Preview

Mail and Best American Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
335 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mail and Best American Essay
The Best American Essay 2001: Mail by Anne Fadiman
In the essay”Mail” which was originally appeared in the American Scholar, written by Anne Fadiman, Fadiman reflects on the history of communication, from the Victorian mail system to modern electronic mail. She opened her essay with a portrait of her father, writer Clifton Fadiman, waiting for his day to really start with the arrival of the daily post. From there, she examines British postal history in nineteenth century. At her father times, mail was delivered from 10 to 12 times a day and everybody has not any others communication tools, except mail. Sending mail was a very expensive business and only made worse by the fact that the recipient and not the sender was forced to pay for it, thus putting the expense out of one's hand. Eventually, the system was completely overhauled and the so-called "penny post" was introduced in the essay. Moreover, when the recipient was forced to pay for the letter and often pay dearly, there was added pressure by an additional charge for long distance between the sender and the addressee. The hope was that revenue would increase by reducing the price and thereby increasing the volume handled. In fact, it succeeded and shifted the burden of payment from the addressee to the sender. Linking the continuous history of the postal service, Anne Fadiman looks at a new phenomenon that has become familiar to millions: Electronic mail. She recounts her own struggles with e-mail and concludes that this tool can provide human beings the level of service they need. In this essay, I find that the author has approached the subject from a personal perspective and makes the essay rich in familiar nature. She used an agreeable style and tone that was neither too formal nor too informal. Her essay are written over a long period and took longer in the gestation, giving it a depth and consistency across the topic she want to mainly talk

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Bob Hicok’s poem “Spam leaves an aftertaste” focuses on a series of analitical thoughts and questions triggered in result to a received email spam. The narrator speaks against the digital age, feeling as though the Internet takes the personal aspect out of things. The email spam advertising “a larger penis” symbolizes the commercialization-based society we live in and the internet serves as a mass consumer-reaching tool. One can sense the narrator’s frustration with the strong emphasis companies put on the consumption of their products by promoting the person that one can become. The author’s word choice is very selective when referring to the internet as “digital ether.” Knowing that Ethers are common organic compounds and pervasive in biochemistry it can be understood the narrator perceives technology to be invasive and prevalent. The poem juxtaposes elements of primitive times with those of the modern age, begging a satirical question, have we really gotten better? Perhaps we knew ourselves better in the past. The serious theme is that spam emails are very annoying and most of the time useless. This complicates the poem's tone because it switches from annoyed to humorous by making fun of the random advertisements but also making it evident that no one likes to get them. The narrator presents a disconsolate closing to his poem using a hyperbolic statement “mouths making sounds once known as conversations,” creating a sense of desperation for a person who shares the same beliefs as him.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    * The use of the mail is what led to Ida Craddock and women like her to be prosecuted between 1973 and 1913 for being “criminally obscene”.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The tome, The Postal age is broken down by Henkin into two distinct sections. “Joining Network” which primarily focuses on the systematic nut and bolt spread of the postal system, how and what did people mailed and mail in a developing urban environment. The second section is “Postal Intimacy” which takes a look at the cultural aspect of letter writing styles and the clichés associated to its respective culture.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine facing the horrors of a war at the young age of 19. In the real world as well as fictional novels, the Vietnam War was considered to be a war unlike any other. Many soldiers faced untold brutal challenges, and often wondered who the enemy really was. In many depicted pieces of literature such as Fallen Angels the fictional stories cannot begin to compare to the real traumatic ones. Research has shown that the traumatic circumstances have caused soldiers mental stress. Research shows the brutality that the soldiers of the Vietnam War went through, the novel Fallen Angels and the video series “Dear America: Letters Home” are very similar in this depiction, but also have slight differences.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Post Office Dbq

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The United States Postal Service (USPS) has delivered packages and other various mail for more than two centuries. With a significant increase to the USPS, however, the deficit in income has caused the USPS to shorten delivery days. In light of this, the United States Postal Service should not cut back on delivery days, but alternatively be reconstructed to meet the needs of Americans. It is important to support the traditions of the USPS by revamping the corporation’s policy, image, and by implementing modern-day morals.…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Every single day Jenna sits at in her living room. Without fail around 5 minutes after 9, her dog Luca begins to bark. That is the signal she waits to hear, this means that the mailman is coming up the stairs. Every single day Jenna greets him at the door, until one day the mailman, whose name was Steve, isn’t there. Not because he passed away, but because he had been let go. The United States Postal Service is very important and should not be expected to change in this changing world, because it is part of our history, gives people jobs, and is cheaper than other services like UPS and FedEx.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Us Postal Service

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Explain how the Voice of the Employee supports improved internal processes (Voice of the Business), and how the Voice of the Business supports customer satisfaction (Voice of the Customer).…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Best & the Worst of the 1920's It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of production, it was the age of prohibiton, it was the epoch of nativism, it was the epoch of racism, it was the season of skepticism, it was the season of anti-communism, it was the spring of gain, it was the winter of loss – in short, it was the 1920's. Indeed the decade of the 1920s was a truly “roaring” and prosperous time, but at the same time, it was a period of hostility and conflict that left many Americans disillusioned. The events that happened during this decade influenced the world as we know it today. Events such as stock market crash and prohibition altered U.S history. The scopes trial paved the way for the teaching of evolution…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Media in the 1800's

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A key element that contributed to the sudden increase of newspapers in the early 1800’s was the post office and congress’ involvement in postal communication. Revolutionary leader Benjamin Rush argued, “knowledge of every kind had to be circulated through every part of the United States in order to adapt the principals, morals, and manners of our citizens to our republican form of government.”1 In order for the people to be current and well informed about their government, it was important that congress extended the postal service making newspapers available to the growing population. In the early 1800’s congress had control of postal routes, which contributed to the expansion and power of the media. From 1792 to 1828, congress established 2476 new postal routes. This expansion meant that mail delivery was not just limited to certain states, but also to the less populated eastern states. Creating a broader network was essential at this time because, as a new democratic nation, congress needed the people to be well informed about political issues. Having a news network made it possible for the people to be involved and make more educated decisions while voting for political leaders. The expansion of the postal service and the more people…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most fascinating revolutions in American history has to be the e-mail revolution. It has changed the lifestyles of many people around the world, especially Americans. Even though there could be an argument that this revolution has helped us in our lives, it has many negative aspects especially in the private life.…

    • 1245 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “To be an American for me means freedom and justice. I also think being an American is a big responsibility.” This is the response of 10-year-old Neil from Wisconsin when asked the question, “What does it mean to be an American?” Neil is right; Americans have responsibilities that are imperative to living in America and helping the United States be prosperous and successful. If everyone were to learn and follow these obligations, America could be the utopia it was meant to be. These certain responsibilities are: teaching responsibility, participating in voting, and supporting and defending the Constitution.…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being an American is being proud to be a part of a community of people working together for a life full of success and opportunity for themselves and generations to come after them. Being an American means to have passion, enthusiasm, and spirit to live in a free country, this country. having the ability to do whatever you want while being proud, strong and hopeful for a country full of freedom, full of opportunity and full of success, is all what it means to be an American. Being an American is having spirit and patriotism, devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty is what it means to be an American.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you know what it means to be an American? There is several ways to show what it is to be an American. For example, the police protect our streets everyday. Also the people that have careers that makes our country a better place. An American is showing patriotism, having freedom, and showing love and devotion for your country.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being An American Essay

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I believe there is no simple answer to what being an American means. I think that the background which a person is raised in influences their definition of an American. Being an American can mean many different things to different people and that is where the line becomes blurred as to what does it actually means. Merriam-Webster dictionary states that an American is, “ a person born, raised, or living in the U.S.”. Being an American includes the Lakota Sioux, Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, African Americans, Jewish, and many, many more. An American is simply someone living on United States soil. Throughout history, many minority groups have and are still sacrificing to be considered an American. Chinese laborers working hard to build the transcontinental railroad. They were forced to do all the work that nobody else wanted to do and were made to work through the dead of winter. After the transcontinental railroad was completed, they were not needed anymore. The Chinese were pushed out of towns and had to live in slums. Then, in 1882 Congress passed an immigration act stating that Chinese could not gain citizenship. Japanese were also not…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2.) In the article The Peek-a-Boo postman implies that because of the telegraph, information now has become basically worthless because although the telegraph…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics