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前言

這是GiGi在學校寫的簡短Academic Essay,

英語不好哇！多多指教了！

Course title:

Visual Culture: An Introduction to Academic Study

Name:

GiGi

The required submission date:

20/05/2005

The task name and a title relevant to submission: 

A Critical Summary of ‘The Art of Drivel’

(The link of 'The Art of Drivel' is 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5093698-113623,00.html)

I have read the article “The art of drivel” by Charlie Brooker[1] from the Guardian newspaper. This is a critical article about Alain de Botton[2] and his travel philosophy. De Botton is the author of The Art of Travel and the main point of his book is that when we go traveling, we do not get away from ourselves, even though we want to. However, Brooker’s main point of view is that de Botton travels around the world but only repeats very simple points.

Brooker says in his article that ‘Alain de Botton’s entire travel philosophy boils down to the sort of thing that might be explained in a single page of the Little Book of Comforting Dribble’ and that children’s books gives the reader more sensible opinions than de Botton’s book[3]. In my opinion, I think Charlie is prejudiced against de Botton and he is tending to extremes.

Brooker gives evidence to support his argument, stating de Botton’s books have been made into TV shows because of “some mad reason.” I think this is not really related to his main line of reasoning as it only says de Botton has changed the way that he shows the idea of his book, by getting to travel rather than sitting writing. Brooker also gives evidence that de Botton went to an East German swingers’ hotel because he was curious and he wanted to go. This evidence is not used to support the line of argument as it does not say anything about de Botton’s travel philosophy.

Brooker also refers to de Botton’s appearance: “his shiny dome, slit-like eyes, and dark red lips set against his paper-pale skin, they make him look like Ronald McDonald's serious older brother - or an inverted black-and-white minstrel, whichever is most insulting.”[4] This evidence absolutely not necessary in the article as it shows flawed reasoning. In this case, it is not relevant to talk about de Botton’s appearance and Brooker seems to have bias against de Botton as he uses negative words to describe him.

On the other hand, Editorial Reviews from the Library Journal give much more positive reviews of The Art of Travel. The review argues that de Botton ‘looks at themes in the psychology of travel and his style is very thoughtful and dense’. It continues by discussing how de Botton uses his experiences within his book, ‘showing how experiences from the past affect the present. The book was a mixture of intimate experiences and more abstract reflections.’[5] For this reviewer, de Botton’s travelling the world to gain these experiences is not problematic. This case offers an objection to Brooker’s point of view as some audiences still agree with de Botton’s travel philosophy.

In conclusion, Brooker criticises de Botton’s travel philosophy personally and there is not sufficient evidence to prove the case. His main point of view is clear; however, the evidence he has given do not support the main line of reasoning well. Identifying the surface appearances, Brooker’s standpoint seems too subjective. If he had given a better arguments and examples in presenting the evidence so as to strengthen the line of reasoning, the article would be more reliable.

Books:

Alain De Botton, The Art of Travel, (Pantheon Books, 2004)

Alain De Botton, The Art of Travel, (Pantheon Books, 2002)

Alain De Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life, (Vintage Books, 1998)

Website:

Charlie Brooker, “The art of drivel”, (Saturday January 1, 2005), <http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5093698-113623,00.html>

Editorial Reviews of The Art of Travel from the Library Journal

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375420827/102-2977928-4533701?v=glance>

Kendall Hill, “The Art of Travel” (August 17 2002), <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/16/1029114007109.html?oneclick=true>

Excerpt of The Art of Travel, <http://www.randomhouse.com/vintage/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0375725342&view=excerpt >

About the Art of Travel, <http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?0375420827>

About the Art of Travel,

<http://www.interference.com/webstore/us/product/0375420827.htm>

Hamish Hamilton, “The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton”, (Saturday June 1, 2002)

<http://books.guardian.co.uk/digestedread/story/0,6550,725529,00.html>

Robert Birnbaum, “Author of The Art of Travel talks with Robert Birnbaum”, (September 1, 2002), <http://www.identitytheory.com/people/birnbaum60.html>

Wikipedia, “Charlie Brooker”, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Brooker>

Wikipedia, “Mr Logic”, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Logic>

“Charlie Brooker from The Guardian Advocates Violence Against George Bush”, (23-10-2004),

<http://hundredpercenter.blogspot.com/2004/10/charlie-brooker-from-guardian.html>