Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Blogssay?

The general idea of both an essay and a blog is to deliver a message to another reader. Alan Lightman believes that the ideal essay “communes with a real person.” While I feel that this is true, I think that the message communed is more quantitative with an essay. With a blog, the message is more qualitative. I feel the differences in a painted portrait and a well tagged wall is much similar. One is a fine work of art that has one specific purpose; the other is a fine work of art that can be viewed from many perspectives. I hate how disconnected essays can feel. Blogs feel like they’re actually something a person wanted to right. Lightman feels that the essay “is not an assignment,” I feel he is got the concept of the essay and blog mixed up. I have never written an essay for fun. However, if I thought people valued my ideas enough, I would write blogs all the time. I find that when essays are written, they are told by some other person “write an essay about this subject.” Lightman describes how he’s “going on a journey” when he reads an essay. How can you go on a journey into the unknown when you are reading an essay that was assigned? Maybe I could agree with Lightman if he reads random essays, but who does that? Show me someone that likes to read essays for fun, and I’ll show you a liar. I can understand reading a blog (someone’s collection of ideas) for fun. However, I cannot read something someone has simply vomited on paper because some person told them to. There’s too much polish and criticism on the line with an essay. There’s no soul to it, only a shell. Shells can be pretty, but they hold no life, like essays. Blogs are like hermit crabs-moderately pretty shell, but there’s life with it. Life is much more beautiful than a pretty shell.

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6 comments:

The Man Who Fell To Earth said...

Nice analogy there about the portraits and graffiti. I concur. I must say I concur with everything stated here. And I like the part about people that say they like essays are liars. I thought it was interesting how the person you chose to quote you totally disagree with. And a very nice analogy and the end there, sir. Just look at Maddox. He has a blog, but the only reason he writes in it is because people actually want to read his hilarious stuff. That last sentence makes me feel so hopeful about life, tee hee.

February 7, 2008 at 8:53 AM
Lauren H said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
February 7, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Sky totha L izz AR said...

Mr. Wayne, I believe you’ve hit something there. Something undeniably true. Love your purple by the way. Is this exactly 300 words? It looks short. But short is good. It’s to the point no dragging your feet like I feel I am doing in this comment. I agree 100% with you and your disagreement with Lightman. Your blog here is so full of life and I believe I can read in-between the lines to get to know the real “Bruce Wayne.” Beautifully Brilliant.

February 7, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Lauren H said...

Hey! I completely agree with you! Writing an essay is something I have never felt compelled to do. I love your statement, "show me someone that likes to read essays for fun, and I will show you a liar.” I giggled when I read it because it is so true! I have no idea why English teachers complain so much about reading our essays because they are the one that assign such boring topics for us to write about. A more enjoyable topic would result in a more enjoyable essay to read. Duh.

February 7, 2008 at 10:03 AM
Phil Da PIll said...

Dud man that was awesome. I would go into how awesome and stuff about it that i liked, but, it would be a copy of what everyone else has said. So i will leave it at that, but great job it was cool.

February 7, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Teacher Man said...

So I'll throw in the voice of dissent: While I would agree that simply being told to do something rarely produces quality, I think your definition of "essay" is too colored by your education. That is, your perception of the essay comes primarily from having been told to write them (exercises in process without passion). Many great writers, thinkers, and leaders, though, have written essays with lots of heart and soul. Jonathan Swift wrote a wry bit about eating babies (to prove a point about famine). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote an impassioned essay-- from prison-- about justice and civil disobedience that's about as moving and soul-filled as you can get.

Interestingly, though, this is where I come down on all this: Most people see essays (and writing them) as a chore. This is fact. I do not deny that.

Blogging, on the other hand, has the potential to revive the power of the essay (from its public school grave) in electronic-- present, real, now-- form.

February 7, 2008 at 2:02 PM

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