Choose Your Time Wisely: a Comparison of “in Praise of Slowness” and “Old Father Time Becomes a Terror”
April 11, 2011
Choose Your Time Wisely: A Comparison of “In Praise of Slowness” and
“Old Father Time Becomes a Terror” The clock is ticking no matter what people do. Some people choose to be busier than others, as well as some people do prefer do the path less travelled. Carl Honore’s “In Praise of Slowness” and Richard Tomkins “Old Father Time Becomes a Terror”, each author shows a genuine concern for the fast paced society. Carl Honore discusses the praise of slowness through a very bias window and shows his personal experiences with slowing down and realizing how fast life goes, expressing a high interest for people to see things though his eyes. Richard Tomkins portrays a broader view of the issues of today’s world in comparison to the positive life of another era, leaving himself out. In a comparison of the two articles, I will be displaying how each author presents the problems, their causes, and solutions in their own way.
Although both Tomkins and Honore believe modern day people are too rushed, there are differences in the way they portray the problems in their articles. Carl Honore begins his essay by describing “New York-it is” as a serious illness “whose symptoms included edginess, impulsiveness, impatience, aggressiveness, quick, fast movements,” as if these “symptoms” can kill you. He further expresses his concern for the growing disease as a “world-wide epidemic” to show that this problem has become so out of control that it is no longer a disease that belongs to New York alone (203). Honore displays the need for speed as “an unfulfilling and unsatisfying way to live”, much like the feeling one would have when coming down from a high, yet people continue to do everything with “more speed” like it is an addiction. He also explains how people can “sense” this way of living is not good, as if the ideas are not fully there and people barely get it (203-4). Honore gives a negative vibe when he describes “our cult of speed”, which shows he is
Choose Your Time Wisely: A Comparison of “In Praise of Slowness” and
“Old Father Time Becomes a Terror” The clock is ticking no matter what people do. Some people choose to be busier than others, as well as some people do prefer do the path less travelled. Carl Honore’s “In Praise of Slowness” and Richard Tomkins “Old Father Time Becomes a Terror”, each author shows a genuine concern for the fast paced society. Carl Honore discusses the praise of slowness through a very bias window and shows his personal experiences with slowing down and realizing how fast life goes, expressing a high interest for people to see things though his eyes. Richard Tomkins portrays a broader view of the issues of today’s world in comparison to the positive life of another era, leaving himself out. In a comparison of the two articles, I will be displaying how each author presents the problems, their causes, and solutions in their own way.
Although both Tomkins and Honore believe modern day people are too rushed, there are differences in the way they portray the problems in their articles. Carl Honore begins his essay by describing “New York-it is” as a serious illness “whose symptoms included edginess, impulsiveness, impatience, aggressiveness, quick, fast movements,” as if these “symptoms” can kill you. He further expresses his concern for the growing disease as a “world-wide epidemic” to show that this problem has become so out of control that it is no longer a disease that belongs to New York alone (203). Honore displays the need for speed as “an unfulfilling and unsatisfying way to live”, much like the feeling one would have when coming down from a high, yet people continue to do everything with “more speed” like it is an addiction. He also explains how people can “sense” this way of living is not good, as if the ideas are not fully there and people barely get it (203-4). Honore gives a negative vibe when he describes “our cult of speed”, which shows he is
Bibliography: Honore, Carl. “In Praise of Slowness”. Readings for English. Betty Anne Buirs. Spring Ed. Surrey, BC: Kwantlen Polytechnic University. 2011. Print. Tomkins, Richard. “Old Father Time Becomes a Terror”. Readings for English. Betty Anne Buirs. Spring Ed. Surrey, BC: Kwantlen Polytechnic University. 2011. Print.