As a reader, my involvement (with plot, characters and authorial intent) is initially always from the position of an observer. With this type of separation, it is almost as if the reader is observing the daily events of an ant colony while reading the text. The reader’s perspective is so far detached that it is sometimes difficult to relate, or even empathize, with the characters. With the knowledge I possess, as a reader, playing the role of Julius felt like I was infusing him with superhuman abilities. A textual character, who is portrayed as illiterate, becomes privy to information not only from the paratextual space, but also from the future. By submerging myself in the role, I became capable of directly empathizing with the character. In the process, I was removed from the safe distance of the observer and became closer to the textual environment in both time and space. From this new, unexplored, vantage point my knowledge as a reader becomes very useful to me while navigating through the plot.
The pleasure of playing a book, in opposed to reading it, is found in the act of willingly exploring the unknown. Reading, superficially, imposes a sense of remoteness in the reader; far away from the realities of the characters in the text. This makes it convenient for a reader to close the book when he/she/they feel[s] uncomfortable. By playing the role, discomfort in the reader is raised, in turn, bringing them closer to the realistic content of the author’s intentions. A frustration of mine, while playing the book, was identifying a familiar framework to work within while exploring the world of Chesnutt’s tales. I annotated motifs from Chesnutt’s tales and discovered that it can be read, somewhat, as a chivalric romance. In this hypothetical framework, Chesnutt’s use of magic, spells and enchantments afforded me the opportunity to make moves in the textual environment that would help, Julius, breach into the paratextual space. With access to the paratextual space, a textual character can directly interact with observers, or readers; even if for a moment’s time. In the dimensional realm of stage work, this act would be similar to beaching the fourth wall of the audience: a metanominal action that creates a direct interaction between textual character and reader. In an abstract mode of thought, the textual character is always subject to the emotions of the reader. Playing a book, bridges the gap between the roles of reader and character. This helps the character break the restrictions of the author’s intentions, in turn, helping character develop a consciousness independent from the author’s.
Playing the role of a textual character in Chesnutt’s tales, for me, involved drafting actions that were limited to the characterization of the character. For example, the character I played was the embodiment of an antiquated relic. Julius was a living object of experience. Recorded into his mind were the experiences of chattel slavey in the antebellum south. As an elderly man, he is still, somewhat, cognizant of the subjugator/subjugated dynamic found in most social interactions and attempts to manuver through a new, unknown form of this relationship. From his perspective, the effects of chattel slavery remain as a part of his being, even though its practice is no longer in use. If playing again, I would change my role to a paratextual character, just to imagine what it was like from the position of a literary authority. In doing so, I would possess the ability to weigh Chesnutt’s work with limitless capacity; drawing from cogent empirical evidence to support the stances in my moves. One drawback of playing a textual character is that there are finite resources which can be employed: resources that are only found in the author’s frames (structuring).
To properly analyze my moves (in game 3), I took a snapshot of the text-fields and cropped them together and a collage of total content for each move. This aesthetic arrangement made it easier for me to indicate plot points introduced by my fellow players. From these, hand-picked, plot points I was able to make moves that, somewhat, coalesced in historical accuracy, authorial intent and political climate. As a suggestion, for future users of the platform, would it be possible to incorporate a snapshot feature of each move? For instance, when all players have completed move#1, a snapshot is formed of all player moves, then merged into a single image for visual analysis. This removes the need to click back and forth between player responses while gathering information. This would also make the points of entry (for moves 2, 3 and 4) easier for all users. As with the original rules, the first player to post gains the priority of the move#. Overall, I had a great time playing the book and would like to thank admin for making this possible. Keep up the great work!
