frantic. I picture him as a crazy old man, secluded from society, living in his own head and being perfectly happy with that.
It's interesting to see how Eric changes as he learns about his past. He seems to become more alive, even if it is driven by hate at the heat of the moment.
I don’t like how Eric no longer trusts Scout. The author could have handled this aspect of the book better. I like how the author doesn’t explain what it means but I wish I could figure it out. Clio and Scout are starting to drag this story down for me in some ways, but they are both needed for Eric’s motivation in continuing onward. I found the “encyclopedia of unusual fish” very clever, especially the chapter titles.
The chapter title "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward"(pg. 253) ties in perfectly with Memento! There's also another tie in to Memento on page 262 "like a film playing backwards."
I love that Eric found his way to his room because of muscle memory. It’s crazy that Randle's book is in Eric's room! I love the last line of the message the first Eric wrote on Randle's book "past and future are things of the mind, and a mind can be changed"(pg. 260). That's so cool!!! People change the past all the time because their memories change and you can change the future anytime you want just by choosing a different action.
It seems Eric tends to completely trash rooms when he gets upset and we never seem to see him clean it up.
Then Eric founds the box of stuff. The empty photo envelope is a little odd but then again this whole book is a little odd. Then he found the explaination of the Ludovician! Eric tried to preserve his memories of Clio in the shark so she could live on. Then he finds CLIO'S GUIDEBOOK!!!!!! It's so sad that he started crying while he was reading it and he didn't even realize.
I love that his mind is telling him that Scout is Clio and he tells it to shut up.
I loved the paragraph that the First Eric Sanderson wrote in Dr. Randle's book, "It isn't just the past we remember, it's the future too... Past and future are things of the mind, and a mind can be changed." Little things like this from the first Eric Sanderson seem like little pieces of a lifeboat that keeps the present Eric afloat in the shark infested waters he is lost in now.
The section of text from "An Encyclopedia of Unusual Fish" gave a little more insight into the Ludovician in history. I liked the ancient ritual of giving memories into certain fish, and I wouldn't call it a "misguided and macabre practice."
MY favorite quote of this section: "I tried to block it out, but the nonsense wouldn't let go." In this last part of this section, Eric tries to dispel the thought in his mind that Scout is really Clio. Though I don't know why he wouldn't want to believe she is. Isn't that a good thing? Isn't it good that they would be reunited after however-long-its-been?
The first Eric Sanderson's room! At this point, one would logically think that Eric would find answers to a whole lot of questions, now that he is in the living space that he inhabited so long ago before his memory was routinely erased by the Ludovician. Eric's frustration due to the contrary lack of almost any information as to his past self is almost funny with him turning over furniture, kicking at random things and swearing his head clear off his shoulders. Of course, he does find two things that are of particular interest. The first, an encyclopedia of conceptual fish. I liked the idea of the Ludovician starting off as these little fish that would consume the consciousnesses of old shamans, and that as they did so, gaining what can be guessed more of an idea of what they were, evolved over time into the idea of the perfect hunter, the concept of a shark in all it's purity and lethality. Makes you wonder if given more time, could the idea of what they are change even more? A physical shark is ideal in every way for what it does, but the idea of such a creature can change. Then, there is the other item of interest that Eric found in his (other Eric's?) old room, Clio's guidebook. So far though, it hasn't proved at all helpful in determining whether or not Scout is Clio. - Asher
In this reading, I thought that the scene where he walks down the hall and into his room is a little scary. I could picture him in my head, going down a desolate hall. The setting is kind of grayish and isolated. It is in a way an alternate unspace. The book he gets, called “Holes and Superficialities”, I think has something to do with his memory and there being holes in his memory due to the conceptual shark. I want him to fight back the shark and gain his lost memory so he can remember Clio, but he is a wimp. I think that every time he tries to remember Clio, he sees her as a blur. He could see her figure but can’t see her face. I really liked the line on page 257, “My brain snapped itself into the here and now, rushing to catch up with what had happened”. I could relate my way of thinking to this line a lot. The cursing in this book is so perfect because it comes at the perfect timing. I thought it was really pointless when Eric was looking through a photographic wallet, with no pictures in it. It was cool that he got the Encyclopedia of Unusual Fish to look up the Ludovician Shark. I like his persistence to try and get rid of him. On page 266, it was heart breaking and touching when you can picture his heart go Thump Thump Thump and remembers Clio by touching the indentations, pen marks, and folded page corners, of the book she would read.
The beginning of this section was like Memento with the way the dreams and reality got mixed together. I really liked the line on page 260, "...all the hopes dreams and ambitions which make up any human life..." I really feel bad for the new Eric because he doesn't have the memory of feelings from when he was with Clio, he has to read about them. And he still is just a person and every person has some dream or hope to work towards, and Eric has to worry about not getting his memories eaten by the shark who thrives off of memories and stores them. At the bottom of 260, when he reads, "I think I believed I could change what happened, undo it, prevent it, save her life somehow after she was already gone," was really sad. Eric got even more angry and frustrated, and those feelings made him more alive. I was really happy when Eric wondered if Clio and Scout are the same person, because that was my initial thought. I also liked learning more about why Eric first went to find Fidorous.
The allusions to the Wizard of Oz continue into this section of reading. Scout is again compared to Dorthy, but she knows how to solve her problem: Mr. Nobody's laptop. Nobody's laptop has a link to Mycroft Ward. That development fit well into the story. It helped to reinforce the idea that Ward is now just a computer and has no soul. It connects to Nobody for only a minute and this shows just how big Mycroft Ward has gotten. The program cannot even dedicate more than a minute to one of its most important sensory operatives.
I thought that the way Scout used him was sneaky but understandable when one considers what she has been through. Scout has been on her own for a long time, she hasn't even been accepted into the Unspace Committee. She has learned to only rely on herself and to not form emotional attachments. She had to give up her family to run from Ward, and she is wary of going through something like that again. However, this betrayal is especially hard on Eric because she was his only connection to a person. She was the only one who understood what he was going through and because of that he felt a kinship to her. He finds her betrayal almost impossible to forgive at first and this serves to show how lonely he felt.
The fact that Eric was able to find evidence of himself before the shark attacked him gave Eric a grounding for all that he had gone through. It gives him a real person with real things to draw from and try to understand. He is no longer the same person but seeing the First Eric Sanderson's things helps to give him closure. He can finally understand who he used to be. Finding his old things also helps him to fill in gaps as to why he did what he did. The book that he finds describing a Ludovician finally sheds light on why the first Eric did what he did. He tried to preserve Clio but he failed. The eleventh Eric can finally understand how this happened.
The amibiguity concerning what happened to Clio and if Clio is Scout or not continues to confuse Eric. He feels a connection with her that makes Scout's betrayal all the more frustrating to Eric. He wants to believe that he has found Clio again but he's also scared that she might not be and he doesn't want to go through that pain again.
So I FINALLY understand why Steven Hall is putting in these Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz references in the book thanks to you. These are stories where the main character go into an alternate, unspace universe. This is just what Eric is doing, and now I am so happy that it finally clicked why. I thought the quote “I think I believed I could change what happened, undo it, prevent it, save her life somehow after she was already gone” was so sad! I think the Ludovician is awesome. I wish that it was real! It is insane how the shark is able to store other people’s memories in his head. I don’t get how that’s possible, but I like how that sounds! For some reason, every time Clio is brought up in this book I find it extremely sad. It’s weird, but I feel like I miss her just as much as Eric does. I don’t really know how to explain it. I can’t believe he found her guidebook. Ah, so upsetting. “You know, don’t you? The way it works between the two of you, all those emotions, the tattoo on her big toe. You know who she really is, even if you won’t-” I cannot even imagine how weird it would be if Scout and Clio are the same person...
I thought the word tunnel was another of Steven Hall's pro-reading endorsements. Who could be better protected against conceptual predators than an avid reader, someone whose mind is filled with other peoples' stories? Based on what I've read in The Raw Shark Texts, I've come to understand that (a) the internet should not be used, because through it Mycroft Ward hunts for new hosts, and (b) being surrounded with the printed or spoken word is the best defense against conceptual sharks. Whether this is meant to suggest we read more, or just cut up books and glue the pages on our walls, I'm not so sure.
18 comments:
It was really cool that Eric and Scout were going through a word tunnel following a word map. I liked the play with words and language in this chapter a lot. On pg 228, Eric asks, “It’s not only paper though, is it?” about the books making up the dome. Once paper has words on it, the simple wood pulp and ink represents a concept. Books have concepts and MEANING, even though they are “just paper”. This tunnel, which is made completely from books and paper, actually creates something tangible from something that is usually conceptual – words.
There was another Wizard of Oz reference, when Fidorous calls Scout and Eric “Dorothy” and “Tin Man” respectively, which fit perfectly because she has no home, and he, without memory, has no brain.
Fidorous seems like a language scientist or technician to me. He sees words and language as a science – he tests memes, phrases, effects of words, etc.
Throughout most of the reading we find Scout and Eric crawling hands and knees through a word tunnel made out of discarded pieces of paper. I imagined these papers being all of the random thoughts that come of the head of Dr. Trey Fidorous. Just like the unconscious mind, the tunnel files and stores of all his thoughts and/or ramblings into its walls so that he may find them at a later date. Hall’s description of the THERA path made me very squeamish at some moments, almost as if they were crawling through a large sewage system. It’s hard to tell whether this is another part of un-space but it there have been some slight hints as to the true nature of Fidorous’ secret word cavern.
Besides this whole sequence of events, we finally meet the person Eric has been searching for during the last 100 or so pages. Dr. Trey Fidorous is the perfect example of a “word genius”. He reminds of a lot like Einstein but rather than being an excellent physicist and mathematician, he is a literary genius and master linguist. The whole description of his work on language viruses is very interesting and creative. Yet again, Hall has managed to add a new form of a language or word concept and turn it into an evolved organism. Though viruses aren’t living themselves, they are very much apart of the microbiology of our world and thus a part of the “language organism” kingdom. Much like viruses, Fidorous’ language viruses multiply through “host emails” and spread through a culture as popular meme.
Going to the last part of the reading, I had a feeling that Scout still had one last secret she wasn’t telling Eric despite their intimate sexual relationship. And to her gratitude, I do think Eric was kind of being a dick and childish. Much like Scout said, I believe she really was leading him back to Fidorous for both of their benefits. She had to be justified in the way she acted: she had no clue how he might react to such disclosure that it was better not to risk his reaction and pull a Arnold Schwarzenegger, “COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE”.
"We're all going forwards and we're never coming back." (Pg.254)this line gave me chills along my spine. In a sence this is true because what happens in the past stays in the past. I like the whole entrance to the first Eric Sanderson's room. I have a feeling that now he is somehow regaining his memory because now he can tell its his own room.Ive noticed that when Steven Hall refers colors and stuff he uses the color blue alot whether its deep blue, thoughtful blue or even sky blue i always think of the ocean. This makes me think that at any random point in the book the shark will come out lol....Im just paranoid i know i know. Best line on page 261,"You cunt, Sanderson, you selfish fucking cunt."
This reading is the chapter “It’s a Poor Sort of Memory that Only Works Backwards.” This is a perfect title for the chapter because in this Chapter Eric is discovering his past. He discovers “the First Eric Sanderson’s room.” In this Chapter and as we continue toward the end of the book we get more dialogue and internal conversation between Eric and his “inner-self” and Eric and his “previous self.” Eric in his bedroom finds a book written by Dr. Randle. In it the “First Eric Sanderson” has written a message to the present Eric Sanderson. Eric writes that the “Past and future are things of the mind, and a mind can be changed,” (260). I would assume that the “First Eric” is trying to motivate the present Eric Sanderson.
I don’t know really if it is just me, but it seems to me as Eric progresses through this Chapter he becomes more assertive and not so “shy.” He tends to be taking more control of himself and his situation.
Overall I would say this chapter made me feel like there truly was a “First Eric Sanderson.” I would not say I would have doubted that there was, but finding his room made me feel connected to Eric. I felt like I was closer to the “First Eric Sanderson” and things were going to turn out okay. I felt this when Eric finds Clio’s guidebook as well. She has just become more physical and less conceptual.
Aaahh sorry again! This is the right one for 253-267
On pg 259, one of the books is “How Your BRANE Works”… I wonder what “brane” is…
On pg 260, the First Eric’s letter is really cool. The First Eric was completely focused on the future, because he knew that the Ludovician was about to take all of his memory away. He worried about what would happen to him, and also set about preparing the Second Eric. He thought of what the Second Eric would need; letters, materials, information. The Ludovician makes both Erics think about the past – the first Eric about the past that will be stolen and the Second Eric about the past he will never know because he can’t remember. The Second Eric, however, does think about the present, although not much so far. He was content with the present at the beginning, but began thinking about the future and past once he discovered the Ludovician. With Scout, he thinks about the present more than any other time (or maybe just as much as he did with Clio?)
Pg 265, the Ludovician has a “ubiquitous dorsal MEME”!
Eric's journey to his old room was very well done, and Hall gives good descriptions of Eric's surroundings: "listening to the quiet of the books in the walls." And when Eric goes to get his bag, Hall uses his backpack as an allusion to current events: "Those two bags shouted heartbreaking out-of-date things about a careless sort of closeness which was lost now."
Eric finding his old room reminded me of Memento, he found the room by instinct, not prior knowledge. Some part of the first Eric is still there. I'm a little skeptical as to why he wouldn't wonder earlier what the key on his ring was for, but whatever. The objects in the room proved mysterious, as expected. I can't helping thinking that Hall is foreshadowing when Eric thinks "undo it, prevent it, save her life somehow after she was already gone. Perhaps Scout really is Clio, and Eric can't remember correctly? Or not... The Ludovician passage was very cool, I loved the line: "each Ludovician shark came to be revered as a self-contained, living afterlife." Who knows, maybe this will prove to be true.
I think it's interesting how deliberate Eric has become, as he repeats his own mantra to himself when entering his room "Be absolutely sure, then check again, and then check again.
In these pages Eric finds a bit more information on why the first eric went looking for Ludovician after Clio died. The first Eric has a room there so I wonder what he could have possibly have asked Fidorous about after Clio died. I really liked the belongings that were in the box Eric finds. I really thought the reaction that Eric had when he saw Clio's guidebook was sweet and sad. It just showed that he had these feelings he couldn't explain for Clio because he doesn't remember her and doesn't really understand what she means to him. But losing his memories didn't stop these feelings he felt inside stop since he was crying. In the end he knows who Scout is.
Sorry, this the real one for this section. Disregard my previous comment. Thanks!
Much like how Eric learns about a lot of information in this novel, the truth to how the Ludovician came to be set free and his motives behind the incident, (mainly concerning Clio) are revealed in the form of writing. In this case, it is in an encyclopedia of strange and unusual fish that Eric finds his next piece of vital information. Again, this plays on the whole idea of writing and conceptual thinking that is a crucial theme throughout the novel. For Eric, it is his way of forcing himself into this universe to discover everything that it has to offer. The only way for him to learn new and important facts is cognitively reading and finding them in documents or pieces of writing.
Other than this whole process, the events that happen in the first Eric’s room are very short yet satisfying. The whole sequence of events concerning Eric’s frustration over the First Eric’s actions is the main thing that stuck out for me. Though it starts out rather subtle, his thoughts progressively become very passionate and filled with malice especially when he starts thinking about Scout. In fact, the very moment he starts thinking of Scout is when things get pretty nasty and brutal. You can definitely tell he didn’t want their relationship to end but feels that he must hate and despise her for her unwanted betrayal. It is also to note that this is probably the first time that Eric has made the distinction, (out loud) between Scout and Clio. He was kind of telling himself that it could never be true before, but this is truly the first moment of real recognition for him.
The way that Eric gets the news of why Scout brought him to Trey Fidorous is wrong. There's no other way to put it. Fidorous is out of line to tell him what Scout's intentions were. Of course it's your typical love story. There are different motives for why they got together, but then they realized they really love each other. Fidorous has no right to step into that and make it his business. I do like that he admits to that and apologizes. It shows his strength in character, which I feel Eric learns a little bit from.
Fidorous is quite the character. Between his hair and the way that Hall describes him, one word comes to mind: frantic. I picture him as a crazy old man, secluded from society, living in his own head and being perfectly happy with that.
It's interesting to see how Eric changes as he learns about his past. He seems to become more alive, even if it is driven by hate at the heat of the moment.
I don’t like how Eric no longer trusts Scout. The author could have handled this aspect of the book better. I like how the author doesn’t explain what it means but I wish I could figure it out. Clio and Scout are starting to drag this story down for me in some ways, but they are both needed for Eric’s motivation in continuing onward. I found the “encyclopedia of unusual fish” very clever, especially the chapter titles.
The chapter title "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward"(pg. 253) ties in perfectly with Memento! There's also another tie in to Memento on page 262 "like a film playing backwards."
I love that Eric found his way to his room because of muscle memory. It’s crazy that Randle's book is in Eric's room! I love the last line of the message the first Eric wrote on Randle's book "past and future are things of the mind, and a mind can be changed"(pg. 260). That's so cool!!! People change the past all the time because their memories change and you can change the future anytime you want just by choosing a different action.
It seems Eric tends to completely trash rooms when he gets upset and we never seem to see him clean it up.
Then Eric founds the box of stuff. The empty photo envelope is a little odd but then again this whole book is a little odd. Then he found the explaination of the Ludovician! Eric tried to preserve his memories of Clio in the shark so she could live on. Then he finds CLIO'S GUIDEBOOK!!!!!! It's so sad that he started crying while he was reading it and he didn't even realize.
I love that his mind is telling him that Scout is Clio and he tells it to shut up.
I loved the paragraph that the First Eric Sanderson wrote in Dr. Randle's book, "It isn't just the past we remember, it's the future too... Past and future are things of the mind, and a mind can be changed." Little things like this from the first Eric Sanderson seem like little pieces of a lifeboat that keeps the present Eric afloat in the shark infested waters he is lost in now.
The section of text from "An Encyclopedia of Unusual Fish" gave a little more insight into the Ludovician in history. I liked the ancient ritual of giving memories into certain fish, and I wouldn't call it a "misguided and macabre practice."
MY favorite quote of this section: "I tried to block it out, but the nonsense wouldn't let go." In this last part of this section, Eric tries to dispel the thought in his mind that Scout is really Clio. Though I don't know why he wouldn't want to believe she is. Isn't that a good thing? Isn't it good that they would be reunited after however-long-its-been?
The first Eric Sanderson's room! At this point, one would logically think that Eric would find answers to a whole lot of questions, now that he is in the living space that he inhabited so long ago before his memory was routinely erased by the Ludovician. Eric's frustration due to the contrary lack of almost any information as to his past self is almost funny with him turning over furniture, kicking at random things and swearing his head clear off his shoulders. Of course, he does find two things that are of particular interest. The first, an encyclopedia of conceptual fish. I liked the idea of the Ludovician starting off as these little fish that would consume the consciousnesses of old shamans, and that as they did so, gaining what can be guessed more of an idea of what they were, evolved over time into the idea of the perfect hunter, the concept of a shark in all it's purity and lethality. Makes you wonder if given more time, could the idea of what they are change even more? A physical shark is ideal in every way for what it does, but the idea of such a creature can change. Then, there is the other item of interest that Eric found in his (other Eric's?) old room, Clio's guidebook. So far though, it hasn't proved at all helpful in determining whether or not Scout is Clio.
- Asher
In this reading, I thought that the scene where he walks down the hall and into his room is a little scary. I could picture him in my head, going down a desolate hall. The setting is kind of grayish and isolated. It is in a way an alternate unspace. The book he gets, called “Holes and Superficialities”, I think has something to do with his memory and there being holes in his memory due to the conceptual shark. I want him to fight back the shark and gain his lost memory so he can remember Clio, but he is a wimp. I think that every time he tries to remember Clio, he sees her as a blur. He could see her figure but can’t see her face. I really liked the line on page 257, “My brain snapped itself into the here and now, rushing to catch up with what had happened”. I could relate my way of thinking to this line a lot. The cursing in this book is so perfect because it comes at the perfect timing. I thought it was really pointless when Eric was looking through a photographic wallet, with no pictures in it. It was cool that he got the Encyclopedia of Unusual Fish to look up the Ludovician Shark. I like his persistence to try and get rid of him. On page 266, it was heart breaking and touching when you can picture his heart go Thump Thump Thump and remembers Clio by touching the indentations, pen marks, and folded page corners, of the book she would read.
The beginning of this section was like Memento with the way the dreams and reality got mixed together. I really liked the line on page 260, "...all the hopes dreams and ambitions which make up any human life..." I really feel bad for the new Eric because he doesn't have the memory of feelings from when he was with Clio, he has to read about them. And he still is just a person and every person has some dream or hope to work towards, and Eric has to worry about not getting his memories eaten by the shark who thrives off of memories and stores them. At the bottom of 260, when he reads, "I think I believed I could change what happened, undo it, prevent it, save her life somehow after she was already gone," was really sad. Eric got even more angry and frustrated, and those feelings made him more alive. I was really happy when Eric wondered if Clio and Scout are the same person, because that was my initial thought. I also liked learning more about why Eric first went to find Fidorous.
The allusions to the Wizard of Oz continue into this section of reading. Scout is again compared to Dorthy, but she knows how to solve her problem: Mr. Nobody's laptop. Nobody's laptop has a link to Mycroft Ward. That development fit well into the story. It helped to reinforce the idea that Ward is now just a computer and has no soul. It connects to Nobody for only a minute and this shows just how big Mycroft Ward has gotten. The program cannot even dedicate more than a minute to one of its most important sensory operatives.
I thought that the way Scout used him was sneaky but understandable when one considers what she has been through. Scout has been on her own for a long time, she hasn't even been accepted into the Unspace Committee. She has learned to only rely on herself and to not form emotional attachments. She had to give up her family to run from Ward, and she is wary of going through something like that again. However, this betrayal is especially hard on Eric because she was his only connection to a person. She was the only one who understood what he was going through and because of that he felt a kinship to her. He finds her betrayal almost impossible to forgive at first and this serves to show how lonely he felt.
The fact that Eric was able to find evidence of himself before the shark attacked him gave Eric a grounding for all that he had gone through. It gives him a real person with real things to draw from and try to understand. He is no longer the same person but seeing the First Eric Sanderson's things helps to give him closure. He can finally understand who he used to be. Finding his old things also helps him to fill in gaps as to why he did what he did. The book that he finds describing a Ludovician finally sheds light on why the first Eric did what he did. He tried to preserve Clio but he failed. The eleventh Eric can finally understand how this happened.
The amibiguity concerning what happened to Clio and if Clio is Scout or not continues to confuse Eric. He feels a connection with her that makes Scout's betrayal all the more frustrating to Eric. He wants to believe that he has found Clio again but he's also scared that she might not be and he doesn't want to go through that pain again.
So I FINALLY understand why Steven Hall is putting in these Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz references in the book thanks to you. These are stories where the main character go into an alternate, unspace universe. This is just what Eric is doing, and now I am so happy that it finally clicked why. I thought the quote “I think I believed I could change what happened, undo it, prevent it, save her life somehow after she was already gone” was so sad! I think the Ludovician is awesome. I wish that it was real! It is insane how the shark is able to store other people’s memories in his head. I don’t get how that’s possible, but I like how that sounds! For some reason, every time Clio is brought up in this book I find it extremely sad. It’s weird, but I feel like I miss her just as much as Eric does. I don’t really know how to explain it. I can’t believe he found her guidebook. Ah, so upsetting. “You know, don’t you? The way it works between the two of you, all those emotions, the tattoo on her big toe. You know who she really is, even if you won’t-” I cannot even imagine how weird it would be if Scout and Clio are the same person...
I thought the word tunnel was another of Steven Hall's pro-reading endorsements. Who could be better protected against conceptual predators than an avid reader, someone whose mind is filled with other peoples' stories? Based on what I've read in The Raw Shark Texts, I've come to understand that (a) the internet should not be used, because through it Mycroft Ward hunts for new hosts, and (b) being surrounded with the printed or spoken word is the best defense against conceptual sharks. Whether this is meant to suggest we read more, or just cut up books and glue the pages on our walls, I'm not so sure.
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