Typography And Aposiopesis In Literature

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Ricardo D. Solórzano Typography and Aposiopesis in Literature In all languages, words can never fully express an individual’s idea because everyone has his or her own perception attached to a word. John Locke, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, explains this by showing the manner in which the mind works. He states, “each person has his own definition that is slightly different than anyone else’s, and to communicate one must have some knowledge of what a word means in the context of the other person’s mind” (224). Laurence Sterne and other Scriblerians, during the eighteenth century, understood this limitation. However, instead of viewing this predicament as a complete hindrance in writing, they used this understading to communicate by experimenting with typography, the style and appearance of printed matter, and aposiopesis, the device of suddenly breaking off in speech (Holtz 69). In the eighteenth century, writers used these techniques to allow the readers to reflect more deeply on the novel and simultaneously give them the chance to, figuratively speaking, write the novel along with the author. Laurence Sterne, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemen, repeatedly depicts the Lockean idea stated above by making his characters all obsessed with one particular idea, profession, or activity. Theses obsessions, also know as hobbyhorses in the book, determine the way the characters interpret ideas communicated to them. This idea is best portrayed in the character Toby, Tristram Shandy’s uncle, who is obsessed with his military profession and all its technical aspects and Widow Wadman, Toby’s neighbor, who is obsessed with him. In the novel, Toby receives a war wound on his groin and Widow Wadman, who is searching for a husband, requests to see it in order to determine if Toby is fit to be her life companion. So she confronts Toby and asks,
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