Art, Ambition, and Integrity in Twilight and What Makes Sammy Run
This paper compares perspectives on art, ambition, and artistic integrity in Anna Deavere Smith's 1992 introduction to Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 and Budd Schulberg's 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run. Through an analysis of secondary characters Al Manheim, Kit Sargent, and Sidney Fineman alongside Smith's authorial voice, the paper explores how each figure grapples with the tension between commercial success and authentic artistic expression. It argues that while all four figures acknowledge the importance of originality, Smith's approach — grounded in community collaboration and philosophical commitment — stands apart from the compromises made by Schulberg's characters in the glamour-driven world of Hollywood.
- Introduction: Diverging Views on Art: Smith and Schulberg's characters compared on artistic originality
- Al Manheim: Artistic Humility and Self-Doubt: Manheim's confidence in writing but doubt in selling
- Moral Principles and the Nature of True Art: Community, collaboration, and artistic integrity explored
- Hollywood as an Inhospitable Environment for Artists: Hollywood's commercial culture threatens genuine artistic work
- Success, Glamour, and the Threat to Artistic Capacity: Profits and glamour erode artistic motivation and identity
- Conclusion: Literature, Inspiration, and Artistic Integrity: Literature's enduring role as philosophical and creative inspiration
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper establishes a clear comparative framework early, identifying both the shared ground and the key distinctions between Deavere Smith and Schulberg's characters before developing either in detail.
- It uses textual evidence — including a direct quotation from Deavere Smith's introduction — to anchor its claims, grounding the argument in the source material rather than relying solely on plot summary.
- The discussion of Sidney Fineman adds useful depth by illustrating how even a character who genuinely values talent can be undone by the commercial environment, reinforcing the paper's central thesis.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates comparative literary analysis by reading two works against each other to illuminate a shared thematic concern — the tension between commercial ambition and authentic artistic expression. Rather than treating each text in isolation, the writer uses characters from Schulberg's novel as foils to Deavere Smith's authorial stance, allowing the contrast to do analytical work.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a thesis establishing both similarity and difference among the figures compared. It then works through each character or perspective in turn — Manheim, Sargent, Deavere Smith, and Fineman — before broadening to a general reflection on Hollywood, artistic motivation, and the role of literature in society. The conclusion returns to the philosophical dimension introduced at the outset.
Introduction: Diverging Views on Art
Even though it is presently regarded as one of the most important concepts in contemporary society, art is perceived differently by individuals depending on their personal convictions and on how they understand it. Anna Deavere Smith's 1992 introduction to the play Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 and Budd Schulberg's 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run? put across diverging perspectives on the concept of art. To a certain degree, one can believe that Al Manheim, Kit Sargent, and Sidney Fineman — three secondary characters in Schulberg's book — and Deavere Smith are similar, given that they all acknowledge the importance of originality in a play. However, while Deavere Smith focuses on being solely responsible for producing and promoting her plays, these three individuals adopt a different strategy and consider that it is very difficult for them to make it in a community dominated by image and glamour.
Al Manheim: Artistic Humility and Self-Doubt
Although he initially feels that Sammy is one of his best friends, Al Manheim, the narrator in What Makes Sammy Run?, acknowledges that his friend has little to nothing to do with the world of artists. Manheim even contrasts Sammy through his own work and through his general approach to life as a whole. In spite of his certainty regarding his qualities as a writer, Manheim lacks confidence when it comes to his ability to sell his work and loses his self-esteem as a result.
By feeling "more than once, an increased humility" (Deavere Smith xxii) at the time when she wrote the play, the playwright and actress expresses her personal convictions and makes it possible for readers to understand where she stands on art. Manheim considers that art is similar to a business where one needs successful people to act as representatives, while Deavere Smith considers it a philosophical concept that one must address without being interested in profits. In spite of partially agreeing with Sammy on the financial aspect of art, Manheim is much more modest than his friend and shares Deavere Smith's convictions concerning an artist's life.
Works Cited
Deavere Smith, Anna. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Dramatists Play Service, 2003.
Schulberg, Budd. What Makes Sammy Run? Random House, 2002.
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