The two essays I read were...
Stephen Dunn- "Two"
Stephen Corey- "Experiencing"
In his essay, Experiencing, Stephen Corey describes the observations of his 17 month old granddaughter as he observes her observing life. She watches a bottle cap fall to the ground, ants crawling down a sidewalk, and dancers performing at an amphitheater. As he watches his granddaughter, he is able to not only watch these things that she sees happen, but he is also able to observe the effect it has on her. The performance of the dancers renders her completely in awe. Corey suggests that his granddaughter hasn't necessarily understood the effect it has had on her, rather she has experienced it. He finally goes on the express his belief that the effect of beauty and art on the body might be much like the body's response to pain; merely a visceral connection between the body and something it encounters.
Oh, wow, that sounds like a really good essay as well! It is amazing how different perspectives are between youth and the elderly on experience. And that is also a connection that I would never of thought of: between pain and beauty, but I guess that makes sense? Does he mean that you experience something without understanding its full effects?
ReplyDeleteI will definitely have to read this essay as well! Would you recommend "Two" as well?
When he relates the effect of beauty to the effect of pain, he's merely saying that the effect of beauty may be something natural, like a response your body would have to a feeling.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think he does mean that you can experience something without understanding its full effects on you. Maybe, that you don't need to understand the beauty of something to be effected by it.
"Two" was also a good essay but it was pretty short and didn't really resonate with me as much as the other. It was basically about peoples responses when asked if they would kill someone for their own benefit. It was definitely an interesting topic but I didn't really like the way the writer went about it.
Oh, that makes sense and that is a really interesting take on things! Thank you!
DeleteAlso thank you on your input on "Two." That would be interesting but kind of scary to see people's expressions. Especially if they didn't have any remorse or guilt, much like Macbeth.
I'm liking this. I'm liking this!
ReplyDeleteBeauty and pain being related is a very cool idea. So, the granddaughter can experience both, even though we think of beauty as a higher-order thing that we learn about later in life?
Only thing I'd say is I'd like to see some of Corey's argument in his own words. There's a big idea here that you're analyzing, and that's terrific, but is there something in the actual writing that you could point out, too?
Loving the conversation. I feel like you were able to clarify in your comment back to Eli. Illuminated it for me.
DW
Wow, that is a piece I must read. By the way, you did a good job of persuading me to do so. And that seems to be an insightful piece and insightful ideas/observations. The theory and observation that the mans grandchild merely experiences what she sees and doesn't fully understand it is an insightful outlook on child psychology.
ReplyDelete