If you wish to answer another question besides the one below, try this: Why does Crane refer to the tramp as the "assassin" in "An Experiment in Misery"? Is the term serious? Sardonic? Metaphorical? Does it say as much about the youth as about the tramp? How so?
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.) Your response is due by 4 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 2.
20 comments:
I think the definition of news in "Man Falls, A Crowd Gathers" in interesting because of the relationship between news and interest. In a case such as a man falling and a crowd gathering around him, it is difficult to imagine that an instance that sparks such a high interest would not be reported on. The fact that so many people gathered publicly, we assume that it is considered "newsworthy".
I think that, like Crane explains, what constitutes these occurrences as news has to do with the natural curiosity in humans. When the man in the crowd is removed, the people feel a sort of dissatisfaction, as Crane describes it as "an impenetrable fabric" between the crowd and the ability to fully know what happened. The story ends by calling the inability to find the real truth an "injustice" which is another reason why we put it on the news... to give justice to others who are unaware of the news.
Personally, I'm not sure how abundant these type of crime stories, ambulance, fire call stories. I think on a local level it's important, and that to not report on it would seem bizarre. But I also feel that those type of stories dominate local news, even news at a cable-news channel level. It could be that the abundance of these stories enhances our curiosity when we should be aiming towards toning it down.
Crane refers to the tramp as “assassin” based on the impression he (the tramp) gives when they first meet. The tramp eyes have a “guilty slant,”(64) and “in a close scrutiny” he can “distinguish the cruel lines around his mouth”.
Crane appears to be using the term sardonically. If he had felt that the tramp proposed any real danger, I doubt he would have offered to buddy up with him. What is important to note from the term is that Crane is prejudging the tramp. There is nothing necessarily malicious behind it, but he is classifying the man before he gets to know him. This is interesting because his prejudgment of the homeless is how he finds himself doing this experiment in the first place.
On a side note, did anyone catch how in the end of the story Crane labels himself a criminal when in the beginning it was the tramp who is thought to be “steeped in crimes performed awkwardly”(64)? I took this as an indication that Crane realized his error in prejudging people by the end of his experiment.
In my opinion “When Man Falls, Crowd Gathers” is not newsworthy in the conventionally sense, although I’m pretty sure it was important to the young boy who I am presuming to be the sick man’s son.
When I think about what I have been taught about journalism I’m used to a cookie-cutter approach on writing. Media today is so constrained by rules and regulations that it’s like every story comes of off the journalist’s desk like an assembly line. This is an effective story telling technique that could be easily modernized. But if I had to guess I’d say that Crane was trying to break away from the inverted pyramids; or to stop pretending like he doesn’t have an opinion. Maybe he was trying to prevent his creative juices from drying up. This was just his interpretation of a series of events; an up-close and personal look at the dramatic tragedy that is life.
The main reason I wouldn’t consider this news is that it’s just not that urgent that people find out about it. In today’s world the only time anybody is ever going to read an in depth “feature” like this is they are actually taking time to relax. I was a lifeguard at a public pool in Troy and it seemed like we called the ambulance every other day. It doesn’t surprise me that people were so curious. Especially in 1894, I mean there is only so much fun you can have without television.
I want to completely agree with Charlene. When you first read Crane's "Man Falls Crowd Gathers," it could honestly just be taken as a short story. However, it is not simply that. Like Charlene says, it covers all of the 5 W's (Who, What, Where, When, Why) that are necessary in a news article/piece. Crane supplies this information but with the additions of literary elements and having a strong voice, it makes his piece that more interesting. This could have been a short news article in a local newspaper, but it would have been stripped of any descriptive words or literary devices, just getting straight to the point. Some people like this yes, because it gives them as much information as quickly as possible, but here Crane offers a more interesting way to read about the subject.
So yes, Crane's "Man Falls Crowd Gathers" is definitely a news piece, and frankly, something I'd personally rather read.
If I opened up a local newspaper, say the Daily Freeman today, and read numerous stories about a person slipping on an icy street, and a person having an epileptic seizure in a grocery store, I would feel they are neglecting more important news stories. However, I do think if When Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers were simply about someone falling on the street, it would still be news since so many people gathered around.
Crane's piece, however, is not just about the man having a "fit." It is a wonderfully written commentary on how people act and react when something unpleasant happens to a fellow citizen. I definitely sense that Crane is disgusted with how the crowd reacted to this situation. " It was as if they fully anticipated a sight of blood in the gleam of the match and they scrambled and dodged for positions." A story written like this about a similar event would be frowned upon in most publications, but if you look at this as the subject being the man falling on the street, and the theme being the voyeuristic tendencies of the mass public, I'd publish it in a heartbeat.
"When Man Falls Crowd Gathers" is newsworthy for the time period in which it was written. A man having a 'fit' in the middle of the road has a significant sense of novelty to it, especially considering the lack of medical knowledge for that time. It is obvious by the crowd's reaction that none of them had ever witnessed such an event, so the 'fit' itself could be considered news. The crowd, which seems to border a mob, adds to the novelty. However, I do think that this particular piece more closely resembles today's gossip area of journalism. Gossip was probably just as prominent during Crane's era as it is today, possibly even more so. I say that considering the lack of technology then,so information was passed at a slower rate, and editors and writers needed something to fill space.
In "An Experiment in Misery," I believe that Crane refers to the man as the "assassin" in a metaphorical sense. His eyes are at a "guilty slant" and Crane observes that he wears strange clothes, and he was a "fuddle" of hair and features. Combined with Crane's description of the man's voice, "tuned to the coaxing key of an affectionate puppy," I got the impression of a life-long scavenger, of someone who takes anything they can use and knows how to (or try to) work a person over. In this sense, the scavenger is an assassin, someone who destroys another for gain. Throughout the piece, the youth helps the assassin, which is slowly draining his own support funds. I think the youth sees this as a major downfall, that the man is an 'assassin' in the sense that he will destroy a person by draining them for what he needs without a thought about the consequences.
"But the assassin refused to turn his gaze towards the future." That sentence, and those following describing the skipping nature, and red-wreathed grin, show the reader that the assassin is selfish, has no concern for anything but himself. However, I do feel that at the end the youth, Crane, does understand the assassin's position, as he looks about the world from the bench in City Hall Park. He is filled with awe thinking about life from this perspective of a tramp, and I think his guilt comes from realizing he's been as ignorant towards the wretches as the rest of society.
Also, just to share, my FAVORITE line is
"...in the sublimity of its aspirations ignoring the wretches who may flounder at its feet." I feel like this really expresses the self absorption/preoccupation of America and the American Dream, then and now.
When I think about news stories I don’t immediately associate them as being creatively written pieces like “When Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers.” However if I had to determine whether or not this story is news I would say if it is factual and true it should be considered news. It contains the elements of a news story by providing all the necessary information of the event (who, what, where, when, why) but it is written in a feature style rather than as hard news. The lead sets up the scene, there are several quotes, and a lot of description. Feature stories often have the elements of news but with more narrative and scene setting like this story.
I find feature stories to be more interesting to read because of the story telling and descriptions. It reads like a work of literature with a voice rather than just spewing out information and quotes to tell the story.
I found Crane's reference to his friend the "assassin" throughout "An experiment in Misery" a little perplexing. I understood that he earned his name because of his first impression on Crane, but I figured that as the piece went on he would drop that title of assassin. I never really found the title very fitting. I tried, as the piece went on, to find some indication as to the earning of that title. I thought, "Maybe he metaphorically assassinates Crane's prejudices?" That may be too lofty a writing device, and may be grasping too much.
But even with the term assassin the youth still deemed him worthy to buddy with. I can only assume that when Crane uses it as a title for his awkward criminal, it's a purposeful misnomer. Leading me then to believe that it is used in an unserious manner, and to maybe even show the soft side of something as hideous as assassination. Which could then be tied back into prejudices. When we here the term assassin, we often think, "Bad" so maybe Crane used it to show that prejudices prevent one from experiencing. (This is a lot, and i apologize for the free flowing thought process which has formed within my comment response to this blog.)
In the end the piece itself was very engaging and interesting. The scene within the makeshift hotel, with the descriptions of the many men packed together was haunting and fascinating. Positively brilliant, and very human.
I’m with Zan on this one. This piece may be a completely different news form then the norm, but I would say it is the preferable type of news to read. By using literary elements and a strong voice, like Zan said, Crane really shows a different perspective than what readers are used to. Cranes story is almost leaving the reader with the question, was this a fiction story or a news story? Although this is more interesting way to read it is still a tad unreliable. Some people may feel that when they are reading news they should be doing just that, reading what is actually news. So when rounding up my thoughts and answering the question is this story news, I don't have a sound answer. I see this story from both perspectives and understand that it is a very colorfully written piece but still for some could be more straight forward.
Whether or not a story is newsworthy really relates to public interest. Whether or not a story will be potentially considered news directly correlates with the public’s interest in the story. Something with a trivial topic, such as the man falling in “When Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers,” isn’t regarded as news because the public has little interest in the story. Yet when the event actually occurred there is a small amount of interest, which Crane suggests by focusing on the crowd gathering around the man. The crowd is generated about a few people who are actually interested in the man who they personally witnessed fall, and the rest are people who were interested in what the original crowd is gathering around.
This concept is seen in most front page news stories. Most newsworthy stories in today’s “attention economy” are those that attract the attention of the most people. Crane’s story is definitely a newsworthy piece. It generates interest in form of the crowd. I believe that Crane’s piece might be a commentary of news itself. Anything can be newsworthy if it has the ability to generate interest. But I believe that is Crane’s purpose, to let the reader decide if something so ordinary is worth all the interest it generates.
I feel like a few others who have already commented in saying that the crowd gathering was more of the news event than the man falling. Unusual is one of the five or so things that we look for when evaluating newsworthiness. The crowd gathering around the man is what made it newsworthy.
But that isn't what makes the piece interesting. Crane's account of the scene alone is what takes it from being newsworthy and makes it a great story. As crane describes, curiosity is part of human nature, and that is what he is observing despite the focus being the man.
The best part of Crane's piece is that it includes the basic elements of journalism, getting the facts of who what where when and why across to the public, while adding literary elements that can give people a deeper insight to the events, maybe make them think a little different about the people and circumstances. His style gives the story more depth.
I believe that Crane's reasoning for labeling the old man as the "assassin" could best be supported by the very last sentence of "An Experiment in Misery".
"He confessed himself an outcast, and his eyes from under the lowered rim of his hat began to glance guiltily, wearing the criminal expression that comes with certain convictions."
The two wanderers sit in the middle of a busy and newly industrialized area where people roam busily, dressed in their best attire, with places to go and people to see. The youth and the tramp lacked this purpose on their journey.
The experiment exposes the sad truth of insignificance and aimlessness that goes on like a vicious cycle in a tramp's world. The days are spent begging and searching, while others continue to indulge in the growing city without so much as a glance to the homeless sitting by their feet.
In a way, I see the term "assassin" perhaps being used to express the old man's bitterness towards people that may thrive in an industrializing society that is further dividing the gap between success and failure.
"...the assassin refused to turn his gaze toward the future...it was the clink of coin, the voice of the city's hopes which were to him no hopes."
The old man–and other scrabblers like him– are assassins to the modernization of a society that will not provide them with any hopeful opportunity for success. It will very well make life more difficult and threaten his chances to get out of the lifestyle he lives.
I agree with what Brandon is saying, because typically, the more unusual a story is, the more spotlight it will receive. With that being said, I don’t really see why “Man Falls, Crowd Gathers” could be considered newsworthy. It’s certainly a piece of literary journalism because it is a creative story based on fact, but it’s not hard news. “Man Falls, Crowd Gathers” is Crane’s way of recounting an event that he witnessed. It’s not necessarily newsworthy, but it was, to him, a story worth telling.
People fall all the time. Especially in this nasty weather, the odds of walking from point A to point B without at least slipping, are slim to none. So, when I walk over to the SUB to get my lunch in a few minutes and fall flat on my face, is it news? No. Is it a story worth telling someone? Absolutely.
If in the story, the man having the fit had spontaneously burst into flames, or been eaten by a pack of wildebeest, THAT would have been newsworthy. A man having some sort of seizure on a public street and a crowd gathering around to watch the show isnt’t. It’s too commonplace, and there’s no real hook to grab the reader. There’s no tangible human interest in the story, because, unless the man fell in a pothole that has yet to be fixed, it’s not likely that the occurrence will happen again.
I'd call "When Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" news. It's news in as much as stories about Egyptian people (as opposed to just "Egypt") is news now. Focusing on whether the man falling, or the crowd gathering is the news is a bit silly, seeing as how the entire thing is news.
Why? Crane provides seething insight into the societal structures in which the event happens. The man falling. The boy next to him. The people that shove up to the front to see what happened. The people that swear at those people who shove up front. The doctor. The cop. The very presence of the idea of the cop. Crane is showing his readers that "this is the world you're living in." What else is the point of news, if not that?
Yes I believe that Stephen Crane’s “Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers” is news worthy because as Zan pointed out the story covered the five W’s. For stories to be newsworthy they must cover the basic elements of storytelling by developing the foundation and background necessary to convey the purpose of a news story. After the foundation for a news article is set, it is then up to the vision of the author to develop a creative way to tell the story to the audience. News articles must have some place in the public interest and must cover a topic that many people are interested in reading and I believe this story did just that.
This type of news article could belong in an alternative style of news paper as individuals who have become exhausted of the standard news format would finally be able to read articles that entertained yet informed the reader about current events or news. As news papers are becoming more and more outdated as trends continue to lean towards individuals using online sources to gather information regarding current events and newsworthy topics, stories like this could create anew niche of news papers possible saving the dying medium.
Whoops. I forgot to point out that the characters that I listed are people that we know. People that we are. The editors of the book made it a point to show that Crane leaves the indefinite article for "man" out, implying that this is bigger than just some guy falling. The man falling is a small event that Crane uses to expand on greater themes, like socio-cultural relations (the tall German that everyone obeys), class struggles ("regular dinner twenty cents"), reactions to authority figures (the cop that everyone obeys because they have to), etc.
I think Charlene and Zan hit the nail on the head -- this is, conventionally, a news story. Now, if written in a traditional news sense, this story would probably be about 150 words and appear in either a city blog or local news section of a newspaper. But in Crane's time, this probably would have afforded much more space. News then was much more locally centered. There was no way that things like national politics, international news, celebrity arrests, could be proliferated and distributed in the way they are now. People were more enthralled with real life moments back then -- not as jaded. Someone falling down on the street today likely wouldn't attract this kind of following. Someone would have called 911 on their cell phone and an ambulance would have gotten there in less than a minute. Yeah, this story totally wouldn't even exist today. And even if it did, the story would just be "Man Falls." What makes it literary is "Crowd Gathers."
On a side note, this line was great: "His was the rage of a placid cow, who wishes to lead a life of tranquility, but who is eternally besieged by flies that hover in the clouds."
I agree that "Man Falls, a Crowd Gathers" is news, although it reads like a short story. It may not be national news, like Devon points out, but I can completely see this story fitting into my hometown paper, The Tribune Press. People are obviously interested in this type of story, i.e. the crowds malignant interest. With a bit more elaboration, the five W's would all be concrete in the story. So sorry this is late.
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