The last chapter of The Norton
Sampler is devoted to classic
essays, or what are often referred to as timeless
examples of good writing. Each of the essays in
this chapter has a universal theme with which readers of
any century can
identify. The characters and settings somehow seem familiar,
although they may be people and places the reader has never
encountered.
In order to achieve these effects, the authors
weave together many of the modes of writing. Orwell’s
1946 essay on the English language, for example, argues that
language must
be used responsibly if its decline is to be stemmed. His argument
and even his proposed solution are clearly relevant today,
particularly as writing is adapted for email, instant messaging,
and the Web. Both the theme and the logic Orwell uses to appeal
to the reader make “Politics and the English
Language” a
classic essay.
Are there classic Web essays? If so, do classic
essays written explicitly for an electronic environment have
the same characteristics
as the classic essays in Chapter 10? One could argue that
the characteristics themselves would not change, but that
they
might be complemented and enhanced by technology. If that
is the case, how might Woolf or Swift have taken advantage
of
the incredible things that can be done with images, movies,
animation, and sound on the Web to convey their messages
to their readers? What would “Once More to the Lake” look
like as a Web site? For example, perhaps the text would have
remained the same, but White would have included links to images
of Maine’s beautiful lakes. Woolf may have included a
video clip of a moth, and Orwell linked to examples of the
poor use of language. What effects would these changes have?
Would the essays remain timeless?
1. Compile your own list of ten characteristics
that would make a classic piece of writing for the Internet.
Are there any specific modes of writing you think might
be better suited for writing on the Web?
2. Where might one be most likely to find a classic Web
essay? Would you look at webzines? Blogs? Personal home pages?
Could anything on the Web be considered classic? Why or why
not?
3. Choose one of the classic essays from Chapter 10 and
adapt it for the Web. If you have the technical expertise,
create a Web version of the essay. If you don’t,
create a report describing what you would do if you could
create
such a page. How would the essay be enhanced by the use
of hypertext, images, animation, movies, sound, video?
Be as
creative as you like and do what you can to take advantage
of all that the Web has to offer.
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