Analyzing “Pearls Before Breakfast”

By Brittany Wilson                                               

MC 4356F.1

In the 2008 Pulitzer Prize Winning piece “Pearls Before Breakfast,” Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten analyzes the incredible situation where one of the world’s best violinists plays anonymously at the Metro station in the L’Enfant Plaza in Washington D.C. In the piece, Weingarten transitions from the situation at the metro to outside sources analyzing how beauty is lost in the hustle and bustle of people’s everyday lives.

Beginning with a description of Josuah Bell’s plain set-up at the station, the piece captures all the right angles from the time to Bell’s attire. One of the first paragraphs quickly hints at the odd chance that most of the 1,097 people who pass by “one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made,” may not even notice what they were witnessing. The slight foreshadowing of the sad reality keeps the reader hoping it isn’t true.  

After setting the scene, the piece references the director of the National Symphony Orchestra for his opinion of what would happen in this “hypothetical” situation. Of course the expert, like the reader at this point, believes at least a small crowd will stop to admire the sound that most have to pay a hefty charge to hear. The following part shows the interesting flow and organization the writer uses to explain conversations:

So, a crowd would gather?

"Oh, yes."

And how much will he make?

"About $150."

Thanks, Maestro. As it happens, this is not hypothetical. It really happened.

"How'd I do?"

We'll tell you in a minute.

"Well, who was the musician?"

Joshua Bell.

"NO!!!"

The dialogue perfectly sets up Weingarten’s full explanation of Bell that includes situations that explain his fame, appearance, personality and parents. The writer never simply says it-- he shows it through actual instances. 

Then back to the station. Anytime that Weingarten refers back to the station, it goes back into the sequence of events, which is a great form of organization for this story. It is not simply a monotonous this happened, then this, and then that. He breaks up the sequence by explaining the back-story, his research and the philosophy behind the stunt. It is still easy to follow since he reminds readers of the time and place, the L’Enfant station on the morning of Jan. 12, every time he takes the reader back there.

Weingarten doesn’t miss a beat as he describes Bell’s playing, the line for lottery, the people who stop and watch and the many who don’t. I particularly was drawn in by and in awe of the writer’s attention to detail as he describes everything from the way the priceless instrument looked to his insight into every musical piece Bell played. The following quote shows his attention:

“The front of Bell's violin is in nearly perfect condition, with a deep, rich grain and luster. The back is a mess, its dark reddish finish bleeding away into a flatter, lighter shade and finally, in one section, to bare wood.”

It is followed by a quote from Bell and more fun facts Weingarten throws in. He continues to stay the reader interested in the small things with, “Like the instrument in ‘The Red Violin,’ this one has a past filled with mystery and malicem,” where he describes the instrument’s unique past.

Weingarten writes “As Metro Stations Go, L'enfant Plaza Is More Plebian Than Most. Even before you arrive, it gets no respect. Metro conductors never seem to get it right: "Leh-fahn." "Layfont." "El'phant."

This is a unique way of describing the station as well as throwing in much appreciated humor that is used sparingly and in good taste throughout the piece.

Throughout the piece Weingarten’s attention seems to be amazingly scattered, yet focused. He describes aspects of the situation through either facts or descriptions of people to point where the reader can envision them. I loved the little boy who wanted to listen to the music while his mother pulled him away. When he refers to how “The poet Billy Collins once laughingly observed that all babies are born with a knowledge of poetry, because the lub-dub of the mother's heart is in iambic meter. Then, Collins said, life slowly starts to choke the poetry out of us. It may be true with music, too,” I thought it was a very insightful reference that connected to the fascinating fact that “every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch.”

I counted 34 sources Weingarten used, excluding the four writers from the Post that contributed to the piece. The sources included Bell and people from the station, but also a DVD, poets and writers, philosophers and experts, another musician, fans and a curator. He may not have talked to the fans, but I figured that would be a source. He described them as a “few young women in the audience nearly disappeared in the deep sea of silver heads. But seemingly every single one of them -- a distillate of the young and pretty -- coalesced at the stage door after the performance, seeking an autograph.”

It was obvious that Weingarten spent a lot of time with Bell doing interviews and just observing. He must have either already been very familiar with philosophical ideas, music and history all together, or he did a great deal of research and searching to fit the story together. I cannot imagine that he went out searching for all the facts he gives in this story, so I would guess he already was a smart guy who knew how to fit in information with his big ideas. It is obvious that he did do a great deal of research though to be able to report so heavily on so many different areas. Also, the interviewing and reviewing of the tape were so intricate that I imagine Weingarten worked on this piece for a very long time.

My interest continued to grow the more Weingarten referenced philosophers, and I felt like the ideas presented through those sources were the backbone of the piece. After reading it I felt like there was an important message about our society inside the details of the story.

The story stands out for it’s unique topic and deep implications of human’s society. The philosophical context forces the reader to wonder if they would overlook such beauty, and hope that they would not, while quietly realizing they probably already have. 

As far as what I would change, I cannot come up with anything. Weingarten’s description and overall knowledge answered all of my questions and allowed me to visualize every situation. I do not know how I could improve the piece.

For multimedia purposes, I would have loved photos. Even though I felt as though I could see Bell, the busy station and the worker on his tiptoes listening at the door to try and hear Bell, I would have liked to actually see them. However, photographers could have hinted at something unordinary happening, and this piece had to be candid.

Also, the video of the station could be put online with the story- possibly with a fast-forward control with Philip Glass’s music like Weingarten described. There also could be a way for readers to hear some of Bell’s music while reading the story to help set the scene.