Comparing 1984, Moby Dick, And Things Fall Apart

Writing does not have to be fancy to be exceptional, instead it has to contain meaning. I believe that for a work of literature to achieve perfect eloquence it should meet certain standards. The science side of me says there must be some formula of sorts for what can be considered exceptional. Therefore, if a piece of literature were to meet these standards, it would, in my eyes, be perfectly eloquent.

There have been many works of writing that have achieved classic status including 1984, Moby Dick, and Things Fall Apart to name a few. But what allows for these to be classified as classics, what makes special works of literature? The essay Why Read the Classics, by Italo Calvino, summarizes what makes an exceptional piece of writing in fourteen

One speech that I find to be one of the most famous in all of American history is Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a Dream Speech from 1963. The historical implications of the speech were impressive, providing the momentum for the Civil Rights Act by building popular support. This speech is one of the most famous speeches in the United States. It is taught in history classes, and any student could tell you what the speech is about. It is easy to teach in middle, and high school because of the heavy use of metaphors, “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” (King). By connecting his message to everyday actions such as drinking, MLK is able to have his entire audience understand his message no matter the color of their skin. His image heavy metaphors allow for an entire nation of people to understand what he is talking about. In addition to the metaphors, MLK employs clichés to get his points across, “Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning” (King). Even though most critics think clichés are paramount with poor writing, that is not actually the case. MLK wanted to spread his message to the most people possible. One way to do that is to use language that everyone will understand. His use of clichés is not poor writing, instead it is brilliant for what he was trying to achieve. The speech became

In my own life I do not experience racism, and on SLU’s campus I do not see segregation. But as I read and listen to the speech, the flow of words awakens these dormant thoughts inside my head, are these things still going on today? As I read through the speech and come across lines like, “the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” (King) I think that can’t really be true in today’s society. But, as I continue to read the words draw parallels in today’s society, “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity” (King). African Americans today among racial and ethnic groups have the highest rate of poverty at 27.4 percent (Engdahl). The systemic segregation in major cities leads to weaker education and eventually less prosperous African American communities. As the speech progresses the parallels are more evident when MLK says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (King). The problem is that African Americans are often judged by the color of their skin. In New York, a major metropolitan area, “80% of the traffic stops made were blacks and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped (Engdahl).