On 21-Feb-2009, at 17:30, Mark Smith wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 10:40 PM, LuKreme <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Well, on the one hand I would say that the implication in the
>> assignment is "to pick an event or person that you think
>> [SIGNIFICANTLY] influenced history" and on that score I'm not sure
>> Mr.
>> King qualifies
>
> I almost agree with Lewis. WIth no disrespect to your daughter Jeff, I
> don't think its possible to make a case that Steven King has "changed"
> history in any significant way. If you let him in, then you have to
> let in any big selling author. If its not too late to change, there
> are eh... "easier" authors.
Well, there are certainly authors who have had significant influence
on history. Even skipping the obvious like Shakespeare and John Locke
and Thomas Jefferson you can look at writers wlike Upton Sinclair, F
Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, or JRR Tolkien.
But then what is meant by 'influencing history'? Often teachers have
a very narrow meaning in mind, which is something along the lines of,
"IMPORTANT, POSITIVE changes, either SOCIAL or POLITICAL." The Caps
are important. Most teachers I've had would have kicked back a paper
on that subject that profiled pretty much any living person, and
certainly a NOVELIST, and most definitely a POPULAR NOVELIST (Ick!);
chances are good they would have kicked it back unread, too.
So, the questions your daughter needs to ask herself are:
1) Will the teacher even accept a paper on Stephen King?
2) What sort of influence on history is meant, and does
Mr King have enough of an influence for me to make a
strong case
3) Do I *really* want to write about Stephen King, or could
I make the same point I want to make with another person,
and perhaps make a stronger case?
4) Do I care about the grade I am going to get?
The last is probably the most important. If the grade is not really
that important, write the paper you want to write. If this is a
critical mid-term/significant grade/etc, write the paper the teacher
wants.
If it were me, in High School, I'd be looking long and hard at #3
though. I think that, despite Stephen King's millions of readers and
many millions more who have seen movies from his writing, the case of
his having an influence on history is going to be a hard one to make
-- especially for a 12yo.
Popularity is not enough.
Here's a quote for her, "Many books are undeservedly forgotten. None
are undeservedly remembered" WH Auden
--
Bart: That was the worst day of my life
Homer: That was the worst day of your life SO FAR.
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