Zinn and The Powerful Book
INTRODUCTION
In
the article entitled “Speaking Truth to
Power with Books”, Howard Zinn tells the
very personal story of his experience as a literate and teacher. He presents his story in the form of an
article in which he shares his arguments and analysis as a historian, also how
the book do for the world. This paper
offers a critical insight on Zinn’s story as well as his main arguments, and it
will evaluate the quality of his writing and focus on any areas of weakness
within his experience. It is also
trying to reveal the dark side of American’s history.
SUMMARY
This
sections contains a summary of the article “Speaking
Truth to Power with Books”.
In his
introduction, Zinn says that the most crucial issue of all with regard to
writing, and its impact on the world.
Like a book which has a very powerful effect for changing our life. He is persuaded about the importance of books
simply by his experiences.
"Small
acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the
world." That’s what Howard Zinn
said about what he did and the powerful of book. First, in his experience about the importance
of books which have a powerful effect on his thinking. There are people who have said that “This
book changed my life.” It means that
book is able to change somebody’s consciousness and his life, so it is going to
have an effect on the world, in one way or the other, sooner or later, in ways
that we probably cannot trace.
Second,
he said that books operate in many ways to change people’s consciousness. Let
us just say there are a number of ways in which books can do it, for example,
they can introduce an idea that the reader never thought of before. We read Herman Melville, Billy Budd, and we
are confronted with a situation where everybody obeys the law, everybody
dutifully follows the rules. The other
idea that may occur to people, perhaps after reading a book, especially if they
are reading unorthodox history. It may
struke us that we do not all have the same interest.
Finally,
because of book, it led him to consider that we are not one great family in
this country, that the idea of ourselves as a nation cleverly conceals the
struggle of clashing interest fof fear we might than enter that struggle
knowing clearly who are our friends and who
are our enemies. Then, there are
many other examples in this article about the relationship between book and
what the effect after read it. We obey
the rules and laws, know about something that we never know before, and rethink
about a history.
MAIN
BODY
As described above, Zinn’s main purpose for writing this article is to
present and analyze the powerful of book.
He was
persuaded by the importance
of the book, not only from the readings,
but also directly from his own experience. Howard Zinn states in his
article that the truth through the book is
something that could
change the consciousness of people, and it can
change the world. Awareness of reading, because when
the sound produced or just
speaking will quickly go away if we do not record the moments coupled with talk
by remembering and writing, document it in
sheets of paper and then put them together in a book.
He explains how the act of
writing can be shattering the
world. Through books produced writers, until
finally read by many
people and ultimately
implies how these
writings can change
a person from their
paradigm, to life. Of course, books can change the world, but it
change us first. Orhan Pamuk, ”I read a book one day and my whole life was
changed.”
Then,
in his article, Zinn mentions that there
are several ways in which books can change the awareness: First, they can introduce an idea that
readers have never thought of before.
Perhaps after reading a book, especially if they read historical
unconventional,
it could be going to attack us because each individual does not have the same interests.
it could be going to attack us because each individual does not have the same interests.
Second,
the existence of insights and informations derived from books, the existence of
a set of data that is not owned by the people, and when they are revealed in a
book, it will surprise readers and then it will turn into a very important
realization. Many people believe that
they will know something when they did not know before with book.
Third,
In each book, there are some of the brightest minds affect the way of thinking in a particular society. The book also implied how can
history has diverse or different, how
literature can tell
us about the truth through
a lie, or how
science can rule out God. But
who would have thought, a book tucked behind
a great strength.
Because the great strength of the book,
so it is a
powerful instrument, tightly gripping, thrilling, and
the power to change the direction of the events that are being or will
be. So, the book is a light
for human civilization.
Finally, for the evaluation
of the article, his literary style was direct, to the
point, and elegant without being self-consciously so. He taught his colleagues to write with
lucidity and accessibility and to use a sturdy anecdote to illustrate the
point. But in this article, Unlike most
academics, Zinn didn’t regard the time away from the library and away from the
footnotes as time lost and gone.
In addition, Zinn
does not provide a
clear explanation of what he discussed. In the
aticle, Zinn does not include a reference that can help readers
find out more clear
information. Zinn
said that he
told only based
on the experience, as in the
fourth paragraph. Perhaps this is what makes it not been seriously considered in
academic circles. He also less explicit to explain or give reference for
reader to make it more clear. Like one
of his example about Cristopher Columbus.
He
just mentioned that Christopher Columbus was a murderer, torturer, kidnapper,
mutilator, hypocritical, greedy gold digger man, willing to kill humans and
mutilated people. Without giving out a
concrete example, suppose that by inserting "what torture has been done by
Columbus?" or "what is the underlying he said that Columbus is just a
hypocritical, and greedy?" to strengthen the sentence. Or with a little
explaining about Christopher Columbus as the following little quote
"Christopher Columbus called America 'The New World' when they first set
foot on the continent on October 21, 1492. However, for Muslims in the golden
era, America is not a ' New World ' .
Therefore,
603 years before the Spanish explorers discovered the continent, Muslim
explorers of West Africa has built a civilization in America. Western
historical claim stating Columbus as the discoverer of the Americas finally
broken. A series of historians found that Muslim explorers have set foot and
spread Islam on the continent more than half a millennium before Columbus.
Another, perhaps
by giving examples like this one quote
"German historian, Alexander Von Wuthenan
also provide evidence
that Muslims were
in America in 300-900 AD This means that Muslims
already in America, at least half a century before Columbus was
born. Evidence in the form of
a human head-shaped wooden carvings similar
to the Arabs expected chiseled 300 and 900 AD
Some other wood
carvings were photographed and examined, turns out
to have similarities with the Egyptian people.
"
Likewise it less
obvious in his writing is the incorrect use of chronological order in mentioning several
ways in which books
can alter consciousness. Because the first way he used the word
"first" in the seventh paragraph, but
he mention later
how to use the words
"This is another idea
..." in the ninth
paragraph. This may mislead the reader, the reader may think
there is no continuation of the way he has
mentioned. So, he should
pay attention it, because there were many cases like this one in his article.
CONCLUSION
There
are several basic points that can be concluded from Zinn’s article. The book is light on human civilization. Reading books is
basically dive into another world
events, ie a
world that is in the minds of others. While everyone has their respective worlds. By reading the book we will
explore the various worlds of other people who
will give us
a deeper wisdom of
life in the face of knowledge that we learned
after reading the
book.
Speaking
of history, the truth, everything can be turned on through the book. As Zinn said that the book is able to change
our life, even a nation. Although the
book is just a pile of sheets of paper lifeless. However, its power is able to make us (the
reader) will literate world in which we live.
Beside that, Zinn said
that regardless of the value of these many lessons, history isn’t what
happened, but the stories of what happened and the lessons these stories
include. The very selection of which histories to teach in a society shapes our
view of how what is came to be and, in turn what we understand as
possible. History is just one tool to
shape our understanding of our world.
And every tool is a weapon if you hold it right. It means that we are as
young generation have to get ability to see the truth of what history
said. So, it means
that, history should be shown up clear and honestly.
REFERENCE
Zinn, Howard. Speaking Truth to Power with Books. Blackwell
Publishing Ltd.
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