"The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

In 1971 Lewis Thomas published an article believed to be a precursor to the Modern Scientific Essay. Unique in its style and wit, Thomas’ paper, The Lives of a Cell, argues that the uniformities connecting life on earth are in fact simple, comparing it to the likeness of a cell. Although first appearing in The New England Journal of Medicine, and certainly seen, due to its excessive scientific argot, as an essay written for those in the biological or medical field, Thomas’ essay was able to transcend the boundaries between doctor and layman by providing an insightful look into the human condition, successfully attracting an audience far beyond any single profession. Doubtless, this was the intent of Thomas in his essay -- to blend old anthropological thought with new biological fact, to entwine human feeling with scientific reason, to compare the inconceivably massive to the inconceivably minute, but most importantly, to inform mankind about our arrogance toward our role on this planet. To prove this, Thomas argues numerous follies in our understanding of how the world works, most eminent being the fact that, contrary to belief, “man is embedded in nature” (Thomas 358).
Having degrees from both Princeton and Harvard, Lewis Thomas is nothing if not scholarly, yet the lack of pedantic tone in the writing is due to his analytical and at times satirical style. A style which is most rewarding in that it gives Thomas the ability to reason back and forth with his readers about the life in which we live, oftentimes poking fun at the narcissistic pedestals we’ve placed ourselves upon. Perhaps his greatest strength, however, lies in his ability to personify the world around us. His personification of biological components helps to add fresh perspectives and to bring forth ideas of our equivalence with nature rather than superiority. For this very reason I see that Lewis Thomas has certainly accomplished his purpose, for surely an essay that could be written for few but appeal to all could inform mankind that we don’t rule all of earth’s functions, but rather, only a few.

Endosymbionts
(Illustration by Jennifer E. Fairman)
This illustration quite clearly depicts the comparison of Earth to a single cell that Lewis Thomas makes in his essay. Like in the essay, the Earth is seen to be a powerful cell while the rest of life on Earth like the endosymbionts which are found within it -- part of the cell and necessary to its growth, but ultimately independent.

"The Creation Myths of Cooperstown" by Stephen Jay Gould

Scientific magazine, Natural History, is well known for chronicling the discoveries made by various science centers, so it is not surprising that paleontologist, science historian, and evolutionary biologist, Stephen Jay Gould had his essay published within its pages. Cleverly disguised as a dissertation to point out the inaccuracies regarding the beginnings of baseball, its true roots deal with humans and our fascination with origins. In his essay, The Creation Myths of Cooperstown, Gould compares the tale of the Cardiff Giant to the Abner Doubleday conception of baseball by citing the similarities in why they were fabricated. As a desire that traces back to our basic inclinations, Gould insists that the abundance of myths about beginnings is not coincidental. He argues that the reason we prefer creation myths to evidence of evolutionary development lies in the fact that “creation myths identify heroes and sacred places” (Gould 530), giving meaning to our otherwise mundane world. This, in fact, is the main purpose of the essay: to explore the human yearning to know how things began and in doing so, broaden the scope of thought for readers. 

Of all the parts of the essay, it is Gould’s tone which is most revealing to this purpose. His colloquial writing makes the article less formal, allowing his satire to leave a lasting impression. Even with this humor though, a distinctly cynical mood is felt, confirming the particular audience for whom the writing is intended -- those who blindly believe the myths they are told. His multiple allusions to differing creation stories are among one of his most successful strategies for this audience. By providing readers with familiar areas of reference, the allusions give specific examples of paradoxical inconsistencies with creation myths. However, the main reason Gould is able to realize his purpose, in my opinion, was not due to what he said, but rather, what he didn’t say. The prime success lies in Gould’s avoidance of any mention of religion, a slippery slope considering the topic. Keeping the writing strictly secular prevented partitioning of the audience and thus a stronger impact on readers.

Sacred Ties
 (via history.com)
The picture illustrates the great reverence people of the era had for the Cardiff Giant hoax and why, though it was poorly conducted, it remains one of the most famous fakes in American history. As Stephen Jay Gould explains in his essay, the reason for the strong emotional ties to the giant fake (literally) lies in the fact that it brought a sense of sacredness to our own origin on this planet as descendants of giants.

"The Form a Poem Makes" by Robert Frost

Robert Frost was an American poet who, having earned four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, remains one of the highest regarded of the twentieth century. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Frost received critical acclaim during his lifetime for his realistic depictions of life through his poems. It was this success that, by 1939, allowed him to publish his essay The Figure A Poem Makes as a preface to his own collection of poems aptly named, Collected Poems. Undoubtedly, the intended audience for this particular essay were fans of poetry, allowing Frost to assume that readers would understand the rhythm and flow of poetic writing and were willing, much like in reading a poem itself, to learn something they were unaware they were unaware of. Indeed, this stands as one of the main goals of the essay; to help readers, or rather, all aficionados of poetry, best appreciate poetic works by providing an explanation as to the way well crafted and “sound” (Frost 176) poetry is created.

The Figure A Poem Makes allows Frost, through prose, the opportunity to analyze the human infatuation with poetry. In order to support his interpretations a myriad of arguments are made, the most notable being the notion that all poems are used to leave lasting wisdom for both the reader and the writer. Though admittedly expected from the likes of Robert Frost, the mastery of rhetoric in this essay produces a distinct reinforcement of this main idea, which, in my opinion, allows Frost to successfully accomplish his purpose. Through the use of parallel structure one is able to grasp the correlation between author and reader, through the inclusion of oxymorons the validation that poetry cannot be logically explained, but perhaps most potent are Frost’s analogies. Whether comparing poetry to love or “a piece of ice on a hot stove” (Frost 178) his comparisons make the writing more vivid, thought provoking, and meaningful. It is through this cadenced writing that Frost best explains how an exceptional poem should be constructed and, consequently, how it should be enjoyed.

The Road Taken
(painting by Dave Cutler)
This painting depicts the metaphorical "journey" of poetry that Robert Frost refers to in his essay; one that is new to both the reader and the writer. In this journey, it is the writer who leads the way for the reader down a path that neither knows the ending to. In this way the reader and the writer are emotionally connected through the poem.