Essays

ESSAYS By. Joseph Jenkins Too few of us enjoy the rich fields of life as expressed in the field of the essay. Too often are we prone to think that we are well trained in literature when we have a smattering of Shakespeare and Scott and a little of Kipling and Zane Gray. In this paper I shall set forth some of the values of essays and some of the reasons why more people should read to enjoy the rich fields found in our modern essay. There are fundamentals of life that appeal. There is a morn of interest. Common things — which are usually the greatest — are of interest to all people. Such things as food, homes, customs, and recreations and traditions are of interest. People are, however, some- times blind to the real essence of interest found in the common things of life till some man or woman, in a pleasing style, sets them forth in the realm of essay. Our mountains, our old landmarks, our traditions were not beautiful to us till some artist either in picture, music, or essay re- vealed their beauties. We have lived near "Old Timp" mountain of "A thousand million rainbows petrified in stone;" we have looked blindly upon our wonderful "Southland" without seeing its grandeur; we have gone on in our wealth of common things, not seeing them; all these we have not seen till some artist in essay or song discovered for us our heritage. To appreciate the value of the essay in our training it will be necessary to give a brief history of it. Edmund Gosse in his article on the essay found in the Encyclopedia Britannica gives the following definition; "As a form of literature the essay is a com- position of moderate length, usually in prose, which deals in an easy, cursory way with the external conditions of a subject, and, in strictness, with that subject only as it affects the writer." There should be added to the above definition naturalness and ease in style and also the personality of the author. The essayist deals with his subject primarily as it affects him, so he permits the reader to look at the subject through the author's temperament and personality. Personality is and has been the chief characteristic of the essay. Montaigne (1533-92), a retired lawyer, became interested in writing about himself, about affairs, about opinions, and about current topics., He is usually referred to as the father of the modern prose essay. In the hands of Montaigne, the essay became a well- defined literary organ of personality. He wrote of himself and of his own affairs in an easy, colloquial style. His real merit was that he said as a writer what he felt as a man. He showed courage, which

1096 IMPROVEMENT ERA is the effect of conscious strength, so he was led to write because of the wealth of his observations. His psychology - was interesting. He wrote not to make converts of people, but to satisfy his own mind of truth of things. In reading his, essays we are struck with his personality; we seem to hear him talk, see him smile, and we catch the twinkle in his eye. Montaigne gave us personality and an easy, natural style for which we have a natural liking. Bacon, in 1597, gave to the world some essays. In tone they were like moral treatises of his time. Their chief characteristics were brevity and conciseness. He never secured the charm and ease of Montaigne. During the 1 7th century we have Cowley who most nearly ap- proached the style of Montaigne because of the personal note and admirable style found in his essays. The essayists of this period had their chief interest centered in moral and ethical subjects which were treated from the standpoint of the individual. The essay of the 18 th century differed from that of the 17th century and from the earlier types. There was a change in theme and a change in the attitude of the essayist. The chief interests were politics, society, social institutions, and manners and customs. The essays of Steele and Addison, periodical in issue, ushered in a new departure from the classics and earlier models. The essay of this century was an analysis and a criticism of contemporary political and social life. By means of the- essay, Steele, Addison, Chesterfield, Johnson, and Goldsmith sought to educate the public by popularizing morality and knowledge. The essay of the 19th century gave another change in nature and character. The essay of the 1 7th century was personal, moral, and reflective; that of the 18th century was social and critical; that of the 19th century included both the two previous types with a greater range and variety of subjects, greater length, and a greater literary finish. The essays of the 19th century were more direct in thought and style; were more personal and "pleasingly egotistical." The psychology back of these changes was the attitudes and interests caused by the growth of individualism. The above brief bit of historical background of the development of the essay gives us its growth and its nature. Today we have essays which deal with a large variety of observations. The subjects of the essay are taken from the fields of biography, history, personal life, travel, nature, art, and criticism. The purposes of the essays may be to teach moral or religious truths, to entertain, or to inform the mind. The essay may be humorous, about trivial things, or it may be expression of deep thoughts from the soul. We have essays historical, biographical, personal, imagina- tive, narrative, didactic, critical, reflective, philosophical, and re- ligious. The essay covers many fields of life, has interesting pur- poses and does represent many types of life activities.

ESSAYS 1097 My reason for giving briefly the history of the essay, its scope, and its purposes, is to widen the range of understanding. Men are good; they may have good characters even though they may live a narrow life, but if we mix "genuine goodness" and obstinacy with ignorance we have a combination dangerous to society. Goodness of character is wholesome when based upon knowledge and activities of life. The essay is one of the means through which different kinds of life are seen and appreciated. The thoughtful, leisurely readers who are willing to take time to think and to live, enjoy the modern essay. It may be thought of as an interesting bit of cloth from the goods of life delicately woven upon a unit idea. The pattern used depends upon the author. He constructs his own. It may be a bit of soliloquy as if some friend were speaking to us aloud the whimsical thoughts that come into his mind while resting and enjoying life on his porch of a Summer's evening when the moon is half hidden by a cloud; or an evening in Winter before an open fireplace he abandons himself to the pleasure of satisfying reverie. The reader of such thoughts is caused to think and his thinking is in the realm of the natural and the personal. The essayist's chief gift is an eye to observe and dis- cover suggestiveness in common things. In these common things his mind will wander over realities of life; fortune, morality, death, and life. To the essay writer the world is as the mulberry tree is to the silk worm: he has no end of subject-matter. And to the reader these essays — what wealth of pleasant imaginings, of vicarious livings, of life lived over again. Who, that have lived in a small town, can read "The Saturday Night Bath," one of the Atlantic essays, but who will live over in memory the happy days of youth. Will not a chuckle rise when thoughts go back to the time when thirteen chil- dren and daddy and mother had to bathe on Saturday night, and each had to take his turn in filling the reservoir on the old range? Is it not true that the psychology of man's character is the sum total of his "S. R." situation-response bonds? Essays provide pleasant situations; provide memories of life now and of days passed; provide suggestiveness of common things and give pleasant and worthy opportunities for vicarious living. The wealth of materials is so vast that profitable situations can be had which will provoke responses worthwhile. The essay will provide in our training for pleasant and profitable evenings, stimulating reveries, vicarious livings, entertainment, and thoughts that may cause the reshaping of one's life. Morality does not take its rise only in knowledge. Life is not shaped by reason alone. Instincts and habits, envy, prejudice, and laziness play an important part. To trust behavior to instinct only is to rely upon an unsafe guide. Experiences become fruitful only when their meaning is understood. Character involves incessant

109 8 IMPROVEMENT ERA growth. Essays help to interpret the experiences of others in such a way that the reader may be stimulated to undertake still more fruitful things. Essays may deal with human conduct, with a beauty which heightens whatever truth may be conveyed. They may clarify moral understanding and touch the feeling. Through the essay men see a bigger world and a more useful world. Their imagery is broadened in range, a useful means to emancipate men from too excessive, thoughtless concern of self alone which is the cause of many moral failures. Essays touch sympathies. People can learn through the his- torical essay to be "self-reliant with Ulysses, loyal with Faithful John, chivalrous with Gareth, and forgiving with Joseph.'.' Litera- ture in the form of essay attempts to offer, in a setting and tone of beauty and interest, an interpretation of life. The common things become beautiful when we re-live them through the essay. Personalities shine forth through the essay; the interests of youth and of old age are painted in colors of beauty; life again is re-lived and the imagination is bathed in reverie. Essays written by other peoples than our own and read by us will develop more toleration. Essays help to overcome provincial- ism. They reveal personalities. Sharp in his Character Education says, "Personalities that habitually exhibit strength and devotion to duty, arouse admiration and strengthen and often clarify the love of excellence, and so doing awakens of strengthens the desire to act in like manner." Essays take us into our own world through an interesting style. The essayists choose and portray the most interesting types of ob- servations and life activities. They exhibit laws of life with great clearness. Moral thoughtfulness can be developed only by training students to study human life. The essay is one form of study of human life, and is an effective means of stimulating moral thoughtful- ness. Emerson says, "Go with mean people and you think life mean." One cannot go with nobility of personality as expressed in essay and think life degraded. In the quiet of one's room one can read essays which give or stir thoughts of sympathy, not so much for qualities of "aggressiveness, progressiveness, or dynamic for we have that in abundance," but for thoughts of sympathy for the qualities of poise, balance, peace, steadfastness, stability and the capacities of love for the common, the every-day, the beautiful, and the new. Essays not only help us to live life vicariously, but they help to enrich our own experiences. Living over past experiences is not the finished good of any literature. This life is going on now, and essays will make it happier and more enjoyable by revealing to us the beauties of this world here and now. Ephraim, Utah