ENG-101-03
Due: 9/16/14
“Who gets up early? Farmers, bakers, doctors. Who stays up late? Muggers, streetwalkers, cat burglars.” (63). Anne Fadiman describes a human’s perspective on being a morning person, or as she refers to it “a morning lark”, verses a night person or “a night owl”. So how would you classify yourself; a morning lark, a night owl or are you a little of both? When reading the article, “Night Owl” by Anne Fadiman, I found that she provides her own views using scientific research about night people and morning people, the effects of being a night person has on her, and describes a contrast between a morning person and a night person through the use of literary devices.
Our society stereotypes night owls as people that are out to harm others, to be mischievous, and/or people who are lazy because they sleep the day away. Although being a morning lark has its benefits, being a night owl has its benefits as well. Fadiman’s observations on night owls are positive, especially since she is awake when the majority of the world around her is fast asleep. The “night owl” regimen seems to complement Fadiman because it serves as a time for her creativity to flow and it seems to flow for many others as well. She claims “I am not fully alive until the sunsets.” Her sleeping during the daytime does not reflect on her ability to accomplish her daily tasks efficiently. I believe that when you begin your day when the people around you are fast asleep you see the world in another light. Fadiman goes on to describe the changes to shift work by saying, “it is easier to share a given territory when no everyone is out and about at once.”(63), which I can understand. Not everyone can effectively be working on the same schedule simultaneously, since the end result would most likely be an escalated unemployment rate for that particular area.
On the other hand being a morning person you are able to reap the benefits of waking up