Text-To-Self Connections
I first heard about The Professor and the Madman in Mr. Mathews’ AP Literature class last year. It was part of a list of reading recommendations. He described it as a captivating tale following the bizarre and unlikely lives of the two men, who made arguably the greatest contributions to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). I was immediately intrigued by the book, especially after hearing Mr. Mathews speak about it with such great interest, so, naturally, I chose the book for my summer reading as soon as I saw it on the list. I was fascinated by the story from the moment I began reading it, finding it hard to believe that it is a nonfiction novel at some points. The story behind it seems impossible, but that is what makes it so compelling to me. I finished reading the book with an newfound appreciation for the work put into making a dictionary. I’ve kind of always taken them for granted, just accepting that they exist, never even taking into account the colossal effort put into their creation. I especially came to appreciate the OED, since I often use the online version. Before, I would have never thought that a book as seemingly boring as a dictionary could possibly have such an enthralling story behind it.
Text-To-Itself Connections
One of the distinguishing traits of the Professor and the Madman is the opening of each chapter with the full definition of a word from the OED. Although these sometimes interrupt the story, I found them valuable. The word choices often did not make sense, but as I read the following chapters, I came to realize why a particular word was selected. Also, the long and extremely-detailed definitions, pronunciations, origins, etc. provided for each word give an increased appreciation for Dr. Minor’s and Professor Murray’s lexicographical work. I always ignore everything except the definition for a word I need, and I never realized how much information there could be for a single word.
Simon Winchester’s writing style contributed greatly to my understanding of the book and when and where everything was happening. His allusions to what a certain area or a building is called today or a modern area of London or England that the scene is taking place in makes what is happening more real and tangible. The alteration between first and third person perspective makes the tone seem more casual, and the personal commentary he inserts is almost conversational. I also enjoyed reading the preface, postscript, author’s note, and acknowledgements Winchester includes. The preface drew me in with the mysterious description of “the most remarkable conversation in modern literary history” (Winchester xi) and provided a context for how The Professor and the Madman came to be by describing the secret government files that Winchester had exclusive access to while writing his novel. The postscript gave me a deeper understanding of the characters, painting them as real people, rather than mere characters in a book. The stories gave me a glimpse of their lives outside the pages of the book, and I was saddened by the description of George Merrett, who “has become an absolutely unsung man” (226). _________________conclusion________________
Text-To-Text Connections
While reading The Professor and the Madman, I drew a connection between the book and the Sherlock Holmes novels by Arthur Conan Doyle. Of course, The Professor and Madman is not a mystery, but the story it tells has a layer of mystery to it. Both books have a distinctly British feel to them and both take place during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Both partly take place in London. Also, Winchester’s simple but also detail-filled tone resembles Doyle’s writing style. The black-and-white sketches included in some chapters add to the similarities. Also, both novels tell their stories in a chronological fashion (Winchester jumps between Minor and Murray, but both men’s lives are told in order). ___________conclusion____________
Text-To-World Connections
The Professor and the Madman is timeless; it will remain of interest to readers as long as the OED continues to be prevalent in the English-speaking world. The book is an important tribute to the men who would have remained practically unknown–Dr. Minor, Professor Murray, and especially George Merrett. It reminds the world of how many hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades were put into the making of a dictionary, something we all take for granted. At least for me, this came as a surprise. I believe that it is important to appreciate the work that these people put in for the common good. Also, recognizing the work put into dictionaries, I thought about what other areas of my life I take for granted but which actually require enormous amounts of effort. If each reader becomes a little more grateful for someone in their lives or even someone as far away as Minor or Murray, the book will have made a small change in the world. In today’s society, this is especially important.
This book not only tells a story, but also serves as inspiration. Both main characters, Minor and Murray, pursue their passion of lexicography, no matter what challenges they are met with along the way. Minor manages to find a way around the fact that he is cut off from the world by his cell in a lunatic asylum, while Murray is simply a “man who taught Latin to cattle” (23). However, he managed overcoming the stigma of being from a regular Scottish family and by the end of his life was a known and respected scholar in Oxford society. The sacrifices both men made and the hardships they managed to overcome to pursue their passion motivate readers to follow their own dreams, no matter how intangible they may seem. After all, if a simple man from Scotland and a madman managed to write and edit the Oxford English Dictionary, nothing is impossible.