As our society has evolved over the years so have the ways in which we live in it. For example, as a society we have strayed from reading published novels; we now find ourselves reading hypertext more frequently. Although hypertext and printed novels share the similar characteristic of both being ways to read information, hypertext varies from published work in that it is extremely engaging. In order to successfully comprehend hypertext, one must actively participate. It is unlike reading novels, because there is no one set direction. Active participation invites the investigation of numerous different pathways. Mary Shelley’s Patchwork Girl is a prime example of this; the hypertext throughout is extremely engaging and requires active participation. When sitting down to read a novel, the reader has only one choice. He must start reading from the beginning or where he left off from his prior sitting and turn the pages chronologically. When interacting with hypertext, the reader has the power to decide which direction to take the hypertext. In Sven Birkets, The Gutenberg Elegies, Birkets includes Robert Coover’s beliefs on hypertext. Coover asserts that “with its web of linked lexias, its network 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” (Birkets 153). As Coover states, hypertext gives the reader the power to utilize hypertext in whichever way he pleases. The reader is not bound by a one-directional novel; rather, the reader is presented with multiple angles of a subject and the ability to explore as much or as little as they would like. I agree with Coover’s assertion, because I felt this freedom when working with Patchwork Girl. Clicking on numerous hyperlinks, I held the reigns and decided which subjects to explore and which subjects to quickly pass over. Patchwork Girl is a perfect example of a text where the reader, rather than the writer, decides what will come next. Containing many different pathways, hypertext not only demands active participation but “networking” is essential as well. Birkets informs us that “information and contents do not simply move from one private space to another, but they travel along a network…Taking place within a circuit of larger connectedness” (Birkets 122). In order to successfully master hypertext, the reader must use many different hyperlinks to move from one idea to the next. Unlike turning the page when reading a novel, hypertext requires a process. The reader must first investigate one section and from there, the reader will be led to the next section. Each hyperlink in hypertext is intertwined, and the relation between all of them creates a larger picture bringing each individual thought together. Birkets’ assertion is illustrated throughout Patchwork Girl. Investigating Patchwork Girl, I found that I had to click through multiple hyperlinks in order to move to the following hypertext. As I maneuvered my way through, I realized each individual hyperlink related to another, and they all came together to form a unifying theme. In addition to Birkets describing hypertext, Mary Shelley also comments on her beliefs of hypertext as well as her thoughts behind Patchwork Girl. Shelley relates hypertext to that of being in a foreign country. She asserts, “in hypertext, you can’t find out what’s important so you have to pay attention to everything, which is exhausting like being in a foreign country, you are not native” (Shelley). After “reading” Patchwork Girl, I agree with Shelley’s assertion. I found it difficult to distinguish between what was important and what was not important. Furthermore, I felt as if I was not native to the speech of Patchwork Girl. Struggling to comprehend the language of hypertext, I found it difficult to decide what to pay close attention to and what I could skim through. However, I enjoyed the challenge of trying to decide what was essential to my comprehension of the overall theme. The style of hypertext requires readers to always be on their toes as well as actively participating in an effort to grasp the larger meaning of the text. Shelley also believes that hypertext is “easily influenced; it is largely for being influenced” (Shelley Stitch Bitch Banished body). She clearly asserts that hypertext not only can be easily influenced, it calls for influence. Hypertext is designed so that the reader has the power to maneuver through each text as he wishes. My beliefs coincide with those of Shelley’s, because throughout Patchwork Girl I had the power to influence the text. Moreover, the text invited me to influence it by only progressing with my participation. Wanting to explore the “graveyard,” I influenced the hypertext by clicking through in order to understand what the “graveyard” contained. On the contrary, some people may believe that hypertext is not engaging. They may believe that clicking through each link is the same as turning the pages of a novel. However when a reader merely turns the pages of a novel nonchalantly, they do not get as much out of the novel as they could. This is the same for hypertext. If the reader merely clicks through with minimal engagement they will understand the general idea of the text; however, they will not take much away from their experience. I believe that in order to fully master hypertext, the reader must be completely engaged and give the hypertext their full attention. With such a complicated structure, hypertext invites various opinions on its text. For example, I believe Birkets would consider hypertext radically democratic, because there is no section that is more important than others. Furthermore, the reader is not more important than the author and vice versa. On the other hand, I believe Shelley would categorize hypertext as more of an anarchy, because there is no structure. Additionally, it is an unconventional way of thinking and form of authority. I believe that a combination of Birkets’ and Shelley’s beliefs describe hypertext the best. In my opinion, I believe hypertext is somewhere in the middle of the two, because from my experience with Patchwork Girl I agree with Birkets that one section is not more important than another. My beliefs also coincide with those of Shelley’s, because I believe that hypertext has no structure. Most importantly, from my experience with Patchwork Girl, despite individual opinions of hypertext, I believe there is a general theme with hypertext: hypertext is extremely engaging and in order to be successful with dealing with it the reader must actively participate.
