Date of Award
5-2022
Access Control
Open Access
Degree Name
English, M.A.
Department
English Department
Advisor
Jennifer Ryan-Bryant
First Reader
Jennifer Ryan-Bryant
Second Reader
Lorna Perez
Third Reader
Lisa Berglund
Abstract
Textualization is the act of putting words on a page. Typography is the style and way in which the textualization of the text appears to the reader. Together, textualization and typography have the ability to coerce the reader into a specific reading pattern. Mark Z. Danielewski has combined textualization and typography in his complex novel House of Leaves as a unique attempt to represent trauma in the space between language and written language. Typical textual play becomes textual persuasion as the reader is guided through the labyrinth of text by typographical coercion. In this novel, these elements of play essentially force the reader to partake in a trauma-inducing literary, physical, and mental journey by means of engaging with a story that challenges reality and perception. This thesis will explain how textualization and typography create a powerful and manipulative guide through both the novel and the maze that folds within the house at the center of the novel. Lastly, it will demonstrate how to travel through the house and describe the effect in which this journey attempts to have on a reader.
Recommended Citation
Wall, Elizabeth A., "Textual Persuasion: Trauma Representation in Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves" (2022). English Theses. 33.
https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/english_theses/33
