Jonathan Lethem's "The Ecstasy of Influence"

Jonathan Lethem in "The Ecstasy of Influence" does not advocate the direct act of plagiarism. He is in no instance trying to promote students to copy full passages of another person's work and hand it in as their own. Rather he sees using plagiarism in a indirect way. He writes in his essay, "We're surrounded by signs; our imperative is to ignore none of them." He is asking the reader why a person should be limited to their own thoughts. Lethem is encouraging writers to take ideas from all sources. These sources can range from art to music or to television. There are no boundaries. There is an infinite amount of brilliant works that one can be inspired from. Jonathan Lethem states, "Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos." It is imperative that writers look to previous works in order to create something new and better. The act of writing is impossible if a writer has nothing to originate from. Writing would be at a standstill. In Letham's eyes, there is nothing wrong with creating something new having read a similar work. This is writing to its fullest potential. "Literature has always been a crucible in which familiar themes are continually recast. " There is a continuous cycle of ideas being recycled and used. Jonathan Lethem gives examples of this not only in writing but in music, television and movies. The influence of one writer on another writer is a cause for ecstasy. There is no shame in the act. Lethem comments, "Rather, copyright is an ongoing social negotiation, tenuously forged, endlessly revised, and imperfect in its every incarnation." The act of copyright has almost become just a market. It is so strong in society that it is considered a law among artists and writers. In many instances a second writer does a better job than the originator. Knowing that this is true the act of plagiarism seems foolish.