"Imagination & Reality" by Jeanette Winterson

Although Winterson made some valid points in her essay there are a few statements that I disagree with. For instance, her belief that"the education system is not designed to turn out thoughtful individualists, it is there to get us to work," is nonsense to me. Although that statement may be true for some students I think that the majority of students, especially those in college, use their education to become unique individuals with their own thoughts and opinions. I personally think that she went a little too much on the offensive against American society and culture. I understand that our society isn't perfect and that all of us are materialistic, at least to some extent, but it's not as if our entire population are a bunch of machines that only view things from a completely materialistic point of view. I just think she was a bit harsh in her criticism. She also seems to think most people who claim to like art are frauds and cannot truly appreciate art: "To recognise the worth of a thing is more than recognising its worth to you." I think most people do truly try to appreciate art in every way that they can. They're not just parading around claiming to like art so that they seem tasteful or classy. Although I don't agree with all of her points, she does still make some compelling observations.