3rd Critical Review
Uncompleted in Influencing
the Readers to the Historical Truth
By Fatimah
INTRODUCTION
In
this paper I will discusse about the Howard Zinn’s article which title
‘Speaking Truth to Power with Books’(Anthropology off the Self : 2005). Howard
Zinn’s article is about strength of
books that can make world has changed, exactly the book of ‘A peple history of United States’. In his
article he argues that a book can be changed our paradigm as the book is
written by him abaout Christoper Columbus. His article also spoke about the
truth history of United States relation with Christoper Columbus. His article
tell about his Experiences when he red many books that could be maked him
influenced. After summarising Zinn main points, I shall be claiming that he was rihgt if a book
can influence our paradigm about Cristoper Columbus who assumed as discoverer
of Amerika but not all of readers can be
influenced by a book that is written by him about ‘A people history of United
States’.
SUMMARY
This section contains a summary of Zinn’s article. He
begins his article by introducing the most issue of all with regard to writing,
and that is, what in the world does it do, what effect does it have, does it
help change the word or not. After all the first decision he suggested a writer
has to make is like the first desicion a teacher has to make such as in what way
is it going to help people, or are we doing it just to advanced ourselves
proffesionally or just to get a book published.
He
contended the reason is that was very rare to find a direct line between the
writing of a book and te changing of policy. He thouhgt we can find indirect
lines and we can find eras which writing appeared and people’s conciousness was
raised and policies we changed, some
times after decades had passed.
He
persuaded about the importance of book simply by his own experience. When he
was 14 years old, he discovered books.
He found a book on the street and then his parent knew that he was interested
in book evev thougth they didi not have any. Then they sent away to a news
paper – it was the New York Post – which was offering a set of Dickens. He
started reading Dickens. It had powerfu effect on his thinking and still this.
There
are a number of way s in which books can change conciousness. First, they can
introduce an idea that the reader never thought of before. This happened to
many of us. We read Herman Melville, Billy Budd, and we are confronted with a
situation where everybody obeys the law, everbody dutyfully follows the rules. The chaplain follows what he thinks is the word of God and
everyone else follows the word
of some authority, and Billy Budd, an innocent guy, is put to death. You
have to think at that point. His opinion that the rule of lqw needs to be
examined and authority is not be revered or innocent people will die.
Zinn thought of
Rachel Carson’s The Sea around Us from 1951. People simply did not think
about what is happening to the air and the water and the environment. It just
never occurred to them, and she calmly told all of us what was going on. She
didn’t have to make judgments, she didn’t have to editorialize. She just had to
say what was happening. Today, we know about what is going on. We know, for
example, what is going on in the Sudan. we do not have to editorialize about
it. Sometimes just telling people about something that they do not know about
is an important thing to do, because that alone may move them to a greater consciousness
and even into action.
He also explained about Christopher
Columbus. When his book, A People’s History of the United States came
out, he begans to get mail from around the country. He found that most of the mail dealt with the first
chapter of the book, which of course made him very suspicious. He
refused to accept or believe that people only read the first chapter.
Instead, he came to the conclusion
that all the mail about the first chapter was because it was upsetting to
those brought up in the United States who learned about Columbus the
hero, Columbus the great discoverer, Columbus the pious Bible reader. To
read about Columbus as a murderer, a torturer, a kidnapper, a mutilator of
native people, a hypocrite, a greedy man looking for gold, willing to kill people
and mutilate people – it was shocking.
At one point, he received a letter from a teacher in California,
said that the teacher’s students brought Zinn’s book to her home and her mother
read the first chapter and hr mother said that she want to talk with the school
comittee that the teacher is a communist. Zinn earned That is a case where just to learn the facts
about Columbus may lead to a revolution in one’s thinking. When you learn about
information that has been withheld from you, it may lead you to wonder what
else has been withheld. There is a wonderful teacher in Oregon named Bill
Bigelow who made it a kind of crusade to go around the country, taking
time
off from his own teaching, to talk to other teachers. He told them about
Columbus so they could then teach in a different way. One of his own middle
school students, a girl named Rebecca, wrote in her little paper: “Well if I’ve
been lied to about Columbus, about what else have I been lied to?” Just giving
people certain information about one situation may lead
them
to look for what else has been concealed from them.
MAIN BODY(CRITIQUE)
The History
can not be separated by historians and historians can not be separated by the
subjective factors that exist in the history of the problem reveals itself when.
Factors such subjectivity can also be influenced by the educational background,
the surrounding environment ( family and community ) as well as life experiences,
interest group or class. In this body maind I have a little weakness of writing
notes and author Howard Zinn, amongothers:
First , Zinn posts devoid of references and footnotes. As good as any writer must have each other's shortcomings. I have read an article entitled Monsieur from Ardie history of the people lost that there are so many hard facts that he should give a note of where he got it, but the info is not there. Zinn just said on his part that he told all based on the experience of teaching and of the books which he lists on page Akhi. Perhaps this is what makes it not been seriously considered among academics. In his article he says that a book can change the mindset of the reader or to convince the reader, but if the references and footnotes still quiet I do not think it will succeed .
First , Zinn posts devoid of references and footnotes. As good as any writer must have each other's shortcomings. I have read an article entitled Monsieur from Ardie history of the people lost that there are so many hard facts that he should give a note of where he got it, but the info is not there. Zinn just said on his part that he told all based on the experience of teaching and of the books which he lists on page Akhi. Perhaps this is what makes it not been seriously considered among academics. In his article he says that a book can change the mindset of the reader or to convince the reader, but if the references and footnotes still quiet I do not think it will succeed .
American
country is a strong country so much learned by other countries are no exception about the country's history. When I was a
junior high school I just knew if the Discoverer of a American Continent was
Columbus bacause my teacher explained like that. I was surveying in one of the
senior high school in Cirebon with the 39 students of the major Societe for my
sample and I gave a question, a question was 'do you know that the Discoverer
is colombus continent of America?' The result told that 26 students answered ‘yes',
2 students answered 'No', 9 students who answered 'did know' and 2 students who
not answered. It means that the teacher did not tell them who was the truth of
the Discoverer American Continent. Not only the citizen who was another America
by the history that created the truth hidden from all of the country also in
this world Because We Studied about this history. So I think Howard Zinn can
not affect the overall reader.
Second, too fast in explaining that colombus is a great villain to the American people who have a tradition that colombus was hero. In contrast to Samuel Elliot Morison, the Harvard historian. He told Columbus to not reveal too much ugliness of columbus. The target readers are those people who already have a very old belief that inherent colombus is the hero, the authors did not find a way for his book on the decline when only read the first part five pages .
Second, too fast in explaining that colombus is a great villain to the American people who have a tradition that colombus was hero. In contrast to Samuel Elliot Morison, the Harvard historian. He told Columbus to not reveal too much ugliness of columbus. The target readers are those people who already have a very old belief that inherent colombus is the hero, the authors did not find a way for his book on the decline when only read the first part five pages .
The
thrid, Howard Zinn did not expalin completely who was the truth of discoverer
of American Continent.in his book the A people of the state United States
Howard Zinn focuses on the Columbus’s bad things. So it is uncompleted the
truth. It maked the reader asked abaout who was discoverer of America
Continent.
Zinn
was a professionally trained historian, ironically earning his doctorate at
Columbia, and he openly admits that he did not Realize what a whitewash the
Columbus story until he was researching Began A People's History of the United States. Professional American historians have gone their entire lives and
never learned about the dark side of Columbus 's legacy. One student said:
"It Seemed to me as if the publishers had just printed up some" glory
story " that was supposed to of make us feel more patriotic about our
country . In our group, we talked about the possibility of the government trying
to protect young students from such violence. soon We Decided that was probably
one of the Farthest Things from their minds . They want us to look at our
country as great, and powerful, and forever right . They want us to believe
Columbus was a real hero . We're being fed lies. We do not question the facts ,
we just absorb information that is handed to us Because we trust the role
models that are handing it out."( Bill Bigelow 's "Reading the Past,"
in Confronting Columbus , p . 72 . )
In my point
of view that the citizen of America exactly common people did not care about
the who is the true and who is false. They just need people who can be figure
of good things for their country. They more belived with Myth about colombus
altought it can not show the evidences.
CONCLUSSION
Speaking
truth to power with books is article written by Howard Zinn that trying to
digging and spreading the truth history of
United States, exactly the facts of Christopher Colombus that he was not
discoverer American Contenent. It concerned with the historian who have
subjective paradigm that influenced to their book or article that they made.
Whether his Article and his
book will contribute to the changing the
world because of America is great country in the world and also it changed
values of citizen because of the absolutly true history was revealed.
REFERENCES
·
Frazier , Wade the Article: ‘Columbus, The
Original American Hero.
·
Zinn, Howard, ‘A People Hisory of United States’, 1980.
·
Zinn, Howard ‘the Article: Speaking Truth to Power With Book’,2005.
·
http:// Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia.htm/A People's History of the United States.
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