TIME
“THE DARKNESS OF SUMMER”
This hypertext is about very
different situations. In some of them there are a lot of features that let us
know the time but in others it is quite difficult to emplace them in a moment
or period of time. According to this I am going to make an analysis on how time
affects the text, whether it is continuous or not… in reference to the
“chapters” in which the hypertext
is divided.
§
In
this excerpt there are two references to time according to facts. One is
transient and the other one is the use of verbs referred to the pass of time
start, finish
§
We
see some present tense verbs which make the reader feel like if he was
observing the action at the same time the narrator is telling it. The hero struts into the room. He must have
heard the screams but keeps his cool.
§
After
the sun went out
§
I
am still here
§
Still searching, are we?
§
You're
simply wasting time
§
At
this rate you'll fabricate conspiracies that loop and tangle, cook a thick
spaghetti soup that's indigestible.
§
It's
not too late
§
you're
chasing your own tail at present,
turning in circles all the time
§
Do
something with your life before you
die
§
The beetle waits till it's safe again, then
crawls on too.
§
Father
was threatening to bin the failed recapitulation
§
Grandpa
was bemused and wondering about the strange taste of that
sweet he'd just eaten.
·
The Corpse Slumped in this Chair
§
The corpse slumped in this chair is in my way again.
§
Today,
of all days I'd have thought there'd be no doubt in even your thick skull, I want this place tidy.
§
Half
an hour we've got, before they're here.
§
Circles don't decrease, ever
§
Each time the hand comes around
§
with
a less time to live
§
Nothing
is ever the same again
§
Present
tense verbs
·
The Minister is Waiting in the Car
§
He
would have made a personal appearance,
·
The First Dead Thing you Find
§
At
the same time the polmets arrived.
§
Two
thousand, two hundred and nine million, thirty two thousand seconds
§
Good morning,
Mrs Smith. We don't have time for
explanations now. I'll be your guide
for this short journey.
§
Now,
this stage will take no more Than half an
hour. Meanwhile, if you would
fill This form out for me, and I'll just make sure The doors are locked.
§
All
will be made completely clear. But later.
§
Did
it cost much? We judged it worth our soul. We did our duty.
§
The morning light finds us unsatisfied, still partying at dawn.
·
Rubric
§
You
have limited, but unspecified time to complete it.
§
Continue until you are told to stop. If you think you have finished
before then, you are mistaken.
§
You
will not be permitted to re-enter once you have left. The examination has
already started.
§
Magic-Markered legends
§
Cryptic
messages in wonky Dymo
§
spray-painted
prophesies
§
secret
instructions in Courier
All this four references have been
selected because I think that although they do not concretely express a time
action or situation by them “age” or “era” can be deduced.
In my opinion there is not a lineal writing in this text. I think there
is a mixture of different situations, each of one in different times although
most of them are referred to the present. It is quite easy to know whether the
action is happening in present, past or it is referring both of them although
there are also some references to future actions, questions… I think the time
in this work should be followed by the metaphor of the Eclipse that is also
related to life and death. Everything goes from light to dark, from life to
death. I have noticed that different parts of the hypertext have a different
background.
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Academic year 2008/2009
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Aina García Coll
aigari@alumni.uv.es
Universitat de València Press