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unit1ATheTailofFamePara.1Anartistwhoseeksfameislikeadogchasinghisowntailwho,whenhecapturesit,doesnotknowwhatelsetodobuttocontinuechasingit.Thecrueltyofsuccessisthatitoftenleadsthosewhoseeksuchsuccesstoparticipateintheirowndestruction.Para.2“Don’tquityourdayjob!”isadvicefrequentlygivenbyunderstandablypessimisticfamilymembersandfriendstoabuddingartistwhoistryinghardtosucceed.Theconquestoffameisdifficultatbest,andmanyendupemotionallyifnotfinanciallybankrupt.Still,impuremotivessuchasthedesireforworshippingfansandpraisefrompeersmayspurtheartiston.Thelureofdrowninginfame’simperialgloryisnoteasilyresisted.Para.3aThosewhogainfamemostoftengainitasaresultofexploitingtheirtalentforsinging,dancing,painting,orwriting,etc.Theydevelopastylethatagentsmarketaggressivelytohastenpopularity,andtheirrideontheexpresselevatortothetopisablur.Mostwouldbehard-pressedtotellyouhowtheyevengotthere.Artistscannotremainidle,though.Para.3bWhentheperformer,painterorwriterbecomesbored,theirworkbeginstoshowalackofcontinuityinitsappealanditbecomesdifficulttosustaintheattentionofthepublic.Aftertheirenthusiasmhasdissolved,thepublicsimplymovesontothenextflavorofthemonth.Para.3cArtistswhodoattempttoremaincurrentbymakingevenminutechangestotheirstyleofwriting,dancingorsinging,runasignificantriskoflosingtheaudience’sfavor.Thepublicsimplydiscountsstylesotherthanthoseforwhichtheartisthasbecomefamous.Para.4Famousauthors’styles—aTennesseeWilliamsplayoraplotbyErnestHemingwayorapoembyRobertFrostorT.S.Eliot—areeasilyrecognizable.ThesameistrueofpainterslikeMonet,Renoir,orDaliandmoviemakerslikeHitchcock,Fellini,Spielberg,ChenKaigeorZhangYimou.Theirdistinctstylesmarkedasignificantchangeinformfromothersandgainedthemfameandfortune.However,theypaidforitbygivingupthefreedomtoexpressthemselveswithotherstylesorforms.Para.5Fame’sspotlightcanbehotterthanatropicaljungle—afraudisquicklyexposed,andthepressureofsomuchattentionistoomuchformosttoendure.Ittakesyououtofyourself:Youmustbewhatthepublicthinksyouare,notwhatyoureallyareorcouldbe.Theperformer,likethepolitician,mustoftenpleasehisorheraudiencesbysayingthingsheorshedoesnotmeanorfullybelieve.Para.6aOnedropoffamewilllikelycontaminatetheentirewellofaman’ssoul,andsoanartistwhoremainstruetohimselforherselfisparticularlyamazing.Youwouldbehard-pressedtounderlinemanynamesofthosewhohavenotcompromisedandstillsucceededinthefamegame.Anexample,thefamousIrishwriterOscarWilde,knownforhisuncompromisingbehavior,bothsocialandsexual,towhichthepublicobjected,paidheavilyforremainingtruetohimself.Para.6bThemotherofayoungmanOscarwasintimatewithaccusedhimatabanquetinfrontofhisfriendsandfansofsexuallyinfluencingherson.Extremelyangeredbyherremarks,hesuedtheyoungman’smother,assertingthatshehaddamagedhis“good”name.Heshouldhavehiredabetterattorney,though.ThejudgedidnotsecondWilde’scalltohavethewomanpayfordamaginghisname,andinsteadfinedWilde.Para.6cHeendedupinjailafterrefusingtopay,andevenworse,waspermanentlyexpelledfromthewidercircleofpublicfavor.Whenthingswereattheirworst,hefoundthatnoonewaswillingtoriskhisorhernameinhisdefense.Hispriceforremainingtruetohimselfwastobeleftalonewhenheneededhisfansthemost.Para.7Curiouslyenough,itisthosewhofailthatreapthegreatestreward:freedom!Theyenjoythefreedomtoexpressthemselvesinuniqueandoriginalwayswithoutfearoflosingthesupportoffans.Failedartistsmayfindcomfortinknowingthatmanygreatartistsneverfoundfameuntilwellaftertheyhadpassedawayorinknowingthattheydidnotsellout.Theymayjustifytheirfailurebyconvincingthemselvestheirgeniusistoosophisticatedforcontemporaryaudiences.Para.8aSingle-mindedartistswhocontinuetheirquestforfameevenafterfailuremightalsoliketoknowthatfailurehasmotivatedsomefamouspeopletoworkevenhardertosucceed.ThomasWolfe,theAmericannovelist,hadhisfirstnovelLookHomeward,Angelrejected39timesbeforeitwasfinallypublished.Beethovenovercamehisfather,whodidnotbelievethathehadanypotentialasamusician,tobecomethegreatestmusicianintheworld.Para.8bAndPestalozzi,thefamousSwisseducatorinthe19thcentury,failedateveryjobheeverhaduntilhecameupontheideaofteachingchildrenanddevelopingthefundamentaltheoriestoproduceanewformofeducation.ThomasEdisonwasthrownoutofschoolinthefourthgrade,becauseheseemedtohisteachertobequitedull.Unfortunatelyformostpeople,however,failureistheendoftheirstruggle,notthebeginning.Para.9Isaytothosewhodesperatelyseekfameandfortune:goodluck.Butalas,youmayfindthatitwasnotwhatyouwanted.Thedogwhocatcheshistaildiscoversthatitisonlyatail.Thepersonwhoachievessuccessoftendiscoversthatitdoesmoreharmthangood.Soinsteadoftryingsohardtoachievesuccess,trytobehappywithwhoyouareandwhatyoudo.Trytodoworkthatyoucanbeproudof.Maybeyouwon’tbefamousinyourownlifetime,butyoumaycreatebetterart.艺术家追求成名，如同狗自逐其尾，一旦追到手，除了继续追逐不知还能做些什么。成功之残酷正在于它常常让那些追逐成功者自寻毁灭。对一名正努力追求成功并刚刚崭露头角的艺术家，其亲朋常常会建议“正经的饭碗不能丢！”他们的担心不无道理。追求出人头地，最乐观地说也困难重重，许多人到最后即使不是穷困潦倒，也是几近精神崩溃。尽管如此，希望赢得追星族追捧和同行赞扬之类的不太纯洁的动机却在激励着他们向前。享受成功的无上光荣，这种诱惑不是能轻易抵挡的。成名者之所以成名，大多是因为发挥了自己在歌唱、舞蹈、绘画或写作等方面的特长，并能形成自己的风格。为了能迅速走红，代理人会极力吹捧他们这种风格。他们青云直上的过程让人看不清楚。他们究竟是怎么成功的，大多数人也都说不上来。尽管如此，艺术家仍然不能闲下来。