Birkets’ discussion of “the electronic millennium” is an extremely compelling argument. He discusses the change our society is making by venturing from the novel to moving towards electronic text so readily. As our society modernizes it is evident that the way we gain insight is modernizing too. Every day the people around me as well as myself use the computer. In fact, it is a rare occasion if we do not use our computers each day. We shuffle through numerous news headlines on the internet, check our email, and draft essays on the computer. No matter what we do on the computer, it is an interactive process. Birkets’ beliefs coincide with this statement. Birkets asserts that electronic text is extremely interactive.
Birkets discusses the engagement electronic text has upon us. He states, “information and contents do not simply move from one private space to another, but they travel along a network.” The way that electronic text is set up, I agree with Birkets’ assertion. “Networking” through electronic text is illustrated in many examples in our society today. First, in Patchwork Girl you cannot just read information, you must click through different keywords in order to gain insight into the larger picture Shelley is trying to convey. Networking is also exemplified in my personal life. When reading electronic text, I find myself clicking one thing in order for it to lead me to the next. By doing this I am “networking” through text; it is an interactive process. This process varies from reading a novel, because I am actively participating in my investigation of information, rather than just reading a page and then turning to the next one.
In a different chapter entitled, “Hypertext,” Birkets discusses a related topic about the power a reader holds when dealing with hypertext. He asserts that “with its webs of linked lexias, its networks of alternate routes hypertext presents a radically divergent technology, interactive and polyvocal, favoring a plurality of discourses over definitive utterance and freeing the reader from domination by the author.” I agree with this assertion made by Birkets as well. I believe that when reading hypertext on the computer, I feel as if I am a part of the author; I feel as if I have the power to write my own story, in the sense that I can decide what to read or what to investigate next. On the other hand, if I am reading a novel, I am forced by the author to only read what she has written. I cannot delve deeper into the novel, because that is all that there is to read nor can I decide what to investigate next. In a novel, it is already set up for you; there are no choices. Patchwork Girl is another example of Birkets’ assertion. When dealing with Patchwork Girl, we have the power to choose what we investigate; however, if it were a novel, we would not be granted this decision.
I believe that Birkets’ arguments are extremely thought provoking. I believe they relate to our day and age very well making them even more interesting. Because of the way our society has evolved, I agree with Birkets’ assertions that reading electronic text is an interactive process as well as it instilling in us power that we would not have if we were to read a book.
