I remember walking into every class on the first day of school only to hear the same plagiarism lecture monotonously\u00a0repeated. 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?<\/p>\n
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\u00a0book 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,\u00a0 a novelist, essayist, and short story writer wittingly\u00a0addresses this issue of plagiarism, ironically\u00a0in a plagiarized article he wrote for Harper’s magazine, a left-wing\u00a0magazine 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\u00a0reflects his whole argument.<\/p>\n
It makes sense that a writer is arguing about\u00a0redefining plagiarism in a literature magazine. His satirical style mirrors the whole “left-wing” attitude towards conservatives, which further captures his liberally-minded\u00a0audience. Now that I\u00a0think 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.<\/p>\n
Lethem’s article can be viewed at: http:\/\/www.harpers.org\/archive\/2007\/02\/0081387<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I remember walking into every class on the first day of school only to hear the same plagiarism lecture monotonously\u00a0repeated. This idea of stealing another’s idea is continuosly drilled into our minds to the point where we fear even looking … Continue reading