Voice is substance. There is no other way to put it. One's voice should and can be heard in any style of paper that is being written. Voice is often heard in papers that reflect the interests of those who are writing but voice can also be heard in academic papers when the author includes their personal insight on the topic. A person expresses their voice by putting in their views on the issue; they do not change a style but instead use that style and give it their opinion. Voice is not a form of style. Styles are created by and can be expressed by anyone on any topic and therefore one cannot say voice is style. Voices are to be unique to one's self. Styles are used by everyone. I tried to come up with a catchy quote to start this paper that would prove to you that voice is substance. Instead what I came to discover was that all the quotes were describing voice to be a way that someone is viewed. Although all the quotes were different, they had the underlined idea that voice is substance. Voice as substance is what makes us an individual because we express ourselves through substance and that the style can be mass produced. Let me prove this to you.
Voice can be best shown when imitating another author's works. This can be done by following the author's style but putting your own beliefs on the author's topic. An example of voice as substance is my imitation of Henry G. Frankfurt's section on pages 44 to 46 in On Truth. "Personal joy is brought on by bringing pleasure to one's self. Love is a perfect example of how one brings joy to their own life. By love I do not mean the love of another person but the love of simple pleasures in life. Such as the smell of freshly picked roses or the concrete after a long hard rain storm. This love can be the love of a brand of wine or the feel of chap stick on your lips. The love of something does not have to be of the obvious things that a person thinks of but instead the simply pleasures in life that fulfill one's needs. A person who loves and lives for those little pleasures will do anything in their power to keep that joy in their life."
After completing this imitation I found that I in fact did the opposite of what I had originally thought of as voice. I had believed that voice was substance and that one can not claim style as their voice but what is said is actually a person's voice. I took a style that I am most comfortable with and imitated what someone else thought. Sure I put the other's thoughts into my own words but mine and Frankfurt's style is different. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that ideas are the things that are shared amongst people and that actually people have their own unique style. I have learned from other readings in class that all the ideas have been thought of, but my question was how does one claim those ideas then as their own?
My answer to this question is that people can have the same ideas but that they present them differently (with style) which then makes it their own ideas. Like Frankfurt and myself, we have the same ideas but our style is completely different. We believe that love is not based on the idea of loving a person but rather on the possession that we all own. I often over look the people I love because I know they will always be there through thick and thin, however I guard my possessions and love my possessions because I could lose them at any time. As for my style verses Frankfurt's...now that is a completely different story.
Frankfurt often leaves sentences open and states thoughts in a very philosophical manner. It is hard for the average reader to read his writings and understand his work, let alone his imitations of other's work because he uses his style. I like to finish a thought and put it in the simplest terms I can. Frankfurt makes you work and create your own thoughts on his writings; where I like to give you the straight forward answer and leave nothing to the imagination. This proves that two people can have same ideas but make them appear different by introducing them in their own unique styles.
This topic is a lot more difficult than I could have ever imagined. I originally went with the assumption that we all had our ideas and that style is what was imitated. Instead I have come to discover that ideas are shared and that people have their own individual style, and this is how the same ideas can be given your own voice "Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn," perfectly stated by Gore Vidal (thinkexist.com). . I finally found that catchy quote I wanted in the beginning....and this time it fits with view on voice.
Posted by stan4562 on October 21, 2008
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