"Corn-pone Opinions" by Mark Twain

Public Opinion with the Win

Matt Wuerker depicts exactly what Twain got across in his essay; 

people conform to society's opinion rather than doing the research themselves.

       Not only is Mark Twain a famous historical figure, he can also use his essay, "Corn-pone Opinions", to teach valuable life lessons, even after more than one-hundred years of writing it.  When Twain originally wrote this piece, he was writing to all those in that time period who were being affected by, or affecting the unfair treatment of African-Americans.  A line that stood out was in the beginning anecdote, when Twain is listening to the preaching of a slave.  Twain writes that he had heard the slave say, "You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I'll tell you what his 'pinions is" (Twain 1).  Corn pone is a type of southern corn bread, that every house hold would typically have in that time period.  Where a man gets his corn pone shows where he shops or where he is in society, therefore, showing that the slave meant opinions are based solely on where you are on the societal ladder.  Twain develops his argument by expanding on this idea, "...man's self-approval in the large concerns of life has its source in the approval of the people about him, and not in a searching personal examination of the matter" (Twain 4).  Twain is saying that man's self-approval controls his opinions, because he lets people around him judge and form his opinions for him.  His use of didactic phrases help his opinion on the matter stand out.  Twain ends his essay using multiple hypophoras, making his audience leave the essay with deep, final thoughts.  He writes, "Do you believe that a tenth part of the people, on either side, has any rational excuse for having an opinion about the matter at all? I studied that mighty question to the bottom-- came out empty" (Twain 5).  This question was regarding those supporting and those not supporting slavery.  Twain effectively achieves his purpose of getting people to think outside of society's general opinion, and form opinions of their own by asking questions that can relate to their own lives.

Cartoon source: http://www.politico.com/wuerker/2014/10/political-cartoons-october-2014/002055-029231.html

"What Are Master-pieces and Why Are There So Few of Them" by Gertrude Stein

    

"There's no such thing as magic!"

The readers (pictured on bottom), hearing everything Gertrude Stein 

(pictured on the top) is saying and not believing it one bit

       Gertrude Stein writes unlike any other author, therefore, receiving both extremes of criticism; supporters that dote her and critics that say she is of no importance.  "What Are Master-pieces and Why Are There So Few of Them" was originally written and read as a lecture at Oxford and Cambridge.  The well-known French author tries to explain how master-pieces are related to human nature, the human mind, and identity in order to define them for her audience; her audience being those interested in finding their own master-pieces.

       Stein slowly builds throughout the essay towards her final purpose, but never seems to get there.  At the end of the essay, Stein says that, "If there was no identity no one could be governed, but everybody is governed by everybody and that is why they make no master-pieces..." (Stein 138).  If everyone is governed, and government causes death to master-pieces, then how can master-pieces exist?  By creating an impossible definition, Stein is not only failing to create an argument, but confusing her audience as well.  One would think that her purpose would be to answer the questions posed in her title, but her answers are all too vague for the audience to even take into consideration.  Every so often, in the midst of her jumbled sentences,  Stein repeats certain words in an attempt to clarify what she means.  On the second page of her essay, Stein writes, "It is very difficult so difficult that it always has been difficult but even more difficult now to know what is the relation of human nature to the human mind..." (Stein 132).  By emphasizing the fact that it is difficult to understand the relation between human nature and the human mind, Stein takes away from her main goal of writing this essay.  If Stein's purpose was to confuse her audience, she achieved it with ease.  Whether one agrees with Gertrude Stein's style or not, it is clear that "What Are Master-pieces and Why Are There So Few of Them" is no master-piece.

Picture source: http://memes.mugglenet.com/Harry+Potter+Funny+Pics/Theres-no-such-thing-as-magic/2482

"Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All" by William Manchester

Blood to Stone

Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr. looking at the names of both the Americans and Japanese that had died in the bloodiest battle of World War II at the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park. 

        During World War II, out of all of the battles in the Pacific and in Europe, William Manchester knows from first-hand experience as a sergeant in the Marines, that the war fought in Okinawa was the worst.  On Flag Day in 1987, Americans and Japanese gathered together in Okinawa for a ceremony for those lost in the war.  Manchester writes to anyone in that time period that was affected by war or people who thought that they knew what war was like.  His purpose for writing this essay, "Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All", was to show that the marks of war never left the men that fought in it, even if the countries had forgiven each other.

       Manchester tries to use personal anecdotes to get this point across.  Although he does eventually get this point across at the end of the essay, he could have done it much more efficiently.  The personal anecdotes are very important to the author, but they have no significance towards convincing the audience to agree with the purpose.  For instance, Manchester was explaining his role in the war, which he had already done multiple times before, by saying, "...I cherish most the Commendation from General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., U.S.M.C., our splendid division commander, citing me fore 'gallantry in action and extraordinary achievement," (Manchester 498).  This detail, like so many others in this essay, was completely unneeded.  With an abundance of these personal details, Manchester shows that he is credible to talk about this topic, but the audience gets so carried away in these mini-stories that they fail to even notice the true purpose of the essay.  If he had wanted to get his purpose across more clearly, Manchester should have used less anecdotes and introduced the true purpose earlier on, rather than at the end of the essay.  When the audience doesn't have time to digest the purpose, the purpose rarely has the potential to have any impact on the readers, making the essay completely pointless.

Image source: http://www.mcipac.marines.mil/NewsCenter/NewsArticleDisplay/tabid/1144/Article/531394/local-community-americans-honor-okinawa-memorial-day.aspx