Seth Bronson, Week 2: The Greatest Thieves
The best writers are undoubtedly the most excellent thieves.
Some writers might be cross with me for making such an absurd or outrageous statement. However, the guilty will be appalled as I reveal their secrets, and I suppose that their responses will be the most varied. Some will definitely insist that I have no right nor reason to make such a claim, at which I can only laugh. As a writer myself, I feel quite entitled to my rights to such a monologue, though perhaps I should more greatly fear alienating my audience over my companions. Because of this outcome (which I shudder to consider), I feel that I must clarify my assertion. Why would the greatest writers be thieves, rogues, or charlatans?
For one, writers are leeches of the system, as we require food, a space to work, and specialized writing material such as paper, pencils, laptops. While the individual expenditure that a writer takes on society seems small, once one accounts for writers taking up space in universities, homes, and even a good portion of schools at any given time, the toll we take on humankind’s resources becomes considerably larger. And what do we trade these luxuries for? Mere words? It seems that in trading physical goods for ideas that cannot be directly returned, we swindle our benefactors (if we do not outright rob them).
But this is only the beginning of our crimes. If a thief is a person that benefits off of others by partaking of their gains, a writer can hardly profess to be anything but. You see, one of the great features that separates people from animals is their ability to change their very being in response to the environment. As they train and expand this ability, they tie these threads of surroundings together and make them something entirely different - a personality. And the diversity of the personality creates all sorts of wonders, as individuals come together to frame a glorious tapestry of systems of governance, works of art - in other words, the very things that make up society.
And yet we writers manhandle those ideas, plucking them from others’ unsuspecting reactions without a second thought. Remorselessly, we proceed to repackage them in those so-called masterpieces we dub essays. Yet, we do not take these experiences to change our personality, as the so-called “common man” might do. Instead, those of the writing community proceed to publish and submit their ill-gotten gains for profit (or, in the case of students worldwide, a better grade), often to the very individuals that they have robbed.
In this, I reaffirm that the best writers are secretly excellent thieves. One might think that I am attempting to persuade the world to lighten its reading. However, I would endeavor to disabuse you of this notion and replace it with encouragement towards reading more. After all, if the audience partaking of our writing ceases to do so, what else would we attempt to steal?
Hi Seth! I love this satirical take on writers—they certainly are, in a way, thieves! I especially like the way you used lots of metaphors and descriptive language to explain how writers “steal” other people’s experiences and “repackage” them in writing. I thought the ending was funny, that people should read more so writers could have more things to “steal.” Your blog made me think about how much writing reflects real life, because it is influenced so much by the people around us. Many essays I have written have included inspiration from the people around me. Thanks for sharing your blog, I really like your writing style. It’s a bit difficult to read, as your vocabulary is quite advanced, but that is what is enjoyable about it.
ReplyDeleteThis was a genuinely funny read, especially considering the heaviness of the subject of identity. The idea of writers as "thieves" seems so obvious I have no idea how I never thought about them this way until now. I especially like how you twist the notion of thievery from a reprehensible act to an action with benefits to society. We can all learn and grow together as fellow people. Stories, after all, fiction or not, have some basis in reality. That's what makes them understandable, relatable, and interesting, after all. We can immerse ourselves in them.
ReplyDeleteHey Seth! I love your format as its very asthetically pleasing to read. I really like your use of rhetorical questions and it got me thinking deeply about everything you had to say. Your hook of the best authors are the best "thieves" was able to catch my attention because it was something that I had never heard before. I think its a very interesting idea and I dont think I would have thought about that before reading this article! I think writers in general are very influential and important while being thieves at the same time because they are able to make their ideas even more popular. I think writers should be able to gain profit from their works because even though it might not be the most origional, they are not directly plagerising from others. I believe in each piece of literature, the author thinks about a certain topic in a nuanced way to achieve some kind of purpose by combining their own research and their ideologies. Truman capote is a famous example of that. He took a lot of information but throughout the book he has a vast amount of commentary that adds to the facts of what happened. Thanks for sharing your blog, its very insightful and I like to see others think outside the box. I can tell you are going to ace AP Lang!
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