Blog #1: Tweleve Blue Reading Analysis

Prior to beginning my journey of Twelve Blue I reminded myself of what not to do when exploring Electronic Literature. It is difficult to break old habits, such as trying to interpret or analyze what the author is trying to say or express, but I gave it my best.

I began the journey by simply navigating and reading the text as it appeared on the screen after hitting the BEGIN button on the left hand side. It was clear that some pieces correlated and were referring to the seasons and months as well as the color blue. Then other texts referenced teas parties and young girls. Eventually, this approach ended because the text ran out and there were no more internal links to click on. Undoubtedly, this left me searching for more.

My second navigation of Twelve Blue really had no rhyme or reason. I began by clicking on the number two on the center screen. As I began to read the text and click the internal links, my eyes shifted to the columns that contained the lines in an assortment of colors. That is when I realized the lines were also links that brought you to other passages. To experiment with this discovery, I began clicking on the same line over and over again which provided me with a more cohesive storyline about Samantha and Beth and their parents. After reading several passages, I explored other line colors to find that different storylines surfaced about completely different topics or offshoots of the Samantha and Beth storyline.

From what I have gathered, I can only theorize the "purpose" of Twelve Blue. Based on the visual representation of the lines on the main screen and how they appear when exploring through the text, the layout and path of the lines provide related story passages. Also, twelve different lines are provided, one for each story perhaps. In addition, the number twelve is prevalent throughout the passages, such as referring to the twelve months of the year. So then maybe each line represents a month? Furthermore, this could also be said for the color blue. Every single passage, regardless if the content is related to the following or previous passage, the color blue or a variation of the color is mentioned. How the color blue and the number twelve relate, no idea. However, together they make up the title: Twelve Blue. Ultimately, what this all means, I don't have the slightest... but it is fun to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together.