CONCLUSION

I would like to say that I’ve never worked with hypertext before and for being my first experience, it hadn’t been so difficult.

I have enjoyed reading The Glass Snail because it has a mysterious plot and it turned out to be interesting until the end. Otherwise, I had to read the text twice (including the alternative chapters) to understand it better because I found it a bit confusing.

I’m interested in the history of Egypt and impressed me that the author used the names of Miss Hatshepsut and Mr. Senenmut for two of the characters and the mention of the daughter of Miss Hatshepsut: Neferure. I suppose that this Egyptian atmosphere gives the story a cryptic touch. In fact, the writer is a literary historian.

I like hypertexts because you can choose; you are free to read the whole story or not, to skip chapters and even to choose between endings (in this case a tragic or a happy ending). I prefer to read the whole chapters and try all the possibilities in order to understand better the story and to notice the contrast between the catastrophe in The Christmas Candle and the typical love ending in The Lighter. Indeed, there are people who don’t like sad endings or bad news; in hypertext you’re the one who decide what you want (because the author has made it possible).

I hope reading more hypertexts because it is an amazing adventure. I love reading, but I always have to read in a linear way where if you don’t like the ending you get disappointed. Now that I had discovered the huge world of hypertext all can be possible. How will be the books in the future? Did our sons or grandchildren enjoy hypertexts? I’m sure of it. But, will printed books disappear? We will see.

[Second Paper] – [Introduction] – [Plot] - [Biography] – [Space]

Academic year 2008/2009
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Sara de Julián Ponce
Universitat de València Press
sadeju@alumni.uv.es