The Embodied Reader and Experiential Death

Abstract

Narratives being the cornerstone of societal development will never go out of fashion. The act of reading will naturally be a part of highly developed cognitive beings. In this paper, the ideal reader is replaced by the embodied reader. The neurocognitive implications of the narratee will be analysed to uncover the fact that reading is quite similar to using a VR headset to play video games. The reason behind a good book being a favourite pastime for many is due to the ability of fiction to be experiential. Understanding fiction as a catalyst for neural engagement and triggering sensory-motor neural movement will be used to understand the true nature of the reading community. In addition to this close-up analysis of the embodied reader, the psychological response of such a reader when coming across a text that highlights the theme of death will also be analysed using the findings of terror management theory (TMT).

Keywords

• experientiality
• cognitive literary studies
• mortality salience
• death studies
• terror management theory