Visibility

What is imagination and where does it come from? Calvino expresses to his students that even he does not know the answer. Imagination is like an iceberg, he says. A person may have a vague sense of the image's origin, but the majority of lies hidden in the depths. The image of the iceberg is phenomenal because because it helps the reader understand Cavino's point. He writes that we cannot know exactly from where images within our imagination come. It is a mystery.

Although the origin of the images of our imagination is not completely known, one can still utilize those images. Electronic literature allows authors to intertwine text and images to express their imaginations. New doors are being opened in the world of literature. There is much to explore and much to discover. By using imagination and technology, one can revolutionize the way literature is experienced.

Visibility is seen in The Horse and His Boy through one of my favorite scenes. Shasta has been instructed to travel as fast as he can to warn King Lune of Archenland about the approaching Calormen army. Shasta departs immediately and warns King Lune in time. However, as the Archenland army makes its way back to Narnia, Shasta lags behind and loses sight of them. He is left alone on a borrowed horse and must make it to Narnia without knowing the way. As he travels in fear of the approaching enemy, Shasta's imagination runs wild, and he makes visible in his mind what his eyes cannot see. He hears something or someone beside him:

"The Thing (unless it was a Person) went on beside him so very quietly that Shasta began to hope he had only imagined it. But just as he was becoming quite sure of it, there suddenly came a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him. That couldn't be imagined! Anyway, he had felt the hot breath of that sigh on his chilly left hand.
"If the horse had been any good - or if he had known how to get any good out of the horse - he would have risked everything on a breakaway and a wild gallop. But he knew he couldn't make that horse gallop. So he went on at a walking pace and the unseen companion walked and breathed beside him. At last he could bear it no longer.
"'Who are you?' he said, scarcely above a whisper.
"'One who has waited long for you to speak,' said the Thing. Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep.
"'Are you - are you a giant?' asked Shasta.
"'You might call me a giant,' said the Large Voice. 'But I am not like the creatures you call giants.'
"'I can't see you at all,' said Shasta, after staring very hard. Then (for an even more terrible idea had come into his head) he said, almost in a scream, 'You're not - not something dead, are you?'" (162-63).

Shasta's imagination runs away with him. The image of a giant or something dead frightened him even though he did not see the creature next to him. Where did those images come from? Calvino asks where images come from, and Lewis supports this idea in presenting a great literary example of visibility.

Visibility is also shown in E-Lit. "Carving in Possibilities" by Deena Larsen gives the reader a sense of visibility in that phrases appear that question reality and what is truly seen. This author does a great job of employing the imagination of the reader. Teachers must engage the students in the activities within the classroom. Utilizing E-Lit is a great way to explore literature and engage the students' imaginations. "Carving in Possibilities" may be viewed at: http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/larsen__carving_in_possibilities.html.