I remember walking into every class on the first day of school only to hear the same plagiarism lecture monotonously repeated. This idea of stealing another’s idea is continuosly drilled into our minds to the point where we fear even looking up other’s thoughts to inspire our own. But, the truth is this plagiarism paranoia is a complete hoax. Every book we lay our hands on, any song we listen to, or any artwork we look upon contains some sort of plagiarism. Is this absurd? Or is our modern standard definition of plagiarism absurd?
The fact is that no form of art can exist without inspiration and inspiration cannot come out of thin air. We are inspired by that famous book we read curled up next to the fireplace, by that song we heard while driving to work, by that painting we saw at the museum. Jonathan Lethem, a novelist, essayist, and short story writer wittingly addresses this issue of plagiarism, ironically in a plagiarized article he wrote for Harper’s magazine, a left-wing magazine based on literature, sciences, and the arts. In this aptly written piece, he argues that no quality piece of literature, or of art in general, can be written without some form of plagiarism. In order to prove his point, he mockingly plagiarizes his entire article. When you start reading this article, you find it very serious, convincing and well-written. By the end, when you find out that it’s all plagiarized, it kind of makes the whole thing a joke, but at the same time reflects his whole argument.
It makes sense that a writer is arguing about redefining plagiarism in a literature magazine. His satirical style mirrors the whole “left-wing” attitude towards conservatives, which further captures his liberally-minded audience. Now that I think about it, this notion of plagiarism that we are taught is a bit ridiculous. I don’t agree with copying entire essays or bluntly reiterating words that you find. But I do agree that one man’s junk can be another’s treasure.
Lethem’s article can be viewed at: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/02/0081387
I strongly agree with what you are saying. My blog was very similar 🙂
I am not sure that what Lethem’s article is really plagiarism. He does make a point about how he using other writers ideas, and in some cases words, but he also attributes those ideas to the authors – a key difference with what plagiarism is. I do agree with the idea that our culture’s perspective about plagiarism and copyrights are absurd.
I understand what you are saying. I didn’t mean to say that Lethem’s article was actually plagiarized. I meant it in a satircal way, where he took other’s ideas, incorporated them into his article, and mocked what we consider to be “plagiarism”.