Craft Master "A": Reveal What Missing in Zinn : “Speaking Truth to Power with Books”

Reveal What Missing in Zinn : “Speaking Truth to Power with Books”

(Author : Asy Syifa Rahmah Ihsani PBI – A/IV)

Introduction :

This paper offers a critical perspective on Howard Zinn’s article entitled “Speaking Truth to Power with Books”. More clearly, the purpose of the author wrote this paper is to find out and reveal what missed by Zinn or something wrong in his article. There are several aspects that the author wants to explain. First about Zinn using conjunction words imperfectly, second Zinn did not explain deeply about Christopher Columbus, then Zinn did not put any references in his article or in his book, and the last about he does not reveal the real person who discover America continent.

Summary :

In that article Zinn be of the opinion if the book is able to transform an individual's life by altering his consciousness then it does not require the possibility of a book capable of changing the world. There are a number of ways which make book can change consciousness. They can introduce reader an idea that had never occurred before. Other idea that may occurs in some people that have read, especially reading historical books of usual or deviant. Especially it concern about the history of a country.

Zinn had made a book about Christopher Columbus, entitled A People's History of the United State. The book has been criticized by many people from various countries. It is because Zinn tells Christopher Columbus from the different sides. In his book, Zinn explained that Columbus was a cruel man, murderer, torturer, kidnapper, mutilator natives, hypocritical, greedy gold seekers, willing to mutilate people. Inversely related to the public perception about history of Christopher Columbus before, many people believes that Columbus was a hero.

Howard Zinn feels this is the case. Where only to learn the facts of Christopher Columbus could cause a revolution in the thinking of a person. When a person learns about the information that has been hidden from him would probably make the person to ask what information is hidden from him again.

According to Zinn that there are other ways to make a book and write can affect a person, namely the silly literature. In the tradition of Jonathan Swift and Franz Kafka and Mark Twain. Kurt Zinn Vannnegut assumes that a book like Cat Cradle and Slaughterhouse - Five and Joseph Heller's book Catch - 22. Heller created a scene with Yossarian talk to someone. The Old Italian man said, "You know, Italy will win because he is so weak. America will lose in the long run because he's so strong ". It is a ridiculous idea but make a person would think. Still, the writing of history we must prioritize the facts.

Main Body :

Yes, book brings change for human life. So the book needs literate person to make that book useful. Lehtonen (2000 : 54) said that from the historical point of view the spread of literacy can also be thought to have had an impact on the changing conception of the human self. In oral cultures, the self is not necessarily conceived an entity, as in a literary culture. Even the matter of not being aware of one’s birthday, where it is not a custom to mark it down, contributes to a different notion of the self from that of our own culture, where the attention paid to birthdays from the very beginning of life brings about the idea of the uniqueness of the birthday boy or girl. Moreover, such habits as reading by oneself and keeping a diary have been signiﬁcant in the creation of notions about a solid self. Converting the self into texts also means that the self can be submitted to examination and it can be experienced as a permanent unity. Therefore, the birth of the modern self can be thought to be tied not only to the development of the realm of the private self, but also to the creation of more or less public language applying to it, such as in diaries and autobiographies.

In this case there is strong relationship between history and literacy. History never ever revealed by illiterate person. Every single historian has high level of literacy. Besides that history never be divorce with literacy, like Barton said that. Our life histories contain many literacy events from which we learn and which contribute to the present. A literacy event also has a social history which help create current practices (quoted in Hyland, 2009 : 49). So literacy and history who make our life in the future. It is mean that history and literacy (book) can change the world as Zinn said in his article Speaking Truth to Power with Books.

Speaking Truth to Power with Books is an interesting article. That article using language that easy to understand. Not only the language but also how the way Zinn present his article, he wrote that article like a story. So as the reader, I can more understand what Zinn means in that article because I can imagine it. The important thing is I got some enlightenment after I read that article.

Besides that I give Zinn four thumbs up! Because Zinn reveal the real face of
“the HERO” of The United States (read : Christopher Columbus) that never touch by other historian before. Zinn bravely said in his article Speaking Truth to Power with Books that Columbus is murderer, a torturer, a kidnapper, a mutilator of native people, a hypocrite, a greedy man looking for gold, willing to kill people and mutilates people. Zinn such as a daredevil historian.

However, Zinn is an ordinary human who does not sliupped away from weaknesses. There are several weaknesses that I found in his article (Speaking Truth to Power with Books) and his book (A People’s History of United States) :

First, Zinn used the conjunctions and and but in the beginning of sentence. I found some words and and but that Zinn used in the beginning of sentence (paragraph 2 line 4 and 9, paragraph 3 line 1 and so on). In fact we can not use word and and but in the beginning of sentence especially in formal writing. Likes Lynn (founder of Syntax Training in Seattle) said that It is perfectly acceptable to start sentences with the conjunctions and and but. However, it is slightly informal. If formality is your goal, choose more formal language. So I think it should be better if Zinn use formal language, for examples however, in addition, nevertheless and so on.

Second, Zinn did not explain deeply about Christopher Columbus. I mean that Zinn looks Christopher Columbus just on the Columbus’s dark side, whether in his article or in his book entitled A People History of United States. Compared with Morrison, Morrison admit about the dark side of Columbus but he looks the positive side which has by Columbus also. Historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, in his book Christopher Columbus, Mariner, writes: “ He had his flaws and his defects, but they were largely defects of the qualities that made him great—his Indomitable will, his superb faith in God and his own mission as the Christ-bearer to lands beyond the seas, his stubborn persistence despite neglect, poverty and discouragement. But there was no flaw, no dark side to the most outstanding and essential of all his qualities—his seamanship.” Although Zinn drive at reveal the history based on loser’s point of view, I think it is better if Zinn not only focus on Columbus’s dark sides. Zinn have to looks the positive side of Columbus, such as Columbus proofed successfully that the form of the earth is circle.

Then, Zinn did not put any references in his article or in his book. Whereas references is important especially in writing article even history. Reference can help reader to know more information clearly and reference can make the reader sure that Zinn’s statement is true not randomly thinking.

Finally, as the unknown and amazing historian Zinn, I just wonder why he does not reveal the real person who discover America continent. Like Gavin Menzies said that Sailors and explorers the world from China, Admiral Cheng Ho, it has been discovered America before Columbus. Thus confirmed by a number of historians, one of them is Gavin Menzies in the book 'Who Discovered America?' Menzies believes even Columbus could discover America with a copy of a map made in Admiral Cheng Ho. 600-year-old map is meant by Menzies was discovered at a flea bookstore. Menzies said the magnificent of Chinese ships that Zheng Ho led ail around the mainland of south America, 100 years before Ferdinand Megellan. Acquired from maps, then Menzies consulted with historian team who analyzed the writing contained in that map. Then he concluded the map was originally creted during Ming dynasty, which ruled in 1268 – 1644. It is mean that Zinn still hide a part of history.

Conclusion :

There are two points that can be concluding from Zinn’s article. First, it is right that book can change the perception of many persons even can change the world. It is mean that the world needs literate person to make a better life in the future. It is not only literacy but also history. Literate person can makes great history and the great history have an impact to the better future.

Second, Zinn is a phenomenal historian but he is still a human. So he can not runaway from weaknesses. From Zinn’s article I can find some weaknesses such as using conjunction that not accurate, lack of references, and Zinn did not explain more deeply about Columbus.

However, Zinn is the most daredevil historian who reveal the real face of Christopher Columbus and zapped his own country, America. Although he did not reveal the real person who discover America continent but his mettle to reveal history from the loser’s sunglasses is a great idea.

Learn from Zinn we have to see history not only from the winner’s point of view but we have to see history from the loser’s point of view. So that we can feel what they feel and we can understand their condition. Then we have to increase our literacy level to make a great history and to make a great future for our grandchildren later.