Corn Pone Opinions, The Creation Myths Of Cooperstown And Graven Images

In “Corn-Pone Opinions,” “The Creation Myths of Cooperstown,” and “Graven Images,” by Twain, Gould, and Bellow, respectively, each author explores the fallibility of human perception. While the main purposes of these three essays differ, each one still implements the theme of trending to illustrate how and why people naturally conform-- even if a movement involves believing in a falsehood. In the first essay, “Corn-Pone Opinions,” Twain analyzes how most people shape their beliefs based on what is popular. Twain specifically makes three points to explain why people merely follow the masses to formulate their point of view, with the first one being that trends always start with an individual with power. This individual, despite being only human, is admired by the majority-- whether it be for their beauty, wealth, personality, or success. The respect a person has for someone else in a higher position thus creates a system in which the masses empower laudable people by following their example in an effort to …show more content…
In the “Creation Myths of Cooperstown,” Gould supports this postulate by examining the reasoning behind people’s erroneous belief in hoaxes. First, Gould explains that people embrace myths due to their “consonance with our hopes or resonance with our fears.” Rather than rely on rational judgment, people use their sentiments as the sole guide for what to believe and what to do. For instance, Gould demonstrates his point by scrutinizing the origin story of baseball. While factual evidence supports the idea that baseball descended from English stick-and-ball games, the majority of people hold the belief that Doubleday or Cartwright alone conceived the sport. Rather than recognize the game’s evolution, Americans ignore the truth in favor of believing a myth considered to be more interesting, easier to understand, and more