Is Stephen Crane's "Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" news? Why or why not? (Feel free to respond to each other's comments, not just the question. Also note that I've been adding my reactions to your comments throughout.)
Stephen Crane's "When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" is a minor news piece in a unique narrative style. The fact that it tells the story of a man having a seizure and the events that follow leads you to believe it to be news, but the mention of the "policeman's rage" and the characterization of the crowd make it seem more like fiction. In the end it is a piece of news that is creatively styled.
I suppose the logical followup question is, what makes something news? Does an event have to be of a certain size or scope to be news? Does it have to be significant in an obvious and dramatic way? Or is there another definition of news possible just as I tried to suggest in class there might another definition of journalism, not jus the one that's commonly promoted? Prof. G
I'd say that "When a Man Falls..." is news simply because it gives the story of an event that occured. Basically, that's all you really need for something to be news, and I wouldn't say that any immediate importance is necessary to qualify it as news. The common idea of what qualifies as news tends to focus on people who make decisions which have large visible effects, but stories like this one put a more... proletarian spin on the idea of what counts as news. I don't think I'd put this on the front page of a paper, but since this event has been recorded it has become significant for the very reason of its being recorded.
The news I am familiar with today tends to be dramatic, with some sort of tension, and often a resolution. A man falling and having a seizure on a sidewalk could very well be a news story not necessarily found on the front page, but in between other "close calls" or minor tradgedies. Conventionally, the basic story in "Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" would be considered news today, but the style it is written in is not found in the average periodical. For example, a crowd gathering around the man is noteworthy, but the sign above their heads reading "Regular dinner twenty cents" would be considered too much unnecessary information, and is not news but a random observation. We consider news to be just the relevant facts to the drama; whereas "Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" gives the facts with a stylish approach.
I'm going to suggest that you try to see the man, the crowd, the city in their contemporary context. It's late nineteenth century. America is the midst of cultural, social, political, and technological upheaval. This seemingly trivial story made have been tossed up as the result of and as an investigation into the gigantic forces (immigration, urbanization, industrialization, etc.) then remaking America.
Stephen Crane's "When a Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers," could be considered news. I would define news as an event that is accurately reported on by a media source and portrayed to a vast audience. If Crane wants to be vibrant in his descriptions, I think that is fine, as long as they are accurate.
Assuming in it's simplest terms that 'news' can be defined as information about something that has occurred, the piece "When a Man Falls, A Crowd gathers" can justifiably be categorized as news. However, for this culture it is not written in the culturally accepted format, which tends to be more cut-and-dry and leaves out the observer and the emotion. The fact that this piece of news definitely has a subjective observer leaves it unique in its categorization as a news piece.
Let me put this another: what's the issue that the story dramatizes? Is it the characters or the "plot" that are news or the issue that these manifest or reflect?
"When Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" does not necessarily provide the reader with the who, the what, the where, the when, and the why, as we would usually expect form a newspaper article. However I believe it is news in the sense that it depicts an event to a reader of current(at the time it was) significance. Whether it was the man's "fit" that was the important matter of the story or rather the audience's reaction is another question. I think that Stephen Crane wanted to keep the focus moreso on the passerbyer's intrigue and hunger for excitement and drama, and therefore omitted the details that would draw attention to the Man. In doing so, this work portrays a piece of news, just a different aspect of news that we typically look for. It informs the reader on more than just fact, and allows for opinion and thought.
What do you think Crane is saying about the society of his time as reflected in the description of the crowd? What is the relation of that society to our own? Does the story illuminate issues and impulses that plague us still?
"When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" by Stephen Crane is news because it narrates an event that occurred in a way that allows the reader to know the event actually took place. Quite simply, it informs the reader, on numerous levels, of this event that happened. However, it differs from other news stories in that it is filled with creative language, intricate adjective use, details that would not normally be in a news story and so on.
I think we’re so used to events being the news—the fire that burned down a building, a bridge that collapsed—that we overlook the fact that human reaction to these events in itself can be news. Crane explores this concept in his piece and, as Prof. Good suggests, relates it to the nature of the society in which he was living. While it may not be news to us that people are fascinated by accidents (we’ve all been stuck in traffic caused by rubber-necking), Crane saw the crowd’s reaction and was somehow, whether in anger or sympathy, touched by it and decided it to be newsworthy. I think he found that the most effective way he could communicate the instinctive draw of the crowd to the fallen man was to write it in a narrative, descriptive fashion, and that it’s this type of creative journalism that gives new facets to the face of news writing.
"When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" could be considered news with a dramatic twist. I don't often read news articles that contains a dialogue of everyone at the scene while it is taking place. The narration of this piece of work threw me off because it was extremely descriptive and sensitive to the reader. The abrupt ending also caught me off guard, there was no conclusion. Assuming since this incident wasn't intended, it is not written as random news.
"When a man falls, a crowd gathers" is absolutely news. The way in which Crane is portraying the "crowd" of people describes them as a whole, not individuals, representing Cranes view of the society at that time period. It's not the event that is neccesarily the most important part. Crane isn't explaining a man who had a seizure and what happened to him, Crane is describing the reactions of others when faced with this event, and how they were effected.
"No ideas but in things," the poet William Carlos Williams wrote. As part of becoming accomplished writers, we must be as concrete and specific as we can -- even when dealing with abstract issues and ideas. And I'm not talking just about Crane here, but about you and me. When writing (and wouldn't hurt when talking either, we need to eschew big, general nouns for the details that create an image in our audience's mind, induce a feeling, clarify a thought.
When you read "An Experiment in Misery" for next Wednesday examine how Crane weds abstract or elusive mental and emotional states to physical objects. It's a kind of hyper-realistic poetry.
The fact that we are dealing with literary journalism here and not the standard convential form of journalism, does not make this story any less of a news story. The event of the man falling in his epeleptic fit temporarily halts the flow of everyday life. People stop what they are doing to watch this spectacle. They are excited, intrigued,, and almost seduced into watching this display of human suffering. Those who are in the back of the crowd feel robbed by not having a good view of the scene. There are some in the crowd who even make an attempt at heroism. This story detailed an unusual occurrence in daily life that drew immediate attention and interest from the general public. In my opinion, that is what news is, regardless of the fact that Crane has decided to shape his language in a creative, imagistic, and poetic fashion. While doing the necessary journalistic part of delivering the news, he uses this form of writing to also make a commentary on humanity in this time period and their twisted perceptions of human suffering.
I'm a very literal person, so I don't really think this is news. I wouldn't consider it journalism either. It's a very short story not designed by the author to inform anyone as a reporter or a journalist...
To me, the difference between reporters and journalists is what we were discussing in class as the difference between journalism and literary journalism. I haven't taken any other journalism courses yet, so my definitions may be off, but reporters report facts, and journalists write journal entries designed to be read by the news seeking public.
At no point in "When a Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" does Stephen Crane come across to me as either a reporter or a journalist.
...and I do realize that this was over 75 words ::grin::
"When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" by Stephen Crane is just another piece of news where we see a realistic scene. While I agree with others that this isn't front page news, I also find that it is important. The everyday events of an individual are just as important as global news. Like the Chaos Theory states one flutter of a butterfly wing can change everything. This man falling is like that in this respect. The crowd, the child, the police officer, and the doctor are all changed by this one man. In my mind that is what makes this news. The little things count.
People that say they don't find the journalism in this piece aren't looking closely at the picture, big and small.
An extended, descriptive piece of news, indeed. And with flair, and style. More importantly, the reactions of the crowd are assessed as being a "spasm of curiosity," and, furthermore, it comes in waves, just as the man's own spasm did. Crane is the outside observer, and the best part is that he doesn't just provide a single angle to what happened. This is entirely the way it happened through the eyes of the "journalistic observer"...its just that many people dismiss it as being too real in an insensitive way.
I feel that the piece is not as much news as it is a broader commentary on people in general. One one hand, it can be considered news, in that it describes an occurrence in lucid and informative detail. On the other hand, I was much more affected by Crane's description of the people who were present during the incident. I liken their reactions with those of people who back up traffic to slow down and take a good look at car wrecks on the side of the highway.
Crane's "When a Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" would not be accepted as news from todays audience,and people would easily mistake it for a short story. However because the definition of news and what news is, or should be isn't analyzed on a regular basis by every individual it's not that easily classified in my opinion. I read this article and i forgot what class i was reading for, it is not news that i traditionally would classify as news, yet it leaves an interesting taste in my mouth because of the elegant way it is written, perhaps it was the original goal of news, not to just inform, but through words put the reader in the situation, so the reader themselves can think for themselves as opposed to allowing society to think for the individual.
Yes, this is news and I would have to agree that it would normally be seen as a minor news piece. Although, the manor that the story is told in hints to larger elements. The description of human reactions shows how they are more egar to see the incident as entertainment. You would hope the people would be more compassionate about helping the man, but then again what exactly could they do? At the least they could have reached a police officer faster, or found a way to contact an ambulance. The news really wasn't about the man, it was about the crowd.
23 comments:
Stephen Crane's "When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" is a minor news piece in a unique narrative style. The fact that it tells the story of a man having a seizure and the events that follow leads you to believe it to be news, but the mention of the "policeman's rage" and the characterization of the crowd make it seem more like fiction. In the end it is a piece of news that is creatively styled.
I suppose the logical followup question is, what makes something news? Does an event have to be of a certain size or scope to be news? Does it have to be significant in an obvious and dramatic way? Or is there another definition of news possible just as I tried to suggest in class there might another definition of journalism, not jus the one that's commonly promoted?
Prof. G
I'd say that "When a Man Falls..." is news simply because it gives the story of an event that occured. Basically, that's all you really need for something to be news, and I wouldn't say that any immediate importance is necessary to qualify it as news. The common idea of what qualifies as news tends to focus on people who make decisions which have large visible effects, but stories like this one put a more... proletarian spin on the idea of what counts as news. I don't think I'd put this on the front page of a paper, but since this event has been recorded it has become significant for the very reason of its being recorded.
The news I am familiar with today tends to be dramatic, with some sort of tension, and often a resolution. A man falling and having a seizure on a sidewalk could very well be a news story not necessarily found on the front page, but in between other "close calls" or minor tradgedies. Conventionally, the basic story in "Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" would be considered news today, but the style it is written in is not found in the average periodical. For example, a crowd gathering around the man is noteworthy, but the sign above their heads reading "Regular dinner twenty cents" would be considered too much unnecessary information, and is not news but a random observation. We consider news to be just the relevant facts to the drama; whereas "Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" gives the facts with a stylish approach.
I'm going to suggest that you try to see the man, the crowd, the city in their contemporary context. It's late nineteenth century. America is the midst of cultural, social, political, and technological upheaval. This seemingly trivial story made have been tossed up as the result of and as an investigation into the gigantic forces (immigration, urbanization, industrialization, etc.) then remaking America.
Stephen Crane's "When a Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers," could be considered news. I would define news as an event that is accurately reported on by a media source and portrayed to a vast audience. If Crane wants to be vibrant in his descriptions, I think that is fine, as long as they are accurate.
Assuming in it's simplest terms that 'news' can be defined as information about something that has occurred, the piece "When a Man Falls, A Crowd gathers" can justifiably be categorized as news. However, for this culture it is not written in the culturally accepted format, which tends to be more cut-and-dry and leaves out the observer and the emotion. The fact that this piece of news definitely has a subjective observer leaves it unique in its categorization as a news piece.
Let me put this another: what's the issue that the story dramatizes? Is it the characters or the "plot" that are news or the issue that these manifest or reflect?
"When Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" does not necessarily provide the reader with the who, the what, the where, the when, and the why, as we would usually expect form a newspaper article. However I believe it is news in the sense that it depicts an event to a reader of current(at the time it was) significance. Whether it was the man's "fit" that was the important matter of the story or rather the audience's reaction is another question. I think that Stephen Crane wanted to keep the focus moreso on the passerbyer's intrigue and hunger for excitement and drama, and therefore omitted the details that would draw attention to the Man. In doing so, this work portrays a piece of news, just a different aspect of news that we typically look for. It informs the reader on more than just fact, and allows for opinion and thought.
What do you think Crane is saying about the society of his time as reflected in the description of the crowd? What is the relation of that society to our own? Does the story illuminate issues and impulses that plague us still?
"When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" by Stephen Crane is news because it narrates an event that occurred in a way that allows the reader to know the event actually took place. Quite simply, it informs the reader, on numerous levels, of this event that happened. However, it differs from other news stories in that it is filled with creative language, intricate adjective use, details that would not normally be in a news story and so on.
I think we’re so used to events being the news—the fire that burned down a building, a bridge that collapsed—that we overlook the fact that human reaction to these events in itself can be news. Crane explores this concept in his piece and, as Prof. Good suggests, relates it to the nature of the society in which he was living. While it may not be news to us that people are fascinated by accidents (we’ve all been stuck in traffic caused by rubber-necking), Crane saw the crowd’s reaction and was somehow, whether in anger or sympathy, touched by it and decided it to be newsworthy. I think he found that the most effective way he could communicate the instinctive draw of the crowd to the fallen man was to write it in a narrative, descriptive fashion, and that it’s this type of creative journalism that gives new facets to the face of news writing.
"When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" could be considered news with a dramatic twist. I don't often read news articles that contains a dialogue of everyone at the scene while it is taking place. The narration of this piece of work threw me off because it was extremely descriptive and sensitive to the reader. The abrupt ending also caught me off guard, there was no conclusion. Assuming since this incident wasn't intended, it is not written as random news.
"When a man falls, a crowd gathers" is absolutely news. The way in which Crane is portraying the "crowd" of people describes them as a whole, not individuals, representing Cranes view of the society at that time period. It's not the event that is neccesarily the most important part. Crane isn't explaining a man who had a seizure and what happened to him, Crane is describing the reactions of others when faced with this event, and how they were effected.
"No ideas but in things," the poet William Carlos Williams wrote. As part of becoming accomplished writers, we must be as concrete and specific as we can -- even when dealing with abstract issues and ideas. And I'm not talking just about Crane here, but about you and me. When writing (and wouldn't hurt when talking either, we need to eschew big, general nouns for the details that create an image in our audience's mind, induce a feeling, clarify a thought.
When you read "An Experiment in Misery" for next Wednesday examine how Crane weds abstract or elusive mental and emotional states to physical objects. It's a kind of hyper-realistic poetry.
The fact that we are dealing with literary journalism here and not the standard convential form of journalism, does not make this story any less of a news story. The event of the man falling in his epeleptic fit temporarily halts the flow of everyday life. People stop what they are doing to watch this spectacle. They are excited, intrigued,, and almost seduced into watching this display of human suffering. Those who are in the back of the crowd feel robbed by not having a good view of the scene. There are some in the crowd who even make an attempt at heroism. This story detailed an unusual occurrence in daily life that drew immediate attention and interest from the general public. In my opinion, that is what news is, regardless of the fact that Crane has decided to shape his language in a creative, imagistic, and poetic fashion. While doing the necessary journalistic part of delivering the news, he uses this form of writing to also make a commentary on humanity in this time period and their twisted perceptions of human suffering.
I'm a very literal person, so I don't really think this is news. I wouldn't consider it journalism either. It's a very short story not designed by the author to inform anyone as a reporter or a journalist...
To me, the difference between reporters and journalists is what we were discussing in class as the difference between journalism and literary journalism. I haven't taken any other journalism courses yet, so my definitions may be off, but reporters report facts, and journalists write journal entries designed to be read by the news seeking public.
At no point in "When a Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" does Stephen Crane come across to me as either a reporter or a journalist.
...and I do realize that this was over 75 words ::grin::
"When a Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" by Stephen Crane is just another piece of news where we see a realistic scene. While I agree with others that this isn't front page news, I also find that it is important. The everyday events of an individual are just as important as global news. Like the Chaos Theory states one flutter of a butterfly wing can change everything. This man falling is like that in this respect. The crowd, the child, the police officer, and the doctor are all changed by this one man. In my mind that is what makes this news. The little things count.
People that say they don't find the journalism in this piece aren't looking closely at the picture, big and small.
An extended, descriptive piece of news, indeed. And with flair, and style. More importantly, the reactions of the crowd are assessed as being a "spasm of curiosity," and, furthermore, it comes in waves, just as the man's own spasm did. Crane is the outside observer, and the best part is that he doesn't just provide a single angle to what happened. This is entirely the way it happened through the eyes of the "journalistic observer"...its just that many people dismiss it as being too real in an insensitive way.
I feel that the piece is not as much news as it is a broader commentary on people in general. One one hand, it can be considered news, in that it describes an occurrence in lucid and informative detail. On the other hand, I was much more affected by Crane's description of the people who were present during the incident. I liken their reactions with those of people who back up traffic to slow down and take a good look at car wrecks on the side of the highway.
Crane's "When a Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" would not be accepted as news from todays audience,and people would easily mistake it for a short story. However because the definition of news and what news is, or should be isn't analyzed on a regular basis by every individual it's not that easily classified in my opinion. I read this article and i forgot what class i was reading for, it is not news that i traditionally would classify as news, yet it leaves an interesting taste in my mouth because of the elegant way it is written, perhaps it was the original goal of news, not to just inform, but through words put the reader in the situation, so the reader themselves can think for themselves as opposed to allowing society to think for the individual.
Yes, this is news and I would have to agree that it would normally be seen as a minor news piece. Although, the manor that the story is told in hints to larger elements. The description of human reactions shows how they are more egar to see the incident as entertainment. You would hope the people would be more compassionate about helping the man, but then again what exactly could they do? At the least they could have reached a police officer faster, or found a way to contact an ambulance. The news really wasn't about the man, it was about the crowd.
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