Sterne's writing and conversational style. A co-operative work between the author and the reader

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2,3, University of Duisburg-Essen, course: Reflections on Science and Progress in the Novel: Sterne`s Tristram Shandy and Mark Twain`s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur`s Court, language: English, abstract: In the spring and summer 2005, Mr. Dr. Jens Martin Gurr conducted the seminar dealing with the reflections on science and progress in the novel 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' written by Laurence Sterne, at the University of Essen. This was how my concern with the investigation of Sterne's writing and conversational style and its influence on the reader of the novel came into being. The general aim of my homework was to find out different means and methods Sterne used to influence the readers imagination and to involve the reader into an equal conversation with him. I tried to gather different informations about this novel and the theme I have chosen.This was done in two ways: 1. By reading the text and underlining those parts of the text which suit my theme best. 2. By collecting books and journal publications on my subject, using the MLA Online Bibliography available on the website of the university library. All information from another sources are indicated with quotations. I have indicated the material from the internet used in the last chapter of my homework too. After the introductory part that sets the stage and provides a conceptual framework, my homework is organized into three major sections. The first section of my homework deals with the general information about the role of the writing and conversational process in the 18th century. My interest in what tendencies in the 18th century help to create such texts like Sterne's Tristram Shandy led to certain decisions about the information I present in my homework. The first section is small, and it occupies only one page of my homework. The second section addresses the question of what role different graphic means and print forms play in the relationship between Tristram and the reader. We can trace, how Sterne tries to engage the reader into an equal conversation with the help of some graphic means and print tricks, how he influences the reader's imagination and makes the reader an active participant in the novel. I tried to mention the most interesting moments in the text, which I found in the text during the process of reading of Tristram Shandy.