Interview with the Luddite
In Andrea Lunsford's introduction she gives a brief background on both Kelly and his interviewee, Kirkpatrick Sale. From her descriptions it is very clear on how different the beliefs of these two men are from each other. Lunsford seems to be fascinated by how the interviews in Wired magazine, which she sort of reluctantly subscribes to, have all ended up in a debate or argument. And the one "which you are about to read,["Interview with the Luddite"] is no exception," she says(243). In this paper I will discuss the different claims of each of the two men and weigh them against each other for validity and persuasiveness.
While reading "Interview with the Luddite" by Kevin Kelly I immediately sensed a feeling of sarcasm on Kelly's part. From the title alone I could tell that Kelly was either not looking forward to the interview, or he just could not wait until he could sit down with this guy and pick him apart. He uses the term "the Luddite" in such a generalized sense that it almost makes the interviewee sound so unimportant as a person. Since there is more than one Luddite on the planet he could have used the word "a" instead of "the" when referring to this person he was about to interview.
The very first question Kelly asks Sale is an accusation and comes across very harshly to the reader. He asks, "Other than arson and a lot of vandalism, what did the Luddites accomplish in the long run?"(243). After reading this first question, I felt a little sorry for Sale, and I was mad at Kelly for asking such an abrupt question. But my sympathy soon ended when Kelly continued on in the interview. Sale proudly explains and defends the beliefs of his group, the Luddites. But it is clear that Kelly has a strong opposing opinion. He immediately wants to weaken the character of Sale so that the reader is liable to side more with Kelly, himself. This is a very effective strategy on Kelly's part because I found myself agreeing with him more than I did with Sale.
When Kelly asked if Sale considered himself a modern-day Luddite, Sale said yes. Sale argues that this is so in the sense that the Luddites of today had not resorted to destroying property, but used books and voices to help raise the consciousness that technology is bad.
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