Barthes and Eco

By taking a part from a whole the meaning can become lost or distorted. Only having a piece gives only a small portion of what is. Taking Text from a piece of Work "reads without the inscription of the Father"(Barthes 161). In other words, by taking a phrase from a whole piece of work the intention of the writer becomes vague and is left up to interpretation. This can be related to real life situations such as the false environments in which Umberto Eco describes in his essay "Travels in Hyperreality." Eco describes the scene of the San Diego Zoo in which wild animals all live in an allotted plot of land, but each with their own ecosystem pertaining to their survival. Without the scene of the replicated environment surrounding the animals, viewers would not be seeing the area in which was attended by the park staff. By having the natural habitat the viewer sees the attachment between the animals and their habitat giving it a realistic feel. The same applies to the extension of Text, because "if the Text extends itself, it is as a result of a combinatory systematic"(Barthes 161).


Works Cited:

Barthes, Roland. "From Work to Text." Image Music Text. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, 1977. 161-61.


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