I greatly enjoyed reading Harrington’s essay called “Writing about General Apache”. The short essay made me happy to think of the connection the teacher and his student had. It was apparent that Harrington had a great admiration for all of his students which was probably why he liked when they wrote about their own experiences. Everyone’s individual experience has an effect upon someone else. Being able to share one’s own experience, and especially know exactly how to share the story is very important to both characters in the essay. Being able to convey your story is somewhat of a theme for the essay. Harrington succeeds at telling General apache’s story but has him read over the poem before publishing it. Their writing has a profound effect on anyone who knows someone similar, understands the situation, or simply reads the poem. The word choice and the simple language that Harrington uses makes it easy for the audience to understand General Apache’s story. I’m happy that both of the characters were able to confer to each other. The very fact that Harrington conferred with his student creates a vivid respect within the relationship that the entire audience can understand.
Zinsser’s simplicity essay caused some frustration for me. I believed him to be hypocritical because I encountered, as a reader, language that did not seem that simple to me. Why such big words? If he is to complain that students should not find a more intelligent word, or that a Airplane pilot cannot anticipate precipitation, then why does he not use ‘simple’ language if that is what he wishes to read? On the other hand, however, I can relate to his frustrating situation. We as readers have all encountered a sentence that is difficult to read and understand. The last paragraph confused me slightly. The first time I read it, I was confused. “Writing is hard.” I knew what he meant when he said that those who cannot write a clear sentence should not write. I agree. As a reader, I do not wish to be confused and bombarded with so much jargon.
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Maddie, you are not the only one who found irony in Zinsser's word choices in "Simplicity." I think what matters here is how much time and extra thinking is right to require of your reader (or listener) depending on the situation. It is a matter of life and death that an airplane pilot must speak clearly and understandably. I have read that crashes have occurred because of lack of clear language between flight crews. Specifically, crewmembers were "hedging" (not coming right out with their main point) when talking to their superior officers, trying to be respectful at the cost of clarity.
ReplyDeleteZinsser is a journalist, with a certain value system and a certain expectation of audience attention and education level. In academia, on the other hand, we can assume our readers have a little more time and willingness to sort through a greater vocabulary, allowing us a greater variety of words (and shades of meaning) from which to choose.
So it seems we can choose words and structure more deliberately when we consider the audience and the purpose.