A Modern Day Parable on Society Being There, a modern day parable written by Jerzy Kosinski, is a story about a man that is forced into society. It demonstrates the magnitude of influence that media has on a person. Due to the media’s grip on society, people tend to look for hidden meanings and often misunderstand their surroundings. Being There illustrates this through Chance, the protagonist. The media’s perception of society, and how it should be, forms the actions and mannerisms in which Chance acts. All that Chance knows about society stems from what he sees from the media. People tend to hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see. Similar to when Chance is talking about the garden, those around him assume it is an analogy for something else thus making it appear that Chance is intelligent. Society has created a system in which anyone can rise to fame if they know how to manipulate the media. Power can be obtained solely by saying all the right things to all the right people. This is what Kosinski intended the reader to get at. Media blinds what society can see. At the start of Being There, Chance is an empty vessel; he imitates what he learns through the media. In the novel, society creates a whole new person due to their …show more content…
Kosinski predicted that it would take control of society and be the cornerstone in which people live their lives. Today, society is reflected exactly as Kosinski predicted. For example, the 2016 Presidential race has been greatly influenced due to the massive coverage by the media. Candidates are judged based on what voters see in the newspapers, or the internet, or even on social media. Without the present media people would not be as exposed as they are today. With all the media coverage, one could be blinded by what it presents, and immediately regard it as truth. Media has created a society that constantly looks for hidden meanings or answers, whether they are there or