Pylon 7
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When the city room began to fill that evening a copyboy noticed the overturned wastebasket beside the reporter’s desk and the astonishing amount of savagely defaced and torn copy which littered the adjacent floor. The copyboy was a bright lad, about to graduate from highschool; he had not only ambitions but dreams too. He gathered up all the sheets, whole and in fragments, from the floor and emptied the wastebasket and, sitting at the reporter’s desk he began to sort them, discarding and fitting and resorting at the last to paste; and then, his eyes big with excitement and exultation and then downright triumph, he regarded what he had salvaged and restored to order and coherence—the sentences and paragraphs which he believed to be not only news but the beginning of literature: On Thursday Roger Shumann flew a race against four competitors, and won. On Saturday he flew against but one competitor. But that competitor was Death, and Roger Shumann lost. And so today a lone aeroplane flew out over the lake on the wings of dawn and circled the spot where Roger Shumann got the Last Checkered Flag, and vanished back into the dawn from whence it came. Thus two friends told him farewell. Two friends, yet two competitors too, whom he had met in fair contest and conquered in the lonely sky from which he fell, dropping a simple wreath to mark his Last Pylon"
Perhaps the copyboy thinks he is reading the beginning of literature because of the way the story reads like a novel, because of the way it was written, for instance, personifying death as a competitor in the race. The reporter probably discarded this draft because it was exactly what the editor told him not to do. There’s too prose, rhetoric, and too much fluff. It’s what the editor wouldn’t consider news.
I totally agree, perhaps The reporter got rid of this because it would’ve been another story rejected by the editor; Another piece of news that contained a literary narrative to some degree.
Because this was written during a time when literary journalism wasn’t respected as another forum for telling the news, the copyboy may believe he is reading “the beginning of literature” because the piece reads like a fictional story, or in other words like Molly said above, a novel. In a way, considering it is mentioned that this boy is bright, ambitious and has dreams, the author could be using the boy as a symbol for what style will inspire the next generation of journalists; perhaps this same boy could be the one to instill this type of literary journalistic style as editor [himself] one day thus he is “the beginning of literature”. As for the reporter, he may have discarded this piece because he was disappointed in himself that he can’t seem to make his editor think twice about his original decision to NOT let the reporter report the way he wants to.
The copyboy has the impression that he’s reading literature rather than a story because of the style in which it is written. It is written more as a literary story than in the style of a news article. The imagery and use of words are a literary technique.
He discarded the story because of the style it is written in knowing the editor would reject a piece with such a literary style. News stories are not meant to be written in the manner of creative literature, rather should be simple, informational and straight to the point.
The copyboy thinks he is reading “the beginning of literature” because of the style of the draft. The draft is written much like a narrative, using stylistic elements like comparing death to a lone competitor further develops the feeling that this piece is no longer news, but a story. Because of this, the draft is discarded because this is exactly what the editor has been preaching to move against.
This is what literature is to the copyboy, a piece of creative artwork. However, to the editor it is not news and it is not journalism. The reporter discards his “artwork” because, he knows his editor won’t think its worthy.
The copyboy thinks he is reading “the beginning of literature” because the writing style of the story is different to the descriptive writing style of the ordinary newspaper. Also the context of the story is ex-ordinary which one could only read in the novel.
The copyboy identifies the story writing style as literary and quickly discards the draft because he knows that the editor is looking for a news story — one that relies on efficient, accurate information.
The copyboy feels that this is a story related to literature more than related to journalism, because the facts are not written as a news but as an abstract concepts. That is why the reported discarded it, to get the sense of the news as truthful as possible without non sense like the personification of the death.
The copyboy thinks this because the reporter wrote the piece almost as a narrative rather than a news story. The reporter discards it because he knows that the editor will just end up telling him the same thing and make the reporter rewrite it.
"At midnight last night the search for the body of Roger Shumann, racing pilot who plunged into the lake Saturday p.m. was finally abandoned by a threeplace biplane of about eighty horsepower which managed to fly out over the water and return without falling to pieces and dropping a wreath of flowers into the water approximately three quarters of a mile away from where Shumann’s body is generally supposed to be since they were precision pilots and so did not miss the entire lake. Mrs Shumann departed with her husband and children for Ohio, where it is understood that their six year old son will spend an indefinite time with some of his grandparents and where any and all finders of Roger Shumann are kindly requested to forward any and all of same."
The literature is completely taken out. Everything is cut and dry and straightforward, and void of emotion. It’s the bare facts but this new draft is closer to what the editor wants because it’s news—it’s an account of what happened without overly romanticizing the event.
Well, it’s efficiently written to satisfy the editor’s standards. it belongs to an article for a newspaper than a piece for a novel.
I think “efficiently” is the right word here. The piece is now stripped of it’s more creative and narrative elements and has been reduced to a delivery of facts, with no efforts to “paint a picture”.
It is now a certified “news” story rather than an “interesting” story. It is, for the most part, one long run-on sentence that states all of the necessary facts and is written in a “blah” tone. I definitely believe the reporter did this purposefully to mock the editor’s preferred style. This new draft is closer to what the editor wants in the sense that it recites the basic 5 W’s of reporting and is practically the reporter’s notes written out, word by word with some conjunctions in between.
There is an absence of literature in the second version. The copyboy focuses solely on giving a first-hand portrayal on the previous evenings’ events without adding unnecessary information — direct and straight to the point.
The reporter takes out most of the narrative “fluff” and puts more emphasis on the news story involved. It’s closer to what the editor wants because now it’s more news-oriented than story-oriented.
The second draft is no longer reading like literature, but news according to the editors standards. It is closer to what the editor wants because it has removed literary elements.
It has as much “literary imagination” as a beige wall. All of the color, imagery and personal style is gone. What’s left is the hollowed out husk of the story with the bare-bones information remaining.
The second draft is less colorful and creative and more informational and direct providing the necessary information of who what where when why as a news story without the vivacious descriptions and dramatic style of a novel.
and beneath this, savagely in pencil: I guess this is what you want you bastard and now I am going down to Amboise st. and get drunk a while and if you dont know where Amboise st. is ask your son to tell you and if you dont know what drunk is come down there and look at me and when you come bring some jack because I am on a credit"
He is clearly angry that he needs to disguised his own work to meet the editor’s demands. Meanwhile, He wants to forget all of this by drinking, and I assume he is so frustrated with the editor that he thinks the guy should be paying the bill for the drinks.
I completely agree with Elvis on this one. The reporter is fed up with his editor for not allowing the reporter to write the way that he wishes but since this is his job, the only way he feels he can relieve some of his stress is through drinking. He angrily invites the editor to join him for maybe by getting drunk, the editor will remove the stick that is up his butt and end up paying for the drinks as well.
The reporter calls his editor a bastard because he had to alter and format his writing, eliminating his creative literary creativeness and skills to please him. The editor has stripped him of his creative writing freedom and he’s dissatisfied with this as any writer who has to change their style to please others would be. He expects the editor to pay for his drink due to the fact that he has done the job just the way the editor wanted despite his own wishes to write how he would like and is not even getting paid well for it.
The reporter calls an editor a bastard in a fit of rage, and is going to drink now that he has satisfied the editor’s requirements. The editor’s demands have stripped the reporter of his creative style and freedom. With his skills reduced to bland news for pay that is quite modest, he mockingly invites the editor to pay for his drinks.
However, as a result of these constraints he’s completely flustered. Which is why he needs to get drunk and forget about his job. Because of the constraints the editor placed on him it’s only right that he in return pay for the drinks.
The reporter expresses his feelings toward the editor by calling him a bastard. After the editor has restricted him for a long time, and he was doing things that he disagreed with. This caused his anger toward the editor. The reporter is going to get drunk because he needed to escape from his depress feeling in the real world. He expects the editor to pay for the drinks because he thought the editor was the responsible for what he had been through.
The reporter calls the editor a bastard because is furious at the editor. The editor took the reporter out of his comfort zone and made him change up his writing style in order to appease to editor, erasing all individuality the reporter had. The reporter is using alcohol to suppress the feelings of resentment towards the editor and perhaps feelings of being a failure —not being able to live up the editors standards. He wants the editor to pay for the pain and anguish he feels the editor has placed him through.
The reporter is frustrated by the editor’s expectations. He doesn’t want to comply with the editor’s restrictions. By losing his creative flexibility, the reporter is unfiltered with his desire to get drunk. That coincides with him wanting the editor to pay for his drink. Based on his work ethic and obliging with the editor’s strict demands, he feels worthy of asking him to buy a drink. Unsatisfying pay is another reason behind calling the editor a bastard.
The reporter, lacking some sense of agency, is lashing out at his editor. Choosing to get drunk is one of the few things he still has control over and since the editor is inhibiting his creative prowess, he is due some compensation.
The reporter thinks he’s a bastard because the reporter had to water down his own writing to meet the editor’s demands. As a result, the reporter is pissed off and wants to get drunk to alleviate his anger and frustration. He believes his editor should pay for his drinks as the editor is the cause of his problems, and therefore should be responsible for paying for the solution – a drink.
General Document Comments 0
I don’t think either drafts do justice to the story the novel has to tell. The novel implies that journalism, while designed to report news, cannot capture the entire story. There’s only so much you can fit in a newspaper and after the revisions and edits, the story gets altered in the way that it’s told.
the second draft represents how often reporters are limited by the nature of journalism. To some level, this line of work can be very controlling, while the reporter wished he could be more open about his writing and even make use of his personal connection related to the story.
No, there is no justice being served to the story that the novel has to tell based on the reporter’s drafts. The novel is saying that journalism, or the basic concept of journalism as a “news” or “facts-only” outlet, limits the writers heavily to the point that it is no longer a story but just factual evidence strung together to mimic a scene. While that provides the reader a clear, supposedly unaltered view, it doesn’t highlight any more than exactly what the reporter saw and heard. However, this could also be biased and/or edited to an extreme that you as the reader wouldn’t know the difference, you would just believe the reporter and move on.
Journalism has a strict style of writing. While writing is a form of art and expressionism in which the writer has his own style with which he is pleased, he must restrict his writing and abide it to the style demanded by the profession. While the writer may love to draw the image of the story with eccentric words and use of metaphors or similes, he must suppress his desire to do so and write in the manner that is required by his editors, thus limiting their creative expressions and literary abilities.
The novel continues to portray journalism as an uncreative medium. By illustrating the reporter’s plight to satisfy his creativity against the editor’s limitations, journalism is painted to be limiting. The full story and expression the reporter is trying to deliver is prevented by the requirements of a newspaper.
Neither of the reporter’s two drafts do justice to the story the novel has to tell. The novel illustrates the nature of limitations of reporters that reporters were often restricted by the rules and written style. Reporters were prevented from writing creatively.
I don’t believe that either draft does justice in portraying the novel, leaving out crucial pieces of the novel due to the restricted nature of journalism. The novel shows that the creativity of the reporter is disregarded, rather being forced to conform instead of narrative expression.
The drafts are flawed based on classifying journalism from a reporting perspective, while discounting its creative possibilities. The newspaper’s shortcomings are evident from their inability to share all of the information. That leaves a sense of wanting more, as the story doesn’t possess the same personal connection without the full story.
Neither really does justice to the story the novel has to tell. I think it’s trying to say that sometimes the nature of journalism doesn’t allow for the entire story to be told. Between stating facts and constant editing to meet guidelines, by the end – at publication – a good amount of that personal connection within gets lost.
I don’t think either draft does justice to the story the novel has to tell, because there is material withheld.
When a writer is stripped of his tool, his creativity and forced to produce a facts only piece then the piece is reduced to something anyone who has working knowledge of english can produce.
Like any art, the final piece is never complete. You always have to keep editing, keep revising, have fresh eyes scrutinize your work, for it to ever not be limited.
But also, by separating literature and news and not keeping them as one thing you discount them both.
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