it is immaterial how many clever
references to other work a book makes, if it is unintelligible to a
vast majority of readers or ghastly to read
okay. agree with this at a general level. a lifeless recitation of smart
references might not make an engaging text. but then again, 'engagement' is
a very subjective process. so a willing reader could in fact make a highly
entertaining text out of a telephone directory.
secondly, given how a text is structured, sometimes unintelligibility of a
given reference becomes irrelevant for reading the text in other ways. the
narrative might re-deploy these references in a different way within its own
structure. so even though an awareness of the reference might have opened up
another level of reading, a lack of it doesn't foreclose engagement.
On 7/23/07, Thaths <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On 7/22/07, Abhishek Hazra <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >And I presume the instances of 'if' sprinkled throughout the book are
> >tributes to Kipling?
> please expand.
> are you indicating that trying to see significance in the actual source
of a
> quoted text is a meaningless exercise? as meaningless as reading the
usage
> of "if" as a homage to Kipling?
That was partially what I was pointing to.
> one could possibly dwell on Eco and Heller, but in the specific context
of
> section 63, it wouldn't have mattered much if the quote was not
attributed.
> The content of the quote - thinking about signs and the way they 'point'
to
> meaning - is quite relevant to the discussion that happens in the
section.
The other part of my comment was that it is immaterial how many clever
references to other work a book makes, if it is unintelligible to a
vast majority of readers or ghastly to read. The references to
_Slautherhouse Five_ in Heller's _Good as Gold_ does not make Good...
a, ummm, good book.
Thaths
>
> On 7/22/07, Thaths <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> > On 7/21/07, Abhishek Hazra <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > > also,
> > > section 63 starts with a quote from Heller's Catch 22
> >
> > And I presume the instances of 'if' sprinkled throughout the book are
> > tributes to Kipling?
> >
> > Thats
> > --
> > Homer: He has all the money in the world, but there's one thing he
can't
> > buy.
> > Marge: What's that?
> > Homer: (pause) A dinosaur.
> > -- Homer J. Simpson
> > Sudhakar Chandra Slacker Without
> > Borders
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> does the frog know it has a latin name?
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
--
Homer: He has all the money in the world, but there's one thing he can't
buy.
Marge: What's that?
Homer: (pause) A dinosaur.
-- Homer J. Simpson
Sudhakar Chandra Slacker Without
Borders
--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
does the frog know it has a latin name?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
