Paratext, as we discussed in class, consists of contents other than the main text created by editors, printers, and publishers. \u00a0Each example of cover art for Homer’s “The Iliad” gave\u00a0editions\u00a0a certain\u00a0context and would presumably appeal to different audiences.<\/p>\n
Each story itself, without its paratext, has an authorial audience, or a group of people who the author intends the story to be read by.\u00a0A narrator intentionally constructs the lens through which they tell their story, and a writer’s perception of their audience dictates the content that he or she\u00a0includes.<\/p>\n
For example, the book, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon,\u00a0is told through the lens of Christopher, a boy who has an autistic spectrum disorder. He\u00a0is self-conscious about the pre-existing beliefs and biases that people have about those with special needs. His introspection and elucidation of his experiences, two skills\u00a0usually not attributed to autistic individuals, disproves peoples’ expectations of him as unintelligent, unobservant, or insensitive. His audience, therefore, becomes \u00a0people who are uninformed about and biased towards his disorder. The intention of the author thereby is to educate them.<\/p>\n
With this authorial audience intentionally\u00a0imbedded in the text, I imagine that\u00a0it would be incredibly frustrating for an author if the cover art\u00a0wasn’t an appropriate representation. I wonder if the wrong cover could undo the carefully constructed intended audience due to the fact\u00a0that we are so affected by the visual quality of something.\u00a0Below is the cover art for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/41bz6juMwiL._SX323_BO1204203200_.jpg\")
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