Hubert Selby: The Demon (1976)
This example uses Hellixia to analyze Hubert Selby Jr.’s The Demon. The analysis is divided into two parts.
First, the narrative analysis focuses on plot, characters, and relationships.
Second, the holistic analysis examines broader themes, values, impacts, and interpretive dimensions.
Both workflows create semantic networks that can be inspected and refined in BayesiaLab.
Narrative Analysis
This narrative analysis focuses on plot structure, character dynamics, and relationships in The Demon.
Workflow for Creating a Semantic Network
Create the node “The Demon.”
Use the Dimension Elicitor, employing a broad array of keywords: Agents, Contexts, Developments, Entities, Events, Highlights, Keywords, Locations, Milestones, Motifs, Progressions, and Relationships. Set also the General Context to: “Hubert Selby Novel”
Inspect the dimensions returned by Hellixia and eliminate any that seem superfluous or unrelated to the analysis. Next, disregard the “The Demon” node and run the Embedding Generator on all remaining nodes to apprehend the semantic associations of their names and comments.
Please note that “The Demon” is not as widely recognized, and GPT might hallucinate, i.e., occasionally generate responses that align with other more prominent works by Selby, such as “Requiem for a Dream”.
Use the Maximum Weight Spanning Tree algorithm to generate a semantic network.
Change node styles to Badges to ensure each node’s comment is visible. Then, apply the Dynamic Grid Layout to position the nodes on the graph; this algorithm is not deterministic, and its orientation—vertical, horizontal, or mixed—is random. You might need to execute this layout several times to obtain an arrangement that aligns with the intended presentation.
Switch over to Validation Mode F5 and select Skeleton View. Since the network does not represent causal relations, Skeleton View will maintain only node connections without indicating a direction.
Workflow for Node Force Analysis
Return to Modeling Mode F4 and alter the node styles to Discs.
Use the Symmetric Layout and switch to Validation Mode F5 to run a Node Force analysis.
Workflow for Creating the Hierarchical Semantic Network
Run Variable Clustering. This operation will categorize analogous variables based on semantic relationships.
Open the Class Editor and run Class Description Generator to generate descriptive names for the factors. Use the Export Descriptions function and save the newly created descriptions.
Return to Modeling Mode F4 and run Multiple Clustering to generate latent variables.
Run the structural learning algorithm Taboo. Ensure the Delete Unfixed Arcs option is enabled.
Use the descriptions you exported earlier as a Dictionary to rename the latent variables you’ve created.
Switch to Validation and run Node Force.
Holistic Analysis
This holistic analysis examines broader themes, social influences, and philosophical concepts in The Demon.
Follow the workflow outlined in the Narrative Analysis section, but use this set of keywords: Achievements, Characteristics, Components, Concepts, Considerations, Contributions, Domains, Elements, Emotions, Features, Feelings, Forces, Ideas, Impacts, Perspectives, Purposes, Sentiments, Subjects, Themes, Theses, Topics, and Values.
Semantic Network
Node Force analysis
Hierarchical Semantic Network
