Plagiarism: Is it Always Wrong?

This week, I read Jonathan Lethem’s essay titled “The Ecstasy of Influence,” and I was surprised by one of his assertions: Everyone is a plagiarist to some extent. Lethem explained that since we are constantly being influenced by everything and everyone around us, the ideas we consider to be completely original have been inspired by someone else. Thus, when we use these ideas, we are technically plagiarizing. While it is still wrong to steal large amounts of someone else’s work, Lethem demonstrates that it is okay to take bits and pieces from other people by using the words of authors, musicians, filmmakers, etc. to write most of his essay. According to Dustin Edwards, author of the article “Framing Remix Rhetorically: Toward a Typology of Transformative Work,” Lethem’s essay is a remix since it is built by using materials that were already in existence.

I was amazed that Lethem constructed most of his essay by using other people’s words. Apparently, the essay would be categorized as a “collage text,” which makes sense, given that a collage is also made by using materials that are already in existence. I had never heard of a collage text before reading Lethem’s essay, and I didn’t know that it was permissible to plagiarize in this way. “The Ecstasy of Influence” was very eye-opening because it showed me that it is acceptable to use other people’s ideas fairly, and it is necessary if we want art, music, literature, etc. to keep progressing.