What progress of thought is represented by the movement from one example to another, or from tourists to students?
When Walker Percy is talking about the tourists at the Grand Canyon and comparing them to the tourists in Mexico, he is referring to tourism as an exeperience in life but in his second reading, he refers to Biology students, which might be a little easier to relate to depending upon the reader. He also talks about how students may refer to Dogfish as specimen because they are not as advanced creatures as human beings are, so they are not seen as individual creatures. This means that when compared to the tourist explanation, that there is a certain division in society and he refers that to Layman and Expert,Planner and Consumer. He says, “…the expert and the planner know and plan, but the consumer needs and experiences.” This divisional society creates an aristocracy where certain things are exclusive.
I received quotes from the book, Ways of Reading by David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky
prof Groom Said:
on September 11, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Think about your comment here more specifically -are the dogfisdhes being thought of as specimens because they are not as advanced as human beings? Might a human being in another context, like a morgue, be understood by certain people a specimen -despite the advanced nature of the organism. What does this term specimen do to the creature?
What things are exclusive -what do you mean here specifically? I think your suggestion that their is a division between the experts and the consumers of the expert’s opinion is right on – but a more detailed explanation of the “aristocracy” you mention here would go a long ways towards making this point more salient. How are things exclusive?
Sam DiPaola Said:
on September 13, 2006 at 10:19 pm
“This divisional society creates an aristocracy where certain things are exclusive” – I like this idea, and I understand what you are trying to say. Similar to the idea of an expert and a consumer, this shows how sometimes, people need certain events to be “verified” or “proved” by an expert, to validate that they truely happened.