impact of the written word

Jamie Christensen
Mrs.White
English 12A
January 1, 2012

Compare and Contrast Essay

The power of the written word is incredible.  Across the world and through out history, many pieces of written work have made a statement.  It is crazy how a simple book, song, or speech can have such a big effect on a person(results may vary).  Works can positively change one's life for the better.  Please take caution when reading powerful novels though, they may lead to as follows: paranoia, bipolar thoughts, immaturity, violence, psychotic behavior, and murderous actions.  Powerful written words may include but are not limited to the Holy Bible, Martin Luther's "I have a dream speech", Harold Camper's prediction of the end of the world, and the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

There are many written pieces that greatly change the life of an individual in a positive way.  One of the most widely spread effective written works in my opinion is the Bible.  It is a very powerful book that effects very many people.  Growing up as a christian I have not personally experienced the life changing effects of the Bible, but my mom has.  After discussing the subject with her she has told me all of the ways that her life has changed ever since she met my dad.  My dad introduced my mom to the Bible and started bringing her to church.  She said at first she didn't understand everything but after studying the Bible and taking in specific verses it had a great impact on her.  While interviewing her she said, "It made me think about my life and the path I was headed down".  She said that her life was not headed in a positive direction, but reading the Bible motivated her to live a better life for the glory of God.  Not only do books like the Bible change a persons life, but so do speeches.  Speeches have a tremendous effect on people especially when the speaker is a motivational figure.  For example Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech on August 8, 1963.  That day will forever be remembered because that speech effected the lives of thousands of people.  It gave every American the confidence that they needed but at the same time encouraged them all to keep a nonviolent approach to ending segregation.  At the end of Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech he said, "In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.  Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred".  This had great effect on society as as a whole.  Americans followed Martin Luther King Jr's peaceful approach because they actually took to heart the words of I Have a Dream.  The powerful words of Martin Luther King Jr. gave the country hope for the future and impacted the lives of many if not all Americans.  


Unfortunately, not all written works are as comforting and positively influencing as the Bible and the I Have a Dream speech.  In fact they influence people in the exact opposite way.  For example, the end of the world "tribulation" prediction made by Harold Camping has had horrific effects on people.  A few years ago a woman from California attempted to kill her two daughters along with herself to avoid experiencing the end of the world.  This woman was extremely impacted by Camping's prediction.  She believed that the end of the world was coming soon according to Camping, and so she thought that it would be a better idea to kill her daughters before they could experience a horrific end.  In my opinion that woman must be sick in the head because no one in their right mind would kill their children in the first place.  She was negatively impacted by this prediction to an extreme and as a result she attempted both murder and suicide.  Another incident involving the negative effects of written work has to deal with Mark Chapman.  Mark Chapman was an obsessive Beatles fan who killed John Lennon.  After killing the singer, the cops found him sitting on the ground reading The Catcher in the Rye.  This book written by J.D. Salinger changed his life.  He was so involved with this novel and everything that took place in it that he actually thought that he was Holden Caulfield.  He truly believed that he had to get rid of John Lennon because he was "phony".  Although Mark Chapman may have been mentally ill, he was immensely effected by the written piece The Catcher in the Rye to the point where he committed homicide.  It is insane how far a person will go because they are effected by written word.  


The Holy Bible, Martin Luther's "I have a dream speech", Harold Camper's prediction of the end of the world, and the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger are all powerful pieces of work.  These powerful pieces of work have effected the lives of many individuals in unbelievable ways.  Through examples from my mom to Mark David Chapman, written word can have immeasurable effects on people and the effects can be either detrimental or incredibly life changing in a positive way.           

Works Cited 

Chapter 27. Jarrett Schaefer. 2007. Peace Arch Entertainment. DVD. 

Christensen, Christine A. Personal interview. 1 Jan. 2012. 

"Martin Luther King's Speech: 'I Have a Dream' - The Full Text." abcNews. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 
     2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/martin-luther-kings-speech-dream-full-text/ 
     story?id=14358231#.TwI2DdQS3is>. 

"Mom Tries to Kill Kids, Self, Before 'Tribulation' Comes." Videosift. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2012. 
     <http://videosift.com/video/Mom-Tries-to-Kill-Kids-Self-Before-Tribulation-Comes?loadcomm=1>. 

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. 
     

                                           

a universal teenager

Horomones raging, emotions changing, and futures yet to be decided, the life of a teenager is very stressful.  What is she doing with her life?  Where will he go to school?  How will they figure out their future?  The stress piles up and eventually leads to a mental break down.  Every teenager just wants to stay young and not have to deal with the harsh realities of the real world of growing up.  Through out A Catcher in the Rye Holden goes through this crazy emotional roller coaster and the clutch on childhood that represents the life of a universal teenager. 
For one thing though, im sure that the average teen is not as depressed as Holden is.  Everyone has their depressing times in life, but they eventually are followed up with happy times.  It seems as if every time Holden speaks he is depressed about something different.  He is depressed about flunking out of another school, dissapointing his parents, and life in general.  He can not let go of Allie, he is indecisive about girls, and he can not let go of his childhood.  When Holden is looking around Phoebe's room he finds her notebook, "I sat there on D.B.'s desk and read the whole notebook.  It didnt take me long, and I can read that kind of stuff, somne kind's notebook, Phoebe 's or anybody's, all day and all night long.  Kid's nmotebooks kill me" (J.D. Salinger 161.  This passage is an example of Holden still holding onto his childhood.  He loves everything that has to do with kids and childhood because he doesnt want to let go of his own childhood.  Maturity takes place through out the teen years for the most part, but we all have times when we dont want to grow up and be a responsible mature adult we are expected to be.  When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to do woth his life he says, "What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff....That's all I'd do all day.  I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all" (J.D. Salinger 173).  This proves that Holden is clinging to his childhood and memories from the past.  He doesn't want to mature and be a grown up with a real job and stable future.  his independence of being able to support himself with a job and education is out of his mind.  In a way every teenager is like Holden maybe not as extreme emotionally, but similar in a way.

Kesey's Dissaproval

            The differences between Kesey's novel and Forman's Oscar winning film are very obvious. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, written by Ken Kesey comes from the perspective of Chief throughout the entire story. The fog and machinery add that mysterious touch to the experience in a mental ward. The reader has the chance to personally experience life in a mental ward through the eyes of a patient. In the film, Forman focuses mainly on a humorous plot along with McMurphy's life of sex and gambling. In a way the film makes Chief seem like he really is dumb. While outside playing basketball, McMurphy says to Chief, "old Indian game, It's called, uh, put the ball in the hole" (Forman). Instead of portraying Chief as the wise man he is, the film makes him seem completely opposite. In a way, the film makes fun of Chief. Kesey must've been very upset over the fact that his story was not expressed the way he meant it to be.

            Another reason why Kesey disapproves of Forman's film is because the characters are not who Kesey originally intended them to be. For example, the Big Nurse is a rather large and in charge woman in the novel, who is a nasty and awful person. On the other hand, in the movie, Nurse Ratched seems like she has a heart. At times she may seem a little bossy, but she does not have the huge stature and precision of a machine. "Practice has steadied and strengthened her until now she wields a sure power that extends in all directions on hair like wires so small for anybody's eye but mine, I see her sit in the centre of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend her network with mechanical insect skill, know every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get the results she wants" (Kesey). Not only is Nurse Ratched's character mismatched, but McMurphy also is not a huge, red-headed farmer in the movie, like he is in Kesey's novel. When Forman takes out these characters traits, it changes the story greatly from how Kesey wanted it to be told. That is why Kesey disapproves of the movie make of his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

 

    

McMurphy vs. Nurse

 
            Throughout the Cuckoo's Nest there is an ongoing battle between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy. Currently, McMurphy is winning this battle because he is the one representing higher authority. He comes into the mental ward and upsets the Big Nurse's whole system she has going. She wants everything a certain way and when McMurphy changes everything up by taking an authoritive position over all the patients in the ward and the Big Nurse looses it. Also most of the men in the ward find interest and enjoyment in the way McMurphy acts and lives his life. It is mainly everyone against the Big Nurse as of now.
            As the book goes on, I think that McMurphy will be losing the battle. The Big Nurse could at any point take McMurphy into her hands and have electroshock therapy or a lobotomy done on McMurphy. This will take McMurphy completely out of the battle. Since McMurphy is committed, the Big Nurse has complete control over the outcome of McMurphy's life. Therefore, the Big Nurse will win this battle in the end.