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Zadie Smith's work and our analysis of it in class has made me consider the repurcussions of being an academic as Smith puts it. Immersed in the realm of textbooks, scholarly journals, and papers, according to Smith, academics are seeking meaning that does not exist, yearning to put their name on a new idea that is the illegitimate spawn of the original and functional thought.
I am bothered by how quick Smith is to assume that academia is a permanent field of creating stories that do not belong. I see reasons why academia should persist and do not understand how can Smith assume that everyone is as (and these next few points are debateable and certainly subjective..) poignant as she is, as capable as she is in forming a story, and as equipped to understand the changing world without this education she so greatly condemns? Certainly Smith does not want to see the population refuse to go to class and learn the basics, but it is my understanding that her perception is that those in the field of academia spend simply too much time and effort devoted to picking apart what should just be left untouched. Perhaps Smith's message is that these academics do not leave well enough alone, but rather attempt to create stories and meaning beyond what is there. This presumptuous practice causes Smith to discount the work of academics, yet I think Smith is just as presumptuous to do so.