Coco Chanel
In his 1993 book, Creating Minds, Howard Gardner attempted to distinguish characteristics that were common to creative people. In doing so, he concluded that many factors were involved in the development of a creator. For instance, the relationship between the Individual, the Work, and Other People (i.e. family and colleagues) (Gardner 9) was elemental in predicting future successes. Likewise, part of his hypothesis focused around the fact that creators typically make their mark in one single genre. He divided the types of work that could be created into seven different areas:
interpersonal, intrapersonal, visual/spatial, logical/mathematical, musical, verbal/linguistic, body kinesthetic (Gardner vii). Gardner's rubric for finding commonalties amongst creators, or those people who produce innovative, influential works in their particular domain, has become a highly regarded and widely used tool for identifying creative genius. Likewise, one key factors promoting creativity was the marginal status of the creator. Gardner briefly mentions the importance of the relationship between the creator and their society (Gardner 42). In my opinion, Gardner gives too little attention to the importance of one's marginal status. I intend to show, through the example of Coco Chanel, that marginality can have an imperative impact on the development of one's creativity. Therefore, I will fit Chanel into the prescribed rubric that Gardner outlined in his book, and show how her marginal status defined her as well as her work.
Part One:
The Personal History of Chanel
Chanel was born in 1883, illegitimately (Charles-Roux 9/3) to a father that would soon desert her, and a mother who would die by the time she reached the age ...
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... different perspective on things. Perhaps she was "creative" because she did not know how to be "traditional." Maybe what seemed normal to Chanel, what felt natural for her, was simply different from what was normal for others.
In any case, I feel that Chanel's marginal status was the main catalyst for her success as a fashion designer. Gardner overlooked the degree of importance that should be attributed to a creator's marginality. For in the end, to create is to do something original, what has never been done before. And to do something unique should mean to be unique. And to be unique and creative means to be marginal.
Bibliography
Charles-Roux, Edmonde. Chanel and Her World. The Vendome Press: London. 1979.
Gardner, Howard. Creating Minds. Basic Books: New York.
1993.
Madsen, Axel. Chanel: A Woman of Her Own. Henry Holt and Co.: New York. 1990.
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Furthermore, her supportive back-ground fits her into Gardner'stheory that, "the roles of family and teachers during the formative years, as well as the roles of crucial supportive individuals during the times in which a creative breakthrough seems imminent" through the lives of creative people (8).
Homelessness is a real serious health issue all over the world that must be addressed. A lot of people in a public frequently misunderstand the cause of homelessness. Remarks regarding homeless people such as “they need to just get a job” or “go to school” are normally used liberally by members of society because they neglect to look at the complete issue. Homelessness does not discriminate. Individuals that have previously experience or may experience being homeless can be from different regions, have different cultural backgrounds, ages, and could be of any gender. Minorities seem to be mostly affected by homelessness. A study done in 2012 found that the homeless population is consisted of 39% non-Hispanic Whites, 42% African-Americans, 13% Hispanic, 4% Native-American, and 2% Asian (Now on PBS, 2012). The End Homelessness website provides the following statistics:
When we think of homelessness, we often think of people middle aged and older. For many years now, the problem has become more real to the younger generation. Some are there by choice but still, many are there because of circumstances beyond their control. In the report written by Eleanor J. Bader, she uncovers some of the faces of homeless people that just happen to be college students. According to Mary Jean LeTendre, who was interviewed in the report, “no college has ever asked for help in reaching homeless students” (638).
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The famous French designer Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, more commonly known as Coco Chanel, was born in Saumur France on August 19, 1883 (“Coco Chanel” Britannica par. 1). Chanel is known for not claiming any of her family, or anyone she had relations with before she was rich. She often made up different stories about her parents (Madsen 3). With how successful Coco was, it may be hard to believe that she was born and raised in poverty (“Coco Chanel.” Voguepedia par. 3). Chanel spent most of her childhood in an orphanage; due to the fact that her mother died and her father abandoned her (“Coco Chanel.” Britannica par. 2). In the orphanage, Chanel was raised by Catholic nuns. The nuns are the reason Chanel became as famous as she did for two reasons; they taught Chanel how to sew, and they also taught her to be confident in her work (“Coco Chanel.” Voguepedia par. 3). “Arrogance is in everything I do. It is in my gestures, the harshness of my voice, in the glow of my gaze, in my sinewy, tormented face” (“Coco Chanel.” Voguepedia par. 3). While she was still performing, Chanel got her distinctive nickname from soldier...
... Unquiet Mind, p.72). Such unique ideas and associations provide significant evidence for aid in all types of creativity.
Claudette Colvin was born September 5, 1939 in Alabama (Hoose, 1947). Throughout Claudette's lifetime there was a numerous amount of struggles she had to face. Some of the struggles that she has overcome would be discrimination and the death of her oldest son at a fairly young age.
The main issue revolving homelessness is that people are not putting themselves into their perspective. Students who live in shelters and constantly worry about the possibility of eating that day go through a whole different kind of struggle compared to others. This kind of obstacle is not common to relate to. “She slept in libraries, bathrooms and her car. She sold plasma and skipped meals,” (2). Majority of students who enter college have the luxury of receiving secure shelter and food, in which they should. Ms. Evans is an example of
From the moment he was introduced, McMurphy effected every patient in the asylum. Instead of bowing to society’s rules and ideas, he went against the norm and was unashamed to be himself. Due to this, he was the ideal hero to rescue the patients from declining self-respect. He encouraged those around him to defy rules and reason by opening their eyes to the world, saying for example, “People [will] try to make you weak so they can get you to toe the line, to follow their rules, to live like they want you to. And the best way to do this, to get you to knuckle under, is to weaken you by getting’ you where it hurts most.” Through these means, he succeeded in conquering Nurse Ratched and her attempts to alter her patients to the beliefs of society.
“Flowers for Algernon” is about a man named Charlie Gordon who is mentally retarded. Charlie signs up for an experiment that is supposed to make him smarter. He wants to be like every one else. To do the experiment he has to keep a journal showing his progress. Charlie starts out spelling almost every word wrong. Charlie’s family and friends have all made fun of him; his parents gave him to his uncle when he was ten.
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