tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post4065540376637706309..comments2023-11-05T07:27:43.837-05:00Comments on Narrative and Technology: Blog 4Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-6966055580364885442013-02-23T10:14:30.319-05:002013-02-23T10:14:30.319-05:00Your beginning is a reasonable summary of Dreyfus&...<br />Your beginning is a reasonable summary of Dreyfus' argument, and why we might care about it. I would have liked it better if you'd been able to clarify what you were doing with Gibson here, though. Your initial argument is vague, even if your discussion of Dreyfus is fairly precise.<br /><br />"Most of the time, Case seems to view people as something he has to deal with, as opposed to someone he wants to be with." This seems like a good take on Case's character, but one which doesn't really engage with the problem that he is a cowboy, then a down-and-out cowboy who can't actually jack in, and then a cowboy again. So I'm not saying that you're wrong, but I'd like to see this discussion framed within an analysis of his changing access to cyberspace...<br /><br />"For Case, the question should be, can he get along with his body?" You're showing a great understanding here of both the similarities between and the tensions between Gibson and Dreyfus. So your reading of both texts and of the relationship between them is good - but where are you going? Why does this relationship and/or tension matter to you? Your reading has everything except a real thesis to guide it.<br /><br />I grant you that Case would believe the price is worth it. But what do you think? What should we think? What can you accomplish, by interpreting our relationship with the internet through the tense relationship you've opened up between Dreyfus and Gibson. These are insightful readings which go nowhere, which is especially obvious in the first and last paragraphs.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-33832824839105895252013-02-22T23:33:08.893-05:002013-02-22T23:33:08.893-05:00This essay has a very good, clear focus: the isola...This essay has a very good, clear focus: the isolation of Case due to his fixation with cyberspace. In this regard the thesis is precise and not too broad when dealing with disembodiment in a book that is filled with comments about it. The only thing I found missing from the idea of this piece was the opinion the author (Janine) is taking. She proves very well that Case is isolated by his close feelings for cyberspace...but is this a healthy thing or not? What would Dreyfus think of this behavior? Such inquiries as to why this connection is important could have strengthened the essay or make for a good addition for a revision. It would pose an answer to the question Janine brings up in the conclusion "Is [the isolation] worth it?"<br /><br />I also like the balance of Dreyfus and Gibson quotes. The equal distribution of the quotes enhances the connections made and makes sure the reader is seeing both Dreyfus and Gibson often enough to solidify their separate but related points on how the internet isolates us. The one quote used to introduce the conclusion could have been shortened or at least lead into rather than kind of substituted in, but it still works in this balance.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08407233134349336019noreply@blogger.com