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1、1A An artist who seeks fame is like a dog chasing his own tail who, when he captures it, does not know what else to do but to continue chasing it. The cruelty of success is that it often leads those who seek such success to participate in their own destruction. 2 Dont quit your day job! is advice fr
2、equently given by understandably pessimistic family members and friends to a budding artist who is trying hard to succeed. The conquest of fame is difficult at best, and many end up emotionally if not financially bankrupt. Still, impure motives such as the desire for worshipping fans and praise from
3、 peers may spur the artist on. The lure of drowning in fames imperial glory is not easily resisted . 3 Those who gain fame most often gain it as a result of exploiting their talent for singing, dancing, painting, or writing, etc. They develop a style that agents market aggressively to hasten popular
4、ity, and their ride on the express elevator to the top is a blun Most would be hard-pressed to tell you how they even got there. Artists cannot remain idle, though. When the performer, painter or writer becomes bored, their work begins to show a lack of continuity in its appeal and it becomes diffic
5、ult to sustain the attention of the public. After their enthusiasm has dissolved, the public simply moves on to the next flavor of the month. Artists who do attempt to remain current by making even minute changes to their style of writing, dancing or singing, run a significant risk of losing the aud
6、iences favor. The public simply discounts styles other than those for which the artist has become famous. 4 Famous authors* stylesa Tennessee Williams play or a plot by Ernest Hemingway or a poem by Robert Frost or T.S. Eliotare easily recognizable.The same is true of painters like Monet, Renoir, or
7、 Dali and moviemakers like Hitchcock, Fellini, Spielberg, Chen Kaige or Zhang Yimou. Their distinct styles marked a significant change in form from others and gained them fame and fortune. However, they paid for it by giving up the freedom to express themselves with other styles or forms. 5 Fames sp
8、otlight can be hotter than a tropical jungle一a fraud is quickly exposed, and the pressure of so much attention is too much for most to endure. It takes you out of yourself: You must be what the public thinks you are, not what you really are or could be. The performer, like the politician, must often
9、 please his or her audiences by saying things he or she does not mean or fully believe. 6 One drop of fame will likely contaminate the entire well of a mans soul, and so an artist who remains true to himself or herself is particularly amazing. You would be hard-pressed to underline many names of tho
10、se who have not compromised and still succeeded in the fame game. An example, the famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde, known for his uncompromising behavior, both social and sexual, to which the public objected, paid heavily for remaining true to himself. The mother of a young man Oscar was intimate wit
11、h accused him at a banquet in front of his friends and fans of sexually influencing her son. Extremely angered by her remarks, he sued the young mans mother, asserting that she had damaged his good name. He should have hired a better attorney, though. The judge did not second Wildes call to have the
12、 woman pay for damaging his name, and instead fined Wilde. He ended up in jail after refusing to pay, and even worse, was permanently expelled from the wider circle of public favor. When things were at their worst, he found that no one was willing to risk his or her name in his defense. His price fo
13、r remaining true to himself was to be left alone when he needed his fans the most. 7 Curiously enough, it is those who fail that reap the greatest reward: freedom! They enjoy the freedom to express themselves in unique and original ways without fear of losing the support of fans. Failed artists may
14、find comfort in knowing that many great artists never found fame until well after they had passed away or in knowing that they did not sell out. They may justify their failure by convincing themselves their genius is too sophisticated for contemporary audiences. 8 Single-minded artists who continue
15、their quest for fame even after failure might also like to know that failure has motivated some famous people to work even harder to succeed. Thomas Wolfie, the American novelist, had his first novel Look Homeward, Angel rejected 39 times before it was finally published. Beethoven overcame his fathe
16、r, who did not believe that he had any potential as a musician, to become the greatest musician in the world. And Pestalozzi, the famous Swiss educator in the 19th century, failed at every job he ever had until he came upon the idea of teaching children and developing the fundamental theories to pro
17、duce a new form of education. Thomas Edison was thrown out of school in the fourth grade, because he seemed to his teacher to be quite dull. Unfortunately for most people, however, failure is the end of their struggle, not the beginning. 9 I say to those who desperately seek fame and fortune: good l
18、uck. But alas, you may find that it was not what you wanted. The dog who catches his tail discovers that it is only a tail. The person who achieves success often discovers that it does more harm than good. So instead of trying so hard to achieve success, try to be happy with who you are and what you
19、 do. Try to do work that you can be proud of. Maybe you wont be famous in your own lifetime, but you may create better art.2AHe was bom in a poor area of South London. He wore his mothers old red stockings cut down for ankle socks. His mother was temporarily declared mad. Di eke ns might have create
20、d Charlie Chaplins childhood. But only Charlie Chaplin could have created the great comic character of the Tramp, the little man in rags who gave his creator permanent fame. 2Other countriesFrance, Italy, Spain, even Japan一have provided more applause (and profit) where Chaplinis concerned than the l
21、and of his birth.Chaplin quit Britain for good in 1913 when he journeyed to America with a group of performers to do his comedy act on the stage, where talent scouts recruited him to work for Mack Sennett, the king of Hollywood comedy films.3Sad to say, many English people in the 1920s and 1930s tho
22、ughtChaplins Tramp a bit, well, crude. Certainly middle-class audiences did; the working-class audiences were more likely to clap for a character who revolted against authority, using his wicked little cane to trip it up, or aiming the heel of his boot for a well-placed kick at its broad rear. All t
23、he same, Chaplins comic beggar didnt seem all that English or even working-class. English tramps didnt sport tiny moustaches, huge pants or tail coats: European leaders and Italian waiters wore things like that. Then again, the Tramps quick eye for a pretty girl had a coarse way about it that was co
24、nsidered, well, not quite nice by English audiences-thats how foreigners behaved, wasnt it? But for over half of his screen career, Chaplin had no screen voice to confirm his British nationality.4Indeed, it was a headache for Chaplin when he could no longer resist the talking movies and had to find
25、the right voice1 for his Tramp. He postponed that day as long as possible: In Modem Times in 1936, the first film in which he was heard as a singing waiter, he made up a nonsense language which sounded like no known nationality. He later said he imagined the Tramp to be a college-educated gentleman
26、whod come down in the world. But if hed been able to speak with an educated accent in those early short comedies, its doubtful if he would have achieved world fame. And the English would have been sure to find it odd. No one was certain whether Chaplin did it on purpose but this helped to bring abou
27、t his huge success.5He was an immensely talented man, determined to a degreeunusual even in the ranks of Hollywood stars. His huge fame gave him the freedomand, more importantly, the moneyto be his own master. He already had the urge to explore and extend a talent he discovered in himself as he went
28、 along. It cant be me. Is that possible? How extraordinary/ is how he greeted the first sight of himself as the Tramp on the screen.6But that shock roused his imagination. Chaplin didnt have his jokes written into ascript in advance; he was the kind of comic who used his physical senses to invent hi
29、s art as he went along. Lifeless objects especially helped Chaplin make contact with himself as an artist. He turned them into other kinds of objects. Thus, a broken alarm clock in the movie The Pawnbroker became a sick patient undergoing surgery; boots were boiled in his film The Gold Rush and thei
30、r soles eaten with salt and pepper like prime cuts of fish (the nails being removed like fish bones). This physical transformation, plus the skill with which he executed it again and again, is surely the secret of Chaplins great comedy. 7 He also had a deep need to be loved一and a corresponding fear
31、of being betrayed. The two were hard to combine and sometimes一as in his early marriages一the collision between them resulted in disaster. Yet even this painfully-bought self-knowledge found its way into his comic creations. The Tramp never loses his faith in the flower girl wholl be waiting to walk i
32、nto the sunset with him; while the other side of Chaplin makes Monsieur Verdoux, the French wife killer, into a symbol of hatred for women.8Its a reliefto know that life eventually gave Charlie Chaplin the stability and happiness it had earlier denied him. In Oona ONeill Chaplin, he found a partner
33、whose stability and affection spanned the 37 years age difference between them, which had seemed so threatening, that when the official who was marrying them in 1942 turned to the beautiful girl of 17 whod given notice of their wedding date, he said, And where is the young man? Chaplin, then 54, had
34、 cautiously waited outside. As Oona herself was the child of a large family with its own problems, she was well prepared for the battle that Chaplins life became as many unfounded rumors surrounded them bothand, later on, she was the center of calm in the quarrels that Chaplin sometimes sparked in h
35、is own large family of talented children.9Chaplindied on Christmas Day 1977. A few months later, a couple of almost comic body thieves stole his body from the family burial chamber and held it for money. The police recovered it with more efficiency than Mack Sennetts clumsy Keystone Cops would have
36、done, but one cant help feeling Chaplin would have regarded this strange incident as a fitting memorial-his way of having the last laugh on a world to which he had given so many.3AA welfare client is supposed to cheat. Everybody expects it. Faced with sharing a dinner of raw pet food with the cat, m
37、any people in wheelchairs I know bleed the system for a few extra dollars. They tell the government that they are getting two hundred dollars less than their real pension so they can get a little extra welfare money. Or, they tell the caseworker that the landlord raised the rent by a hundred dollars
38、. 2 I have opted to live a life of complete honesty. So instead, I go out and drum up some business and draw cartoons. I even tell welfare how much I make! Oh, Im tempted to get paid under the table. But even if I yielded to that temptation, big magazines are not going to get involved in some sticky
39、 situation. They keep my records, and that information goes right into the governments computer. Very high-profile. 3As a welfare client Im expected to bow before the caseworker. Deepdown, caseworkers know that they are being made fools of by many of their clients, and they feel they are entitled to
40、 have clients bow to them as compensation. Im not being bitter. Most caseworkers begin as col lege-educated liberals with high ideals. But after a few years in a system that practically requires people to lie, they become like the one I shall call Suzanne, a detective in shorts. 4 Not long after Chr
41、istmas last year, Suzanne came to inspect my apartment and saw some new posters pasted on the wall. Whered you get the money for those? she wanted to know.Friends and family. Well, youd better have a receipt for it, by God. You have to report any donations or gifts. This was my cue to beg. Instead,
42、I talked back. I got a cigarette from somebody on the street the other day. Do I have to report that? Well, Im sorry, but I dont make the rules, Mr. Callahan.1 9 Suzanne tries to lecture me about repairs to my wheelchair, which is always breaking down because welfare wont spend money maintaining it
43、properly.You know, Mr. Callahan, Ive heard that you put a lot more miles on that wheelchair than average.10Of course I do. Im an active worker, not a vegetable. I live near downtown, so Ican get around in a wheelchair. I wonder what shed think if she suddenly broke her hip and had to crawl to work.
44、11Government cuts in welfare have resulted in hunger and suffering for a lot of people, not just me. Butpeople with spinal cord injuries felt the cuts in a unique way: The government stopped taking care of our chairs. Each time mine broke down, lost a screw, needed a new roller bearing, the brake wo
45、uldnt work, etc., and I called Suzanne, I had to endure a little lecture.Finally, shed say, Well, if I can find time today, Ill call the medical worker. 12She was supposed to notify the medical worker, who would certify that there was a problem. Then themedical worker called the wheelchair repair co
46、mpanies to get the cheapest bid. Then the medical worker alerted the main welfare office at the state capital. They considered the matter fbr days while I lay in bed, unable to move. Finally, if I was lucky, they called back and approved the repair.13When welfare learned I was making moneyon my cart
47、oons, Suzanne started visiting every fortnight instead of every two months. She looked into every corner in search of unreported appliances, or maids, or a roast pig in the oven, or a new helicopter parked out back. She never found anything, but there was always a thick pile of forms to fill out at
48、the end of each visit, accounting for every penny. 14There is no provision in the law for a gradual shift away from welfare. I am an independentbusinessman, slowly building up my market. Its impossible to jump off welfare and suddenly be making two thousand dollars a month. But I would love to be ab
49、le to pay for some of my living and not have to go through an embarrassing situation every time I need a spare part for my wheelchair.15There needs to be a lawyer who canact as a champion for the rights of welfare clients, because the system so easily lends itself to abuse by the welfare givers as well as by the clients. Welfare sent Suzanne to look around in my apartment the other day because the chemist said I was using a larger than usual am