Mystery Text Discussion: ww.txt

[ebeshero]

Post your screenshots and discuss your findings about ww.txt here!

[Unquieterpig]

Alright this text was interesting because at first glance I had no idea what it was about, or could discern any notable details to guess the book. That was until I got to n-gram size 6. The most interesting phrase I saw was the sound of ulla ulla ulla. So I did a KWIC search of just ulla ulla ulla. Hmmm, again nothing that stands out, except maybe red vegetation. Could we be on another planet? Anyways I lowered the n-gram size until 3. Which came up with something very interesting: Very interesting! We have some more details, Martians, red vines, heat rays. Okay! Now I know the book is most probably a Sci-Fi fiction of some sort. Here I see alot of sentences that depict some sort of conflict with these Martians, plus THE DAYS OF IMPRISONMENT kinda seals the deal. This book is Sci-Fi with Martians, and a conflict.

The only novel that fits this bill is:

Spoiler warning

The War of the Worlds

[jvs7215]

- What ngram sizes give you frequency counts above 5?
5 and below

- What ngram sizes give you frequency counts in the double digits?

• 4 and below

- What phrases get repeated a lot in this text?

1. the edge
2. ulla ulla ulla ulla
3. of the martians
4. of the pit
5. the red weed
6. the heat ray

- Try limiting the results to only those that occur more than 5 or 10 times. Experiment to see what you can see. 5 times – 4 ngram

• 10 times – 4ngram

- Choose some ngram clusters of interest and explore them in their KWIC (Keyword in Context) view to scope the words before and after. Think about what you're seeing: what questions or ideas do you have about this text based on what you are seeing? "ulla ulla ulla ulla” I was very curious what this repeating phrase could mean. After seeing the context, I’m still unsure although the main character seems to be as well. I’m guessing it’s connected to the Martian language.

“the edge of the pit” I assumed the pit would be some menacing and dangerous presence, but rather it seems like an important communal spot for the martians.

- In the Issue for your text, write a paragraph or two about your findings. What you have discovered so far about the text you worked with? Post your screen captures in the GitHub Issue to illustrate your commentary. Also, take a look at what your peers are posting about the text and join in a conversation about it: What guesses, questions, and ideas are you developing about your text?

From the common ngrams of this text, I assume it is a science fiction work that takes place on Mars and involves advanced aliens that have their own society. Initially, I thought it might have some horror elements, however, it seems like that is not the case. The work seems very descriptive as nearly all the common repeating ngrams are establishing the setting. I can also see that the work is in first person and the narrator seems to be the only human around. There is a lack of dialogue, but lots of inner monologuing. While I see the Martians being referenced constantly, I don’t see mentions of Mars itself and I wonder if the main character is even on the planet. If the Martians are indeed friendly as I am presuming, I’m curious what the driving plot force is.