The Ideal of Craftsmanship written by C. Wrigth Mills is about the six features associated with craftsmanship. In the essay, the C. Wrigth Mills talks about these six features which are essential to enhance the craftsmanship.
Summary of The Ideal of Craftsmanship by C. Wrigth Mills
The
essayist, Mills tries to define craftsmanship and provides the six features
associated with craftsmanship:
According to
William Morris, craftsman works for pleasure. He gives whole attention to the
quality of the product. To create, he forms the image at first in the mind.
Then, he produces the product spontaneously. For him, money, reputation, or
salvation are secondary matters while creating art.
If his work
is not accepted legally, he is seen happy psychologically. In other words, if
the producer does not legally achieve the product, he owns it psychologically.
He can own art because his skill and sweat are mixed on it. The craftsman has a
complete picture of the product even if he does not make it all. It means from
the part; he can sense the whole of his work. His works give consummatory
satisfaction. If the making tools are dull, improper, however, he goes on
making the art. If he completed the work with many resistances, he would be
happier that arises while creating the art.
The workman
goes on to create his plan. While making, he can also modify it at his own
will. So, he is the master of all activities. He must solve the problem of
difficulties.
While
creating or producing, a craftsman can develop and foster his skill. It is not
only the self-development but cumulative development of his skills. In such
conditions, his mind gets exercise as a result, he becomes creative and active.
In
craftsmanship, there is no difference between work and play or work and
culture. An actor gets pleasure acting in a play. If work can give pleasure, it
is also a play. According to Gentile, work and culture are not separable. In
crafting, consumption and production are blended.
Craftsman
thinks to give freshness and originality even in their leisure time. If he does
not think about the product in his leisure time, his rest is only animal rest.
So, the craftsman is far from animal rest. According to Henry James, to give
freshness, craftsmen should meditate upon the producing material. According to
Tilgher, peace and calm flow from done work through a quiet and thoughtful
mind.
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Frequently asked questions from the essay The Ideal of Craftsmanship written by C. Wrigth Mills
1. What is the craftsman's work?
Ans: The craftsman's work is his property. While
producing, he can modify. He works for pleasure. If his work is not legally
accepted even though he feels pleasure psychologically. His work is made from
continuous thinking and rethinking. His work is the outcome of his
well-regulated mind.
2. What is the world of art according to Bourget?
Ans: According to Bourget, the world of art is less
self-consciousness, an impulse of life while forgets itself, the alternation of
dreamy idleness with fervid execution.
3. What does James mean by "we have practically lost the
faculty of attention"?
Ans: According to James, to create, we need to have much
attention to our creation. Today, the artist has forgotten mediation, thinking,
and attention to the object. To produce well and appreciate works of art, deep
attention and observation are required.
4. Consulting a dictionary, compare the "craft" and
craftsmanship" with Mill's article. What similarities and differences do
your definitions discover?
Ans : Craft can be used to mean craftsmanship, but in
usual use, craftsmanship is the craftsman's set of skills, while 'craft' is the
trade he practices. For the remaining answer see the summary section.
5. Mill's essay is taken from his book entitled White Collar. What
is white-collar work?
Ans: White-collar workers are suit-and-tie workers who
work at a desk. White-collar jobs typically are higher-paid, higher-skilled
jobs that require more education and training than low-skilled or manual work.
5. How does Mills structure "The Ideal of Craftsmanship"?
Ans: Mill structure the body part of the essay keeping
six major features associated with craftsmanship. Most of the sentence's structures
are lengthy with the philosophical quotation from the different thinkers and
philosophers. Before providing six features in the introduction, he has
initially given the background about the craftsmanship. In conclusion, to
conclude the idea of craftsmanship, he uses the concept of Bourget, Henry
James, and Tilgher.
6. What assumptions does Mills make about human nature? Discuss
each assumption by referring to one of the six ideals of craft.
Ans: Mills assumes that human nature is formed by the
interaction of historical and social structures. Socio-cultural systems, in
particular the modern nation-state, determine the type of men and women who
inhabit the system. Human beings, Mills asserts, cannot be understood apart
from the social and historical structures in which they are formed and in which
they interact.
Human beings
are motivated by norms, values, and belief systems that prevail in their
society. Such assumption can be applicable as he talks about culture in the
essay, "Ideal of Craftsmanship”. A craftsman creates something but cannot
create beyond human hope because his mind is bound to cultural norms and value.
He can just give originally and fresheners through his art.
7. "Play is something you do to be happily occupied, but if
work occupies you happily, it is also a play" Do you agree? Why?
Ans: It may be true. Actors can get pleasure from the
play. If the work can give pleasure to an artist, the work and play are
similar. Work is also a play. Craftsman never thinks about money, wealth, and
reputation while producing. He just goes on producing keeping his creative
mind. He does whatever his mind tells him to do. He does so because he gets
pleasure. If his work is completed in his desired way, he will be happy.
Similarly, artists in play feel happy, so art is like a play. In this regard,
play is something you do to be happily occupied, but if work occupies you
happily, it is also a play.