Alyson Bernero

Yesterday in class we discussed the short story, "Death of the Author," by Barthes. One of the main ideas from the story was Barthes' belief that as soon as a person writes, they seemingly die and whats left behind is their work. When we talked about that concept in class we said that a good author loses himself in his work and writes only as his characters. This was just one of the many things we were able to connect between "Death of the Author" and House of Leaves. In the book House of Leaves, Danielewski loses himself in the stories of Zampano and Johnny Traunt. At no point during the story does the reader ever ask what does Danieleweski mean because its as if he no longer exists the story is purely written from the point of view of the characters.

Another topic discussed in class was that the role of the artist or creator of a work has changed somewhat dramatically over time. Years ago the person who created the work was intimately associated with their work and was recongnized for it. Now however, the artist is no longer as important as the work itself. There has become a divide between the creator and the creation. Perhaps this is why a good author loses himself entirely within in his work.

We also discussed the suspension of disbelief and its relevence to both the short story and House of Leaves. The suspension of disbelief is something is something readers do when they overlook their disbelief in order to fully encase themselves within the reading. This is especially necessary when reading books that are science fiction, or extremely unrealistic. House of Leaves requires its readers to put aside their doubts or their reluctance and give into such a complicated and seemlingly unrealistic story. I think it is very necessary to do this while reading especially in order to not only enjoy the book, but also to get the best understanding of it.