White In. White Out. The Noticeability of Text. Conspicuous Text
The term ‘whiteout' is usually understood as a weather condition in polar or mountain regions affecting visibility through diffuse lighting. In this case, however, the idea of ‘whiteout' is not merely taken as a motif, but as a way to describe disruptive effects in literary texts. The term...
Published in: | Nordlit |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Septentrio Academic Publishing
2008
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/view/1180 https://doi.org/10.7557/13.1180 |
Summary: | The term ‘whiteout' is usually understood as a weather condition in polar or mountain regions affecting visibility through diffuse lighting. In this case, however, the idea of ‘whiteout' is not merely taken as a motif, but as a way to describe disruptive effects in literary texts. The term ‘whiteout' is used here to point out how ‘snow'-in the broadest sense-pervades the structure and language of narrative texts from the 19th to the 21st century. Thetexts in question deal with snowstorms and snow drifts; they send their protagonists on polar explorations and mountain expeditions; heros get lost in snow or suffer from extreme frost. |
---|