Lethem Assignment

In the section titled, "The Beauty of Second Use," Lethem states "In the first life of creative property, if the creator is lucky, the content is sold. After the commercial life has ended, our tradition supports a second life as well. A newspaper is delivered to a doorstep, and the next day wraps fish or builds an archive" (Lethem 219). This is not a statement originating from Lethem's own mind, however. This quote actually spawned from Lawrence Lessig's book, Free Culture, which studies the history of copyright and its impact on the world today. Lethem blended this plagiarism into his writing seamlessly; it was originally impossible to tell this idea was not his own. As a result, he proves his point perfectly. Words and ideas are often recycled and used in new ways or for new purposes. This taught me about appropriation and plagiarism because it showed me how easily unoriginal ideas can be worked into a piece and fit perfectly, and without the reader ever noticing. Words and ideas can take on new meanings and benefit others when they are repurposed. In the original work, Lessig talks about creative property while analyzing patents piracy, or using the creative property of others without their permission (Lessig 53). This context gave a new meaning to the passage because Lethem originally had a good argument for repurposing ideas, but Lessig's work reveals that repurposing ideas in a such a way is a crime, and while it may be beneficial to the general public, it hurts the original author.