Starring the Text (3)

"...of which reading grasps only the smooth surface, imperceptibly soldered by the movement of sentences, the flowing discourse of narration, the “naturalness” of ordinary language:"

*&**ACT. "soldered": act of connecting sentences and ideas like act of soldering metal, "flowing": narration's ability to act like a flowing river. ***&****&*****SEM. "smooth", "flowing": connotation of smoothness and natural ebb and flow, "surface": negative connotation of missing what is underneath the surface, "imperceptibly": connotation of something hidden, something imperceptible. ******HEM. ""naturalness" of ordinary language": Is ordinary language and narration natural? Why does Barthe put in "naturalness" in quotes. Is it because he does not actually believe ordinary language is natural? Then what is? If Barthes' implications are taken into account, is the act of starring a text actually what is natural?*******SYM. Nature: Not only is ordinary language described in natural imagery and metaphor (image of the river flowing peacefully), starring a text is also described as happening through natural forces (image of earthquake breaking text into blocks of significance). ********SYM. Peace/Chaos: Connected to previous symbolic code, Barthes provides the reader with an antithesis between peace and chaos as he describes the chaotic ability of earthquakes to break text into segments, and the peaceful character of the river-like original text.