After accidentally reading the last two years worth of Inscapes I've had two epiphanies and one paradigm shift. The epiphanies are loosely related to what prompted them. The Fiction section of the magazine/journal holds a wide variety of material from the crafted allegory to the plot-driven short story, this section also happens to be my favorite section. Each kind of writing has its strengths and its weaknesses. The hand crafted allegories tend to contain a deeper meaning but lack the engaging prose contained in the plot-driven short story. The Anomaly by Johnna Thompson inspired the first epiphany. Epiphany, the first: write all the ideas that sound good on the page and edit out the bad ones later. This is much easier and quicker than trying to only put down the “good” ideas. I'm sure Johnna didn't have the whole story from beginning to end mapped out before she started writing. The story and ideas developed as they were being written.
The short essays and the not so short essays prompted the second epiphany. Epiphany, the second: there's a big difference between writing style and voice. Collection of anecdotes with a similar theme is a style. The way the anecdotes are told shows voice. The essays My Inheritance by Jackie Donkin and A Progression of Stairs by Cassie Keller Cole both share the same style, both are comprised of many short anecdotes from the authors life, same style, but they way they tell the stories are completely different, one takes a first person viewpoint and the other is from more of a thrid person veiw point.
The paradigm shift: good writing doesn't have one set of criteria and that isn't just because everyone's opinion is different. Good writing is relative, by genre and style. What makes a fantasy novel good can make a non-fiction novel awful.
Time: 2 hours+
Words: 312
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Prompt B: Oh, to be published in Inscape...
Gah. That is my reaction to all the essays I read from the wondrous archives of Inscape. Gah. I want to write well, be published, and selfishly, lauded to the high heavens. That is the darn truth. The secret is out! Now don't I feel vulnerable. Yet I've taken from the essays of fellow peers a heaping helping of vulnerability, honesty, truth: the qualities that are what I take pleasure and pride in most. In my reading and what I hope to accomplish in my writing. There is a care in these writings that I hope to assimilate in my own. I can tell the essays weren't inspired by the muses, but were worked on thoroughly. It took a great deal of effort to afford such craft. They are also personal and therefore, personable, an effect I want to garner. The amount of effort cannot be proven in the diction or the imagery, the structure or the syntax, though these are factors, they do not overwhelm the piece to the point that I as a reader feel bogged down, tortured. Rather these essays caught me in their approach, their intention and how that intention opened up windows for me. I could not care less whether the writer showed off his immense vocabulary or the evidence of compensation I find in quirky punctuation. Something I feel completely drowns the message. I enjoy more where I go when I lose myself down their rabbit hole, when I actively partake in their vision. I love Holly Hansen's "Two Glass Pitchers" for its bravado and strength in weakness. I love Christopher Sorensen's "Satan's Literature" for hilarity and character. I love "Postruing" by Ryan McIlvain because it took me down roads I didn't know it led to and he proved that conversational tone can present more than just an attitude, but a manner that speaks directly to the audience instead of at them. I find my own experiences create tunnels, but when I read, I take on new perspective and new blood flows to my thirsty mind. Voila, ideas!-inspired by others. Where do I get off that my island of self can produce great works on its lonesome? I can't; not to the magnitude that I want. Not to the level that I plan for, scheme to. These readings have given me so much more to work with than my own narrow-minded ways would have thunk. I've realized the vivacity that comes to my writing when I read pieces that bring different viewpoints to the forefront of my mind. Instead of underneath those mangy rugs or stuffed between the wall and bed-sham. I can't go on thinking that my work needs to be purely mine because it never works that way. I won't be able to produce writings that speak to and connect with others if all I ever write comes hurling out of my cave or mangled through the space between the bottom of the literary door and carpeted threshold. Yes, I need to write from a place that is my own, but also through other people. I mean, I do get boring after awhile.
Word Count: 522
McArthur, Emily., et al. Inscape. Brigham Young University Department of Humanities, Winter 2006. Web. 2 Oct. 2009.
Word Count: 522
McArthur, Emily., et al. Inscape. Brigham Young University Department of Humanities, Winter 2006. Web. 2 Oct. 2009.
Week 5: Prompt C
In my opinion, word choice is what makes or breaks a poem. The words of the poem are what you fall in love with when you read them and if the words are poorly chosen and just don’t fit; it’s not appealing. My favorite poem of all time is "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe. In this poem a lot of punctuation is used, and this helps strengthen the beauty of the poem. I feel his sorrow through all the punctuation he uses, it’s like he has to pause in between each line because his love for Annabel Lee is so strong. I absolutely adore "Annabel Lee" because when I read it, it makes me feel the same emotions that Poe was probably feeling when he wrote it. The sentences flow so well that the words are mesmerizing and I long to have what he had. I envy Annabel Lee because of the love that Poe had for her and it’s evident in Poe’s writing that he worshipped her. I can picture the jealousy of the wingèd seraphs of Heaven, and the death of Annabel Lee. I just love how I can picture everything that Poe wrote and also feel the emotion that is embedded in it.
I think the difference between my writing and Poe’s writing is that you can tell what emotions he had intended for the poems he writes and I think that my writing can be emotionless at times. Also, Poe has imagery throughout "Annabel Lee" and I think I could be portraying my writing much better than I am. I wish I could write as beautifully and powerfully as Edgar Allan Poe does. His work is so well known and my soul is rapt each time I read one of his poems. I find his words to be breathtaking and so drenched with emotion that my heart is about to explode. Poe’s technique is inspiring and I would like to study his work more so that I can learn to paint images with words as he does. I think I am going to try to use more punctuation so that my writing will sound more like how I would want it to be read. I also would like to expand my vocabulary more and use more descriptive words because I think that will show maturity in my writing, and maybe give me more credibility. This has really made me think about my own writing style and what I am portraying to other people. What message am I sending? What emotions am I bringing? How can I improve?
I’ve realized that I can be very vague when it comes to writing and I really don’t show much emotion. I’m not always very personal when it comes to assignments and I would like to try to throw myself in my paper more. Essayists are personal and so are most poets; both have great writing styles. So I figure that if I would like to improve my writing, I need to make it more appeasing to my readers.
Kara Lohberg
500 word criteria
I think the difference between my writing and Poe’s writing is that you can tell what emotions he had intended for the poems he writes and I think that my writing can be emotionless at times. Also, Poe has imagery throughout "Annabel Lee" and I think I could be portraying my writing much better than I am. I wish I could write as beautifully and powerfully as Edgar Allan Poe does. His work is so well known and my soul is rapt each time I read one of his poems. I find his words to be breathtaking and so drenched with emotion that my heart is about to explode. Poe’s technique is inspiring and I would like to study his work more so that I can learn to paint images with words as he does. I think I am going to try to use more punctuation so that my writing will sound more like how I would want it to be read. I also would like to expand my vocabulary more and use more descriptive words because I think that will show maturity in my writing, and maybe give me more credibility. This has really made me think about my own writing style and what I am portraying to other people. What message am I sending? What emotions am I bringing? How can I improve?
I’ve realized that I can be very vague when it comes to writing and I really don’t show much emotion. I’m not always very personal when it comes to assignments and I would like to try to throw myself in my paper more. Essayists are personal and so are most poets; both have great writing styles. So I figure that if I would like to improve my writing, I need to make it more appeasing to my readers.
Kara Lohberg
500 word criteria
Week 5 Promt C
I never seen such days as this-Sholeh Wolpé
A Complaint-William Wordsworth
A Country Incident-May Sarton
A Divine Image-William Blake
A Poison Tree-William Blake
Word choice choice is essential in poems because they could have more than one meaning. In poems a word can have more than one meaning as well as more than one purpose. In poems you have to keep track of a word's literal meaning, its secondary meaning (if it were a pun, homonym , etc.), syllables, and/or rhyming ability.
I chose the poem "A Poison Tree" by William Blake. Blake's poem utilizes sentences and more proper grammar. All of his lines are sentences. I like this poem because it was shorter and it rhymed. I tend to lose interest if the poem is really long and doesn't rhyme well. Another reason that I liked this poem so much was that it was easy for me to understand. The author used a more blatant metaphor than I am used to and that made the poem reading experience more agreeable. This work is similar to the work I've done in that it gets to the point by using comparisons and metaphors that are more universal. When I read this poem I thought the first lines and how he excused his friend but not his foe. I thought that this peculiar because not only did he not forgive his foe but he conjured up such a freakish amount of bad mojo as to turn it into an apple! Then I thought why would this other man sneak into William's yard and eat the apple right then and there? If you're going to steal something at least wait until you get out of the other guy's property before you use it. 41 minutes.
A Complaint-William Wordsworth
A Country Incident-May Sarton
A Divine Image-William Blake
A Poison Tree-William Blake
Word choice choice is essential in poems because they could have more than one meaning. In poems a word can have more than one meaning as well as more than one purpose. In poems you have to keep track of a word's literal meaning, its secondary meaning (if it were a pun, homonym , etc.), syllables, and/or rhyming ability.
I chose the poem "A Poison Tree" by William Blake. Blake's poem utilizes sentences and more proper grammar. All of his lines are sentences. I like this poem because it was shorter and it rhymed. I tend to lose interest if the poem is really long and doesn't rhyme well. Another reason that I liked this poem so much was that it was easy for me to understand. The author used a more blatant metaphor than I am used to and that made the poem reading experience more agreeable. This work is similar to the work I've done in that it gets to the point by using comparisons and metaphors that are more universal. When I read this poem I thought the first lines and how he excused his friend but not his foe. I thought that this peculiar because not only did he not forgive his foe but he conjured up such a freakish amount of bad mojo as to turn it into an apple! Then I thought why would this other man sneak into William's yard and eat the apple right then and there? If you're going to steal something at least wait until you get out of the other guy's property before you use it. 41 minutes.
Week 5 Prompt C
Word choice is very important in poetry. The words chosen can be the difference between water and adding Crystal Light to the water. It makes the poem a lot more flavorful and exciting to read when the author uses the right word as opposed to a word.
The poem "Are you the new person drawn toward me?" by Walt Whitman uses punctuation to get across the main point of the piece. Walt Whitman ended every sentence with a question mark because he wanted the reader to think about the questions and perhaps answer the questions themselves. The poem makes people think about their lovers of a long time, a few days, or maybe in the future. It also makes the reader think of themselves and imagine asking those questions to "...the new person drawn toward me." This poem was my favorite because it addresses all the fears of a person trying to find a new love in someone that they don't know well yet. "Do you suppose you will find in me your ideal?" If not anyone else, this is a fear I have had. What if I am not as wonderful as you think I am? "Do you see no further than this facade, this smooth and tolerant manner of me?" Perhaps the outside of me is much different than my inner self. There may be a world of turmoil under this smooth facade.
Walt Whitman's poem is like works I have done, and unlike them as well. It is alike in the sense that he uses no metaphorical terminology. He is straight forward in his thoughts and inquiries. It reminds me of my writing because I don't enjoy coming up with metaphors and deep literature so my writing is pretty straight forward. It is also unlike my writing style because I don't write poems and I have never thought of writing a poem that consisted of only questions.
As stated above, this poem made me think about what someone might think of me. Am I so different on the outside than the inside that I would scare someone who was getting to know me? Is the exterior all an illusion?
40 min.
Week 5 prompt C
My favorite poem that I read was “A Daughter of Eve” by Christina Rossetti. The first thing I realized was that the entire poem is only three sentences long. The poem is divided into three sections and each section though 5 lines each is only one sentence long. In this case punctuation is very important because it prevents each sentence from being a long run-on. Rossetti uses either a colon or semicolon in each sentence and I think that it helps the flow of the poem. I could be wrong but the second section doesn’t seem grammatically correct with both semicolon and colon followed by commas. If one knows the rules one can break them for a certain affect. The punctuation causes the reader to pause after each line which allows reflection of what he or she read. This pondering and slowed reading mirrors the idea of remorse and regret because the poem is slowed. The rhyming helps the lines flow which allows her to use such slowing punctuation. Though the poem is only three sentences long it really made a strong impression on me. I think she was able to do this with contrasting images, repetition of words, and an interesting title. The contrasting images she uses are the day and night and also summer and winter. In many poems winter and night are very beautiful but in this poem she was able to make the reader understand the dread she feels. I also feel that first person narration is very appealing because it allows one to relate to the author. For some reason when an author uses first person you feel compassion because it seems like they are talking to you, she even uses the word “you” in the third section. I enjoyed her word choice very much. She repeated “fool” over and over again which enforced her regret and truly shows her regret for her actions. Following that repetition she uses words like “snap” and “pluck” when she describes removing the beautiful flowers. This idea of removing something so beautiful so “soon” followed by remorse goes very well with the title. Relating to the Bible, Eve partook of the fruit and regretted it and the scene of the poem takes place in a garden and the person regrets not taking advantage of summer. She was figuratively asleep and did not appreciate everything summer had to offer and removed some of the beauties of summer too soon. Overall, it made me think about the scripture “there is a time and season for everything.” One should appreciate the time that he or she has been given and enjoy it in the moment and not be “asleep” or we might miss out.
45 minutes
Week 5 Prompt A
A State Secret by John Petite
The piece makes the argument to me that worldly things are passed off as godly. That the affairs of men are misconstrued as the affairs of god. That personal opinion and self interest are interpreted in some minds as godly mandate and righteous action. The piece supports these ideas with strong imagery. The painting depicts a cardinal seated at a table, red robes flowing down a wooden chair. Official documents are spread over the table and on one end a broad illustrated bible. The cardinal is burning one of the documents and the ashes are falling onto the floor next to a wax seal he had presumable ripped off the document before he burned it. Behind him a novitiate in a white robe is recoiling in horror at the cardinal’s actions.
The cardinals actions are not that of a Godly man. He is using his place of power to conceal things that he interprets as heretical or in opposition to what he believes is the will of God. I can hear the stern justification he give to the novitiate “It is the will of God!” Is it really though? I do not believe so, I don’t think that God would dirty his hands with worldly things that this cardinal is wrapped up in. The piece uses differences in color between the two subjects to support the claims. The cardinal is dressed in red and the novitiate is dressed in white. The symbolism involved in these two colors is very interesting. Though thy sins be as scarlet... tells me that the cardinal isn’t a holy man.
The details of the piece show that the affairs of god are looked over while the affairs of men take center stage. The cardinal’s hands are buried in worldly documents while the illustrated bible is ignored. It is one of the only brightly colored objects in the room, it begs the eye to focus on it. The cardinal’s attention in wrapped up in the document he is burning. The flame on the document seems to symbolize the actual consequences of the course the cardinal is taking. By ignoring the bible, using its presence and influence to cover and legitimize the worldly things he is interested in, the cardinal risks flames himself. The worldly things he deals in will crumble into ashes.
My analysis is like a piece of art because it clams things that it can support with details and interesting facts. For example it shows that the hero has to make a choice to take a risk; grown and develop or to stay where he is and keep the things he has. Then it uses this example to show how that idea of choosing risk or safety is central to adventure. In my analysis I originally asked alot of questions that I did not answer, and I had alot of disconnected comments. I tried to organize my comments into coherent paragraphs and to centralize the questions I want to ask into one or two key statements and then answer those questions and support my answers with research and substance from the game itself. Hopefully this more coherent structure and supporting research has made my piece more aesthetically pleasing and palatable.
500 word criteria
The piece makes the argument to me that worldly things are passed off as godly. That the affairs of men are misconstrued as the affairs of god. That personal opinion and self interest are interpreted in some minds as godly mandate and righteous action. The piece supports these ideas with strong imagery. The painting depicts a cardinal seated at a table, red robes flowing down a wooden chair. Official documents are spread over the table and on one end a broad illustrated bible. The cardinal is burning one of the documents and the ashes are falling onto the floor next to a wax seal he had presumable ripped off the document before he burned it. Behind him a novitiate in a white robe is recoiling in horror at the cardinal’s actions.
The cardinals actions are not that of a Godly man. He is using his place of power to conceal things that he interprets as heretical or in opposition to what he believes is the will of God. I can hear the stern justification he give to the novitiate “It is the will of God!” Is it really though? I do not believe so, I don’t think that God would dirty his hands with worldly things that this cardinal is wrapped up in. The piece uses differences in color between the two subjects to support the claims. The cardinal is dressed in red and the novitiate is dressed in white. The symbolism involved in these two colors is very interesting. Though thy sins be as scarlet... tells me that the cardinal isn’t a holy man.
The details of the piece show that the affairs of god are looked over while the affairs of men take center stage. The cardinal’s hands are buried in worldly documents while the illustrated bible is ignored. It is one of the only brightly colored objects in the room, it begs the eye to focus on it. The cardinal’s attention in wrapped up in the document he is burning. The flame on the document seems to symbolize the actual consequences of the course the cardinal is taking. By ignoring the bible, using its presence and influence to cover and legitimize the worldly things he is interested in, the cardinal risks flames himself. The worldly things he deals in will crumble into ashes.
My analysis is like a piece of art because it clams things that it can support with details and interesting facts. For example it shows that the hero has to make a choice to take a risk; grown and develop or to stay where he is and keep the things he has. Then it uses this example to show how that idea of choosing risk or safety is central to adventure. In my analysis I originally asked alot of questions that I did not answer, and I had alot of disconnected comments. I tried to organize my comments into coherent paragraphs and to centralize the questions I want to ask into one or two key statements and then answer those questions and support my answers with research and substance from the game itself. Hopefully this more coherent structure and supporting research has made my piece more aesthetically pleasing and palatable.
500 word criteria
Word Analysis Shane Wood
Shane Wood
Cassie Keller Cole
English 150
September 28, 2009
Disinfect
The word “disinfect” means to rid a person or object of bacteria or other harmful microorganisms. I found this particular word while examining a canister of Clorox disinfecting wipes. Disinfecting can happen in a variety of ways. Many times it happens with the use of certain chemicals or even certain kinds of light. According to the Merriam –Webster online dictionary, the word disinfect comes from the middle French word: desinfecter. With the prefix des, meaning reversal or removal, and the root word infecter, meaning to infect. This French word comes from the Latin word inficere. From a text circa 1374, the word infect is defined as, “to spoil, stain, to put in”. A definition from 1548 infection is defined as “communication of disease by agency of air or water”. With definitions such as these the purpose of the disinfecting wipes becomes evident.
The word disinfect adds to the canister of disinfectant wipes by letting the consumer know the purpose of these wipes. They were not created to smell nice or to polish the surfaces of your living room table. They were created to disinfect. But why would the manufacturers and product designers use the word “disinfecting”? Of all the synonyms of the word disinfect like: cleaning, sanitizing, antiseptic, or purifying; why would they specifically use “disinfecting”? All these words have a specific definition and, especially when involved in public relations, a connotation. It can be said that these words all have a different connotation and the sellers of the Clorox disinfecting wipes chose “disinfecting” for a specific reason. Could it be that the root word “infect” has an especially negative connotation? I think that anyone could use the words sanitize, cleanse, or purify. But, when the manufacturers use a word with the root “infect” the motive becomes clear. Other synonyms are more passive and really only describe what they do. Disinfecting, however, has the entity that you’re trying to pacify right inside the word.
The word “sanitize” is defined as: to clean up as by the removal of improper, unwanted, and confidential material. While this may seem good in its relation to the purpose of the wipes the word leans more to the fact that it refers more to material than to microorganisms and bacteria. The word “antiseptic” also runs into the same problem. When examining the definition of this particular word it seems to fit into the disinfecting slot quite well. It offers the same microorganism fighting definition as disinfecting but it does run into a problem as it applies mainly to a cleansing of living tissue. Purifying also runs into this same snare as well. Upon closer examination of the word “purify” we come to notice that this word as well seems to fit the bill quite nicely. It fits until we consider its connotation . Purify has a strong religious connotation. I doubt that the makers of Clorox wipes would appreciate this connection when trying to sell a product so closely related with the secular. Purify also has a less aggressive than disinfect. Disinfect sounds more offense whereas purify sounds like you’re going to give the counter-top your blessings.
Its relationships like these that lead the makers of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to ultimately chose the word “disinfect”. It is with the selection of this particular word that the message and inference of this product’s awesome germ killing power is realized and communicated to the consumer.
Works Cited
"Disinfect - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Meriam-Webster. Web. 02 Oct. 2009.
"Infect." Oxford English Dictionary: The definitive record of the English language. Oxford English Dictionary. Web. 01 Oct. 2009.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Whitney Bates
Cassie Keller Cole
English 150
27 September 2009
Prose
In Ackerman’s Language at Play, she converses with her students all the time to discuss all the aspects and facets of poetry. They breathed and slept and ate poetry. One specific type of poetry they analyzed was prose. That is when I stopped to think to myself. Prose? What does this mean? The dictionary is always the best place to turn to when there is an unknown word blocking the path to understanding. I came to find that prose is language as it’s spoken and has no structure like a poem does. So if prose has no rhythm, I thought, how can it be poetry? Continued research brought to light that prose poetry cuts out all the metaphorical and unnecessary wording that authors use to create imagery and evoke certain emotions. Prose stands on it’s own without the flowery and fluffy extra; this is because it is meant to cut straight at your emotions, not nick bits and pieces slowly away from the edges.
Ackerman chose this word simply because it was the most correct one to use. No other can fit the description better. Most of the time prose is used as a noun in referring to poetry or some form of writing, but it can also be used as an adjective to say sometthing is dull, matter-of-factly, or unimaginative. The connotations are generally negative with the second defiiniton. It derives from the Middle English word prosa, meaning straight forward.
Such a dignified sounding word doesn’t seem to fit the definition given it. Prose sounds like it could mean anything but boring. It could be thrown into a sentence to replace a number of words and no one would ever know. “The evening was absolutely prose; thank you for inviting me to your charming party.”
Using the adjective form of the word prose is a great description on writing a paper about prose. It is diffcult finding enough to say about one short word. Irony would be a great word to describe writing about the noun form of the word prose. Synonyms for the adjective are a lot more imaganative than the word itself such as colorless, platitudinous, plebeian, humdrum, lustreless, and so forth.
Some teachers want long elaborate essays that will just make their heart melt. Descriptive words here and metaphors there to make it more entertaining. I don’t blame them, prose papers aren’t as much fun to read. But that is how I like to write. Straight forward and to the point is my style.
Supplemental Prompt B
I would much rather be getting ready to go out of town right now than writing this post. I am leaving for St George tomorrow afternoon. I am getting off early to go, and I want to leave as soon after I get off work as I can. Unfortunately, since I don’t have a lot of time tonight to get ready to go, I get to throw everything together at either 5 o’clock tomorrow morning or waste the time before we leave doing it. My house desperately needs to be cleaned before I go as well. I don't like to come home to a dirty house. There is a wide array of mail, groceries, phone instructions and magazines all over my kitchen counters. There are dishes in the sink that need to be loaded into my dishwasher. Moving to the living room, the next thing that needs to be taken care of is the empty under the bed bin that needs to be filled with my old stuff in the box I brought home from my parents house. The living room has random items littering the floor and the couches. There are two different Amazon boxes on the floor, some shoes, a couple more magazines, a couple laptop bags, my back pack and a couple jackets on the couch. There are little pieces of stem and leaves still lying on the carpet from the wedding I did two weeks ago. Just a little idea of how dirty my house is.
My house isn’t dirty because we are messy people; it is because life has been extremely busy lately. Working full time and going to school, while trying to maintain a household and a marriage is rather difficult. Especially while trying to train for a marathon. It is hard to find the time to everything that requires my attention and the cleaning just falls pretty low on the list of priorities. I would like to do it. I really enjoy living in a clean environment, but it just doesn’t happen. I can only do a little bit of cleaning at a time. This morning I folded and put away a load of laundry before work. Last night, while preparing dinner, I unloaded the dishwasher and loaded a few more dirty dishes into it.
I struggle with trying to fit in time with my husband as well. He is so good about everything, but still I feel bad that I have to ignore him and focus on my homework for a couple of hours every night. He does most of the laundry on Tuesdays, and sometimes when I have late classes I will get home and to my delight he has done a lot of cleaning. This of course makes me feel even more inadequate at keeping up with my responsibilities as a wife. He is such a good husband; it makes me feel like I should be doing more in return. Scott, my husband, has been working 10 to 12 hour days this weeks as well, so there is little help coming from him either. I feel like this would be easier if I had been going to school since we first got married, but to start up almost two years into our marriage, really seems to put a strain on the habits we had already formed. I don’t think I was prepared for as much time as school would take. It has been a while for me since I have been in school, and back then I was single and living in apartment with a very small area to maintain. Life is much different now. At some point I will find a balance, and then it will be time for another big change in our lives.
626 Words
My house isn’t dirty because we are messy people; it is because life has been extremely busy lately. Working full time and going to school, while trying to maintain a household and a marriage is rather difficult. Especially while trying to train for a marathon. It is hard to find the time to everything that requires my attention and the cleaning just falls pretty low on the list of priorities. I would like to do it. I really enjoy living in a clean environment, but it just doesn’t happen. I can only do a little bit of cleaning at a time. This morning I folded and put away a load of laundry before work. Last night, while preparing dinner, I unloaded the dishwasher and loaded a few more dirty dishes into it.
I struggle with trying to fit in time with my husband as well. He is so good about everything, but still I feel bad that I have to ignore him and focus on my homework for a couple of hours every night. He does most of the laundry on Tuesdays, and sometimes when I have late classes I will get home and to my delight he has done a lot of cleaning. This of course makes me feel even more inadequate at keeping up with my responsibilities as a wife. He is such a good husband; it makes me feel like I should be doing more in return. Scott, my husband, has been working 10 to 12 hour days this weeks as well, so there is little help coming from him either. I feel like this would be easier if I had been going to school since we first got married, but to start up almost two years into our marriage, really seems to put a strain on the habits we had already formed. I don’t think I was prepared for as much time as school would take. It has been a while for me since I have been in school, and back then I was single and living in apartment with a very small area to maintain. Life is much different now. At some point I will find a balance, and then it will be time for another big change in our lives.
626 Words
poems: very neat
Edge by Sylvia Plath
The woman is perfected.
Her dead
Body wears the smile of accomplishment,
The illusion of a Greek necessity
Flows in the scrolls of her toga,
Her bare
Feet seem to be saying:
We have come so far, it is over.
Each dead child coiled, a white serpent,
One at each little
Pitcher of milk, now empty.
She has folded
Them back into her body as petals
Of a rose close when the garden
Stiffens and odors bleed
From the sweet, deep throats of the night flower.
The moon has nothing to be sad about,
Staring from her hood of bone.
She is used to this sort of thing.
Her blacks crackle and drag.
I liked this poem because it is so concise. It does this by using the correct word choices. Instead of saying something as lengthy as "It looks from her hood of bone," She simply says "Staring." Word choice is essential in all forms of writing but is most apparent in poems. In essays, you can sometimes get away with not choosing the best word, but with poems, writing that loves conciseness and brevity, you have to find exactly what you are looking for.
I liked this because I enjoyed the imagery it used and the way the language sounds. "From the sweet, deep throats of the night flower." That line is not an everyday line, but it sounds so beautiful. It made me think of funerals, for obvious reasons and the lengths we go to make those we love look perfect on their final viewing.
45 minutes
The woman is perfected.
Her dead
Body wears the smile of accomplishment,
The illusion of a Greek necessity
Flows in the scrolls of her toga,
Her bare
Feet seem to be saying:
We have come so far, it is over.
Each dead child coiled, a white serpent,
One at each little
Pitcher of milk, now empty.
She has folded
Them back into her body as petals
Of a rose close when the garden
Stiffens and odors bleed
From the sweet, deep throats of the night flower.
The moon has nothing to be sad about,
Staring from her hood of bone.
She is used to this sort of thing.
Her blacks crackle and drag.
I liked this poem because it is so concise. It does this by using the correct word choices. Instead of saying something as lengthy as "It looks from her hood of bone," She simply says "Staring." Word choice is essential in all forms of writing but is most apparent in poems. In essays, you can sometimes get away with not choosing the best word, but with poems, writing that loves conciseness and brevity, you have to find exactly what you are looking for.
I liked this because I enjoyed the imagery it used and the way the language sounds. "From the sweet, deep throats of the night flower." That line is not an everyday line, but it sounds so beautiful. It made me think of funerals, for obvious reasons and the lengths we go to make those we love look perfect on their final viewing.
45 minutes
Poetry Rocks
I love poetry. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand strait up. In poetry every single word gives the poem meaning. My favorite poet when it comes to word choice is E. E. Cummings who just creates his own words. I believe Billy Collins does the same thing. They combine words to create a new meaning. It also give the poem rhythm and shape. Word choice is the key element to poetry because one word could have so many different meanings. For example the word silent can me quiet but it could also mean still or with out movement. Poets must know connotations of words and can feel the words as they exist their mind onto paper.
Traveling through the Dark
BY WILLIAM E. STAFFORD
Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.
By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.
My fingers touching her side brought me the reason—
her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still, never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.
The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.
I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—,
then pushed her over the edge into the river.
This poem is one of my favorite poem because of its word choice and imagery. The many meanings and ideas this poem is alluding to just blows my mind. Lets start from the beginning. A man finds a dear on the side of the road and goes to inspect it. This is obviously not the first time the man has seen the deer. He sees that it is pregnant but he checks it and for a brief moment he pauses. He thinks about the baby deer but then he goes to push it off the road still. So, why is this not a common place thing? Well, it appears that the author is depicting the relationship between light and dark as well as man/technology and nature. In the third stanza the car becomes more personified. It’s red lights are like evil eyes peering at you and it is purring. Almost as if it were an animal itself. It was probably something like the car that “murdered” the deer. However, why is this deer so important? Well first of all its pregnant. It is carrying life inside. Also Stafford makes the deer seem more human. He doesn’t necessarily personify the deer but he makes appear that this deer is a bigger part of nature.
“Traveling Through the Dark” the title mentions the word dark. Dark can mean a number of things. It could mean literal darkness, it can mean ignorance, but basically it means somewhere where there is not light or knowledge. Were the people who killed this deer ignorant or did they just not see it? Was the man who found the deer in the dark? Did he have a light? Where was he traveling? All questions this poem poses. One word can make or break a poem. Stafford uses his words beautifully.
The point of this poem is to make people think about our relationship with nature. Is man doing harm to nature? What do we really think about the things around us. The man in this poem was already going to push the deer off the road regardless of the baby. What does this tell us about the man? Does the man represent all of us? What is the dead deer? Why is the wilderness calling? Why does he hesitate? These questions are all self reflective. How you respond to them makes you the person that you are.
Our last project we had to write a short essay. Our ideas had to be short and concise. Every sentence had to count. Poems are just short essays. Every word has to be concise and everything said could have a different meaning. In my analysis essay I’m looking at a song which is a form of poem. I think that looking at the song like a poem could help me get more ideas for where I could go with my analysis.
40 minutes
Analysis Very Rough Draft
Solemnity: the mask the worldly divine wear when enacting rites; the face of the arranged bride vowing to spend her life with a stranger; the tears of the unflinching parent over her suicidal son’s grave. Solemn looks echo in solemn eyes. Solemn words fall from solemn mouth. However, solemnity only reaches full tragedy (and hypocrisy of its differing interpretations) when it becomes an “observance of ceremony or special formality on important occasions; sacred; performed with due ceremony and reverence; having a religious character,” yet has “gloomy, dark, somber; grand, imposing; sumptuous” tone (Oxford English Dictionary). The two meanings do not naturally coincide. Religious or otherwise important occasions do not carry the subtext of being morose or melancholy. There are usually observed as special days of joy; resolution. Though when the two definitions do intersect, a level of irony arises that impacts the event with a certain kind of implication. An implication comes to the foreground exposing the lies and duplicity that spice an event. Therein we find truth and art. Therein we find revelation in the glorified revelation, thus giving it a conscience and ridding its opacity.
In “The Knife” Selzer uses the act of surgery as a God’s endeavor. He endows the occasion with holy significance. “I must confess that the priestliness of my profession has ever been impressed on me. In the beginning there are vows, taken with all solemnity.” (Selzer 709). Here he explains that surgeons take upon themselves the sacred duty of saving lives and compares them to that of the priest, a reoccurrence in the passage. He also juxtaposes his humanity with the daunting task, revealing and contrasting his confidence in his abilities and his thoughts of ineptitude. He, a flawed human being, bestowed with the knowledge and skills of a supreme being. He therefore, expects to cut into another human’s flesh to carve out the animosity in the body. He cuts, mangles, mutilates, and kills to bring back life. Sometimes he cannot succeed, and there lying open on the table to brand his mind, is his handiwork, his failure. “I try not to listen to those terrible last questions, the answers [of the Last Rites], but hear, with scorching clarity, the words that formalize the expectation of death.” (Selzer 711). He considers himself a God, but Death still comes at its own will exposing his talents are only worldly. To Selzer, this embodies irony and the reason he chooses to use the word solemnity. Its double entendre is far too perfect for his piece to exclude. Performing a kind of sacred rites with doubt and gravity pairs solemnity’s meanings. Selzer feels he holds the scalpel unworthily, that the knife may even have its own agenda that he cannot compete with. He holds it in solemnity because its weight reminds him of struggling to reclaim life already lost, his duty as a surgeon but his blight as a man. Though “The Knife” describes many facets of a surgeon’s world, the utilization of this term characterizes the whole piece with a solemn theme. And blah blah blah blah blah.
In “The Knife” Selzer uses the act of surgery as a God’s endeavor. He endows the occasion with holy significance. “I must confess that the priestliness of my profession has ever been impressed on me. In the beginning there are vows, taken with all solemnity.” (Selzer 709). Here he explains that surgeons take upon themselves the sacred duty of saving lives and compares them to that of the priest, a reoccurrence in the passage. He also juxtaposes his humanity with the daunting task, revealing and contrasting his confidence in his abilities and his thoughts of ineptitude. He, a flawed human being, bestowed with the knowledge and skills of a supreme being. He therefore, expects to cut into another human’s flesh to carve out the animosity in the body. He cuts, mangles, mutilates, and kills to bring back life. Sometimes he cannot succeed, and there lying open on the table to brand his mind, is his handiwork, his failure. “I try not to listen to those terrible last questions, the answers [of the Last Rites], but hear, with scorching clarity, the words that formalize the expectation of death.” (Selzer 711). He considers himself a God, but Death still comes at its own will exposing his talents are only worldly. To Selzer, this embodies irony and the reason he chooses to use the word solemnity. Its double entendre is far too perfect for his piece to exclude. Performing a kind of sacred rites with doubt and gravity pairs solemnity’s meanings. Selzer feels he holds the scalpel unworthily, that the knife may even have its own agenda that he cannot compete with. He holds it in solemnity because its weight reminds him of struggling to reclaim life already lost, his duty as a surgeon but his blight as a man. Though “The Knife” describes many facets of a surgeon’s world, the utilization of this term characterizes the whole piece with a solemn theme. And blah blah blah blah blah.
Word Analysis
Beleaguered is a troubling word, quite literally. A beleaguered person is one who is surrounded by troubles and when I think of the word ‘beleaguered’ I don’t associate it with happy things. Besides the fact that its meaning is obviously negative, the word doesn’t seem cheerful in any way. From the context I got this word from, it was evident that it describes struggling or suffering because it was used along with the pioneers that trekked to Salt Lake City. That alone gives the word a red flag because of the numerous trials the Saints endured.
Beleaguer means to beset with troubles, or to pester; however, it also relates to besieging, like in wars. When I hear this word I think of all of the people that are suffering in this world with many trials. I think of the starving people in Africa and of the people that have suffered from natural disasters. Having these beleaguered people in my thoughts makes me wonder why they are suffering and I am not? How is it that I came about such a fortunate life, and yet they are living in poverty and misery?
The use of the word ‘beleaguer’ goes way back in history (earliest date around 1587). During the earlier periods of the world, there were a lot of impoverished people, and also numerous wars. I wonder how it is that people came about the word beleaguer. How was this word formed? The word comes from the Dutch word belegeren, but the root word really has nothing to do with beleaguer at all. I don’t understand how this could be because I thought all root words had some sort of relation to the actual word itself. Leger means camp: how does this even relate? I’m not even sure what to write about because this word is so hard to analyze! How is it that people came upon the word beleaguered? Why couldn’t they just say “these people are troubled or troubled people?” I mean sure, beleaguer is a much cooler word to say, but how did they even think of it?? Why is it that we always make huge words for simple words just so we can sound that much more intelligent? Really though, making larger words is idiotic because then you have to explain to other people what they even mean, so isn’t it arguable to say that technical words are a waste of time?
How many people in this world are beleaguered? Isn’t everyone? I would like to meet someone who believes they are in a world exempt of trials, and then punch that person in the face. Everyone is beleaguered. Some may be more so than others, but that doesn’t mean that there are some people in this world that don’t feel troubled at times. Why do some people go out of their way to make others beleaguered? Why is it that we can’t live in a world of peace and humility?
Our world is so proud today and everyone is always thinking of themselves. I think that we wouldn’t have nearly as many beleaguered people in this world if we all swallowed our pride and helped each other out for once. Why can’t we do this? How could anyone be so selfish when there are probably thousands (or more) suffering throughout the world? I think I was drawn to the word beleaguered because I want to bring aid to those in the world who are troubled. I don’t believe I chose the word. I think it chose me.
Beleaguer means to beset with troubles, or to pester; however, it also relates to besieging, like in wars. When I hear this word I think of all of the people that are suffering in this world with many trials. I think of the starving people in Africa and of the people that have suffered from natural disasters. Having these beleaguered people in my thoughts makes me wonder why they are suffering and I am not? How is it that I came about such a fortunate life, and yet they are living in poverty and misery?
The use of the word ‘beleaguer’ goes way back in history (earliest date around 1587). During the earlier periods of the world, there were a lot of impoverished people, and also numerous wars. I wonder how it is that people came about the word beleaguer. How was this word formed? The word comes from the Dutch word belegeren, but the root word really has nothing to do with beleaguer at all. I don’t understand how this could be because I thought all root words had some sort of relation to the actual word itself. Leger means camp: how does this even relate? I’m not even sure what to write about because this word is so hard to analyze! How is it that people came upon the word beleaguered? Why couldn’t they just say “these people are troubled or troubled people?” I mean sure, beleaguer is a much cooler word to say, but how did they even think of it?? Why is it that we always make huge words for simple words just so we can sound that much more intelligent? Really though, making larger words is idiotic because then you have to explain to other people what they even mean, so isn’t it arguable to say that technical words are a waste of time?
How many people in this world are beleaguered? Isn’t everyone? I would like to meet someone who believes they are in a world exempt of trials, and then punch that person in the face. Everyone is beleaguered. Some may be more so than others, but that doesn’t mean that there are some people in this world that don’t feel troubled at times. Why do some people go out of their way to make others beleaguered? Why is it that we can’t live in a world of peace and humility?
Our world is so proud today and everyone is always thinking of themselves. I think that we wouldn’t have nearly as many beleaguered people in this world if we all swallowed our pride and helped each other out for once. Why can’t we do this? How could anyone be so selfish when there are probably thousands (or more) suffering throughout the world? I think I was drawn to the word beleaguered because I want to bring aid to those in the world who are troubled. I don’t believe I chose the word. I think it chose me.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Word essay
Shane Wood
Cassie Keller Cole
English 150
September 28, 2009
Disinfect
The word disinfect means to rid a person or object of bacteria or other harmful microorganisms. I found this particular word while examining a canister of Clorox disinfecting wipes. Disinfecting can happen in a variety of ways. Many times it happens with the use of certain chemicals or even certain kinds of light. According to the Merriam –Webster online dictionary, the word disinfect comes from the middle French word: desinfecter. With the prefix des, meaning reversal or removal, and the root word infecter, meaning to infect. From a text circa 1374, the word infect is defined as, “to spoil, stain, to put in”. A definition from 1548 infection is defined as “communication of disease by agency of air or water”. With definitions such as these the purpose of the disinfecting wipes becomes evident.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disinfect
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinfect
http://www.yourdictionary.com/disinfectant
Analysis Essay Rough Draft
Love?
Love love love. What is love? Before the 17 century people were not free to choose who they fell in love with. In fact they were forced into love. Women were considered property to be bought and sold. Marriage was nothing more than bartering for the best deal. People married in class, if you married down that was looked down upon. Then came a great hero in romance. Shakespeare. Sure, before then people were whooing women but Shakespeare was poetry, social commentary, and awesome. No man had done it like quite like him. Now love is no longer purchased. “I don’t care to much for money, cuz money can’t buy me love.” A great social commentary by The Beetles shows that now instead of money people marry for love. However people still marry for money. “Girls don’t like boys girls like cars and money” another social commentary by Good Charlotte. However, arguably the greatest song about love comes from a singer from the 80’s who dared to ask the question “What is Love?” Haddaway dares to ask his lover what love means to her.
The Oxford English Dictionary alone has multiple definitions of this words a few of these are: A feeling or disposition of deep affection or fondness for someone, typically arising from a recognition of attractive qualities, from natural affinity, or from sympathy and manifesting itself in concern for the other's welfare and pleasure in his or her presence (distinguished from sexual love at sense 4a); great liking, strong emotional attachment; (similarly) a feeling or disposition of benevolent attachment experienced towards a group or category of people, and (by extension) towards one's country or another impersonal object of affection. With of, for, to, towards. Each of these definitions has hundreds of examples and uses. It would appear that love is different to every single human being on the planet.
In the song Haddaway doesn’t understand his lovers interests. “I give you my love but you don’t care.” It seems like he is in a one way relationship. Relationships are a partnership and in this partnership both parties must give equally so things will work out. In the song Haddaway is fallen in love with this girl but it doesn’t feel like she feels the same. Either she is not responding to his love or she is playing him.
By repeating the chorus and mainly the statement “What is Love” Haddaway is proving that he is confused about he nature of his current love interest. However Haddaway is not the first lyricist to pose this question. Abba, Bonjovi, The Beetles, and many other reputable artists have asked the same question. Philosophers, Anthropologists, and Theologists are also studying to find what love is and how it affects people. How people in society respond, address, and respect love. Love is a defining attribute of many societies. The question is why is there no answer to this question. If everyone is trying to find the answer then why has this quest for knowledge been fulfilled? Well, emotions can never be explained only felt. Love is like chocolate when it enters your mouth give you an overwhelming feeling of happiness.
Pat Benetar in my opinion explains love best in her song “Love is a Battlefield”. Through out Haddaway’s song he is describing his inward feelings of his current situation and it sounds like he is fighting a lost cause. In his song Haddaway has fallen in love with someone who is taking his love for granted. They may realize what they had when its gone. Unfortunately this attitude has become commonplace amongst lovers.
In my opinion love should never be take for granted. People should be fighting for love all over the planet. Unfortunately, like the women mentioned in Haddaway’s piece people are taking advantages of the uses of love. Respect for the word is dying. Instead respecting love they use it for their own pleasures. The purpose of Haddaway’s song was not only to pose a question but bring to light his situation of love. Luckily Haddaway is not alone in his quest we are all searching for love and looking for its true meaning. If we go through life and all we figure out is the power of love I believe that life is successful. That life is one that should be studied and looked upon not thrown away to the vast history to be banished to the back of a sales rack.
Analysis Essay
Enlighten
The founding father’s brought America out of the darkness of oppression and into the light of democracy. Some would say that they were inspired or enlightened when forming this new nation. According to the Oxford Dictionary to enlighten is “to shed light upon, (or) illuminate.” We are enlightened on a day to day basis as we learn new things or are able to see a situation in a different light, just as those men were enlightened. This word brings optimism, hope, and joy whenever it is used. Literally it means to be filled with light. How could the darkness ever be better than light? Being enlightened is always a positive experience.
Often times when we hear the word enlighten, we think of the Age of Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. This was a period of time when the World began to think for themselves and try to gain their own understanding of the world around them. People didn’t just take everything they were told as fact anymore. They began to debate and research new ideas and theories. This was a very exciting time in history, technologies were advancing and the quality of life was improving greatly. Enlighten is the perfect term to describe this period. Solutions to problems that had existed for years all the sudden came to light, and life began to progress instead of stand still. Their knowledge increased incredibly through these few years. They, too, moved from darkness to light.
“Enlighten” has such strong imagery; one can almost see a person or group being filled with light. And that light is knowledge. The Cambridge Dictionary defines enlightenment as “to provide someone with information and understanding.” It also has a beautiful connotation, a very positive connotation. This word screams optimism and searching for the best in people. There really is no way to use this word negatively. Having knowledge and intelligence can never cause harm. If knowledge is light, and light helps us to see where we are going and our surroundings, then knowledge helps us to understand our society with a more intelligent perspective. We can be a more active member of society when we are enlightened.
In Sister Revolutions, our founding documents are described as “a radiant Enlightenment promise of justice for all.” The author is using the word Enlightenment to capture the feelings of the enlightenment period. The feelings of making life better, progression, and new adventures. The connotation of this word helps the author to show how inspired these documents were. If she would have used a different word, the impact would not have had so much impact. We, as readers, would not have been able to see the image of the authors of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution being filled with the knowledge of this new country. We would not have felt the excitement and optimism toward this new institution that they felt in that day. The word “enlightenment” really helps the author to bring forth her purpose for writing this piece.
Enlightenment is most often used in terms of the Age of Enlightenment and in spiritual context. It is often used to describe when a person is filled with the light of Christ. There are many instances in our daily lives when we are enlightened. When we suddenly understand a concept we have been struggling with, when we know exactly what we need to do, or when we feel hope in a situation. Using this word brings hope that we can always learn more and always progress.
Analysis Essay
Adventure: A Risk Worth Taking
Adventure adds depth and meaning to The Legend of Zelda. Instead of just entertainment the game becomes a testing ground for self, and a safe environment where one can, with safety try out the risk and growth associated with adventure. The word implies risk and a choice for growth. Analysis would benefit from a definition. To risk oneself, to venture, to dare to come or go, to dare to undertake, to dare to attack. The risk is evident in the definition, the word drips with it. The choice the word contains is to take the risk or not. If the risk is not taken then nothing can be lost, safe guard the position that is already maintained and the person already . The opposite side is to put what you are now at risk with the hope that you will grow. Also to adventure means that you will risk growth. Will you become something better? Will you lose parts of yourself that you wanted to keep? Will the growth that you obtain be worth the risk? The word contains hope, so the logical conclusion that it will. Also bravery, and self-sacrifice.
The word adds to the purpose of the game. The purpose is to immerse the player in the game world, and give them the choice of taking the adventure or not. Let them decide in an environment that has no real life consequences that they will risk something, and show to them that the risk is worth taking, ultimately encouraging adventure in their own personal lives.
Another important component of adventure is its refining characteristic, when an adventure is agreed upon, and the risk is taken then something will be lost. Physically an adventure is trying and refining. You take things with you physically, on an adventure and you see if they are really necessary. How much do you need those extra pounds, or that sedentary life style. Are the things one does really important? You venture something and then decided if it needs to stay or go.
It is the same with ideas and mind sets. You take them on an adventure and see if they will really hold up. You test them to their limits and see if what you value and hold as important is really so. You see if the things you bring along with you serve you well. Do they have triple or quadruple purpose? Does it feel as if nothing is lacking, while carrying just the barest of necessities?
In the context of the game the word adventure describes all the actions taken by the character. He risks himself over and over and becomes stronger, more intelligent and resourceful. Looking through the word at the game helps to explain the choices made by the made character. He begins the game as a boy, and he has the opportunity to stay in a child like world and maintain his innocence and live in happiness and peace in the Kokiri forrest. He would have happiness and companionship in his friend Saria, and who knows perhaps that could grow into love. He risks this existence to grow and to help others.
Another important implication of the word is the travel it implies. We can follow the the trail of the word through middle english to the old french and finally to latin. It carried many meanings, in the old french it meant about to happen and that was based on the word adventure which means to arrive. So we can see that the word has a strong connection with action and movement, and going and doing.
Is an adventure simply a going from one place to another? No the word contains so much more than that. It is important to understand that the movement is a key part but not to forget that integral development and risk that adventure seems to imply. With out those we would be left with plain old travel.
Lets take a look at the idea of arriving and happening. What is about to happen? is the physical thing that you are about to do, climb, swim, jump, ascend, is that the adventure? or is the adventure what is about to happen to you on the inside while these things goes on? I think it is the later. It goes back to that refining that was spoken about earlier. The adventure is to develop yourself and the things you take with you.
Where do you arrive? Some where new every time. Both physically and mentally. You become better physically because of the strenuous travel you put yourself through and mentally because of the travel you put your ideas though. You are never the same person twice, you are always changing adapting, developing, arriving at new conclusions and decisions.
The Legend of Zelda is an adventure, and so the word becomes the game. With out it the game becomes mere entertainment and the player is disconnected from the experience completely. It robs the game of its teaching potential and its ability to help one to choose to risk things in ones life and develop and grow.
Adventure adds depth and meaning to The Legend of Zelda. Instead of just entertainment the game becomes a testing ground for self, and a safe environment where one can, with safety try out the risk and growth associated with adventure. The word implies risk and a choice for growth. Analysis would benefit from a definition. To risk oneself, to venture, to dare to come or go, to dare to undertake, to dare to attack. The risk is evident in the definition, the word drips with it. The choice the word contains is to take the risk or not. If the risk is not taken then nothing can be lost, safe guard the position that is already maintained and the person already . The opposite side is to put what you are now at risk with the hope that you will grow. Also to adventure means that you will risk growth. Will you become something better? Will you lose parts of yourself that you wanted to keep? Will the growth that you obtain be worth the risk? The word contains hope, so the logical conclusion that it will. Also bravery, and self-sacrifice.
The word adds to the purpose of the game. The purpose is to immerse the player in the game world, and give them the choice of taking the adventure or not. Let them decide in an environment that has no real life consequences that they will risk something, and show to them that the risk is worth taking, ultimately encouraging adventure in their own personal lives.
Another important component of adventure is its refining characteristic, when an adventure is agreed upon, and the risk is taken then something will be lost. Physically an adventure is trying and refining. You take things with you physically, on an adventure and you see if they are really necessary. How much do you need those extra pounds, or that sedentary life style. Are the things one does really important? You venture something and then decided if it needs to stay or go.
It is the same with ideas and mind sets. You take them on an adventure and see if they will really hold up. You test them to their limits and see if what you value and hold as important is really so. You see if the things you bring along with you serve you well. Do they have triple or quadruple purpose? Does it feel as if nothing is lacking, while carrying just the barest of necessities?
In the context of the game the word adventure describes all the actions taken by the character. He risks himself over and over and becomes stronger, more intelligent and resourceful. Looking through the word at the game helps to explain the choices made by the made character. He begins the game as a boy, and he has the opportunity to stay in a child like world and maintain his innocence and live in happiness and peace in the Kokiri forrest. He would have happiness and companionship in his friend Saria, and who knows perhaps that could grow into love. He risks this existence to grow and to help others.
Another important implication of the word is the travel it implies. We can follow the the trail of the word through middle english to the old french and finally to latin. It carried many meanings, in the old french it meant about to happen and that was based on the word adventure which means to arrive. So we can see that the word has a strong connection with action and movement, and going and doing.
Is an adventure simply a going from one place to another? No the word contains so much more than that. It is important to understand that the movement is a key part but not to forget that integral development and risk that adventure seems to imply. With out those we would be left with plain old travel.
Lets take a look at the idea of arriving and happening. What is about to happen? is the physical thing that you are about to do, climb, swim, jump, ascend, is that the adventure? or is the adventure what is about to happen to you on the inside while these things goes on? I think it is the later. It goes back to that refining that was spoken about earlier. The adventure is to develop yourself and the things you take with you.
Where do you arrive? Some where new every time. Both physically and mentally. You become better physically because of the strenuous travel you put yourself through and mentally because of the travel you put your ideas though. You are never the same person twice, you are always changing adapting, developing, arriving at new conclusions and decisions.
The Legend of Zelda is an adventure, and so the word becomes the game. With out it the game becomes mere entertainment and the player is disconnected from the experience completely. It robs the game of its teaching potential and its ability to help one to choose to risk things in ones life and develop and grow.
The Endless Cycle
An Endless Cycle
He stands among the bodies of his victims. His lips are smeared with the blood of the innocent. His dark, merciless eyes gaze towards a nearby town and hopes that he’ll have another chance to play, another chance to maim, another chance to destroy. He hears a small child crying cradling the lifeless body of her mother. He smiles. The sound gives him exhilaration every time he hears it – this is his lullaby. Rivers run with blood after he is finished. this is his work. That is his legacy. This is the vendetta, “[the] family blood-feud” (Oxford).
Historically, vendettas have been chaotic blood feuds that have last for generations. There have been instances where an entire village was razed to the ground, the entire population massacred just to punish and kill a little girl (Wikipedia). The “vendetta” in “V for Vendetta” is essential piece in this artistic masterpiece. The movie is, in essence, a vendetta between the main character, V, and the group known as the Party. Other possible word choices could have been vengeance, revenge, or retribution. While these words are synonyms of vendetta, none of them posses the bloody history and connotation that vendetta expresses. The main character, V, was wrongfully imprisoned by the socialist government, called the Party, which now rules England. He decides that he will enact revenge on all those who have harmed him and his fellow countrymen.
As stated before, there are other words that could have been chosen instead of vendetta. They all denotatively mean the same thing. Someone wrongs you so you in turn wrong them. But only vendetta has the connotative implications that the James McTeigue, the director, was looking for. Vendettas seem to be unbreakable; once you begin one its icy chains bind you to the cause. Not only that, but vendettas also implicate an entire group of people instead of targeting the guilty culprits. In the film, members of the Party start separating themselves from the government in an attempt to save themselves from V’s unstoppable judgment and condemnation of the Party. They would rather no longer be affiliated with the Party than have to deal with the possible consequences. Vendettas are merciless, there are no innocents. If you are a member the group, you are the enemy.
Besides V, there is one other chief character that the story is told through. Evee has never been too happy with the Party after they kidnapped her parents and forced her into the government foster program. She meets V and sees how his determination for vengeance has taken over his life when he says that “the only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous” (McTeigue). She has a choice placed before her. She can either start a vendetta of her own or watch how things will unfold without her interference. She knows that vendettas are a life consuming entity and once you start one it must be finished. She has seen through history the unrelenting force that a vendetta can become but she cannot resist V’s call for aid. She seals her fate with V’s and sees every member of the Party as an enemy.
Note* I am not happy with this at all. If able, please leave suggestions. About the only thing I'm happy with is the beginning paragraph. Is this even analysis? Be a doll and leave some comments.
He stands among the bodies of his victims. His lips are smeared with the blood of the innocent. His dark, merciless eyes gaze towards a nearby town and hopes that he’ll have another chance to play, another chance to maim, another chance to destroy. He hears a small child crying cradling the lifeless body of her mother. He smiles. The sound gives him exhilaration every time he hears it – this is his lullaby. Rivers run with blood after he is finished. this is his work. That is his legacy. This is the vendetta, “[the] family blood-feud” (Oxford).
Historically, vendettas have been chaotic blood feuds that have last for generations. There have been instances where an entire village was razed to the ground, the entire population massacred just to punish and kill a little girl (Wikipedia). The “vendetta” in “V for Vendetta” is essential piece in this artistic masterpiece. The movie is, in essence, a vendetta between the main character, V, and the group known as the Party. Other possible word choices could have been vengeance, revenge, or retribution. While these words are synonyms of vendetta, none of them posses the bloody history and connotation that vendetta expresses. The main character, V, was wrongfully imprisoned by the socialist government, called the Party, which now rules England. He decides that he will enact revenge on all those who have harmed him and his fellow countrymen.
As stated before, there are other words that could have been chosen instead of vendetta. They all denotatively mean the same thing. Someone wrongs you so you in turn wrong them. But only vendetta has the connotative implications that the James McTeigue, the director, was looking for. Vendettas seem to be unbreakable; once you begin one its icy chains bind you to the cause. Not only that, but vendettas also implicate an entire group of people instead of targeting the guilty culprits. In the film, members of the Party start separating themselves from the government in an attempt to save themselves from V’s unstoppable judgment and condemnation of the Party. They would rather no longer be affiliated with the Party than have to deal with the possible consequences. Vendettas are merciless, there are no innocents. If you are a member the group, you are the enemy.
Besides V, there is one other chief character that the story is told through. Evee has never been too happy with the Party after they kidnapped her parents and forced her into the government foster program. She meets V and sees how his determination for vengeance has taken over his life when he says that “the only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous” (McTeigue). She has a choice placed before her. She can either start a vendetta of her own or watch how things will unfold without her interference. She knows that vendettas are a life consuming entity and once you start one it must be finished. She has seen through history the unrelenting force that a vendetta can become but she cannot resist V’s call for aid. She seals her fate with V’s and sees every member of the Party as an enemy.
Note* I am not happy with this at all. If able, please leave suggestions. About the only thing I'm happy with is the beginning paragraph. Is this even analysis? Be a doll and leave some comments.
Analysis Essay: Ubiquitous
While reading “A Word for Autumn” written by A.A. Milne, I came across the word ubiquitous. The way he used it was very interesting to me. I didn’t know what the word meant at first, so I looked it up. In the Oxford English Dictionary online, the definition reads: Present or appearing everywhere; omnipresent. The only synonym in the visual thesaurus online was omnipresent. Milne used ubiquitous in reference to grapes and apples. ‘For apples and grapes are not typical of any month, so ubiquitous are they…’ Really, apples and grapes appear everywhere? While I do have apples in my refrigerator at home on a regular basis, it is hard for me to imagine that grapes and apples are present everywhere on earth all the time. That seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. I was so distracted by the use of ubiquitous I completely forgot what the essay was about. I think Milne would have been better off using a different word, such as common. I believe the point the author was trying to convey is that those fruits do not go out of season, but the use of ubiquitous did not bring about the desired effect.
How could one really know if anything is present everywhere at once? One can’t possibly be everywhere at once, so can this word really ever be used correctly? Without the ability to see what might exist everywhere at once, it becomes impossible to determine if an item is truly ubiquitous. I would say one could describe air as being ubiquitous quite safely, but even then, as far as we know, there is no air beyond our own atmosphere, so is it truly ubiquitous?
How does this noble word, with such an important meaning, feel about the misuse of it? Should it be ashamed that people don’t use it correctly? Is it wishing it had a much simpler meaning like “common” and could actually fit in the many ways people use it? Maybe it is proud of its significant meaning. Maybe, it feels like people should educate themselves better and realize that there are very few things that are truly ubiquitous and quit throwing it into their phrases without considering the implication. It could be lonely, wondering why there are so few things that actually are ubiquitous, thus rending it useless more often than not. Maybe it wishes there could be more so he could get out more. He could be glad that he is misused so often so he has a chance to show up in writing about inconsequential things. I don’t know what the answer is, but I would sure like to ask it.
In the Mirriam Webster online dictionary, the definition is a little bit looser: existing or being everywhere at the same time: constantly encountered. If one were to use constantly encountered as the definition, there is a larger variety of ways to use ubiquitous. It can be used in reference to a popular fashion, a type of car, even a type of food, such as grapes or apples. But even with these examples, constantly is a word that means all the time. Which of course, means that whatever it is one would use ubiquitous to describe, one would be saying they encounter this thing all the time. Still quite an exaggeration.
When I think of ubiquitous, I think of only one being who can truly contemplate the meaning of. There is only one being who truly is ubiquitous. That being is God. He is everywhere at once, and while we can’t see him, he is there. It seems almost disrespectful to Him to even consider anything else ubiquitous. Sure, if one has a reference point, such as in reference to just our earth, there are plenty of things that are. The air as I mentioned before, dirt, the basic make up of the earth is omnipresent. Anywhere you go on the planet; there is some form of dirt, whether it is sand, clay, silt, or mulch.
One example found in the Oxford English dictionary online is this: This fern appears to be ubiquitous in the moist woods and marshes. That would be a correct usage of the word. It implies that the fern is everywhere in the moistwoods and marshes. There really could be no argument to the use of the word here. One could witness that in fact the fern was everywhere in the woods and marshes at once. I’m glad there are some people who have found a correct use of the word even if that sentence comes from a publication in 1840.
*Disclaimer: Please be aware that I am doing some serious revision to this paper. This is a very rough draft.
How could one really know if anything is present everywhere at once? One can’t possibly be everywhere at once, so can this word really ever be used correctly? Without the ability to see what might exist everywhere at once, it becomes impossible to determine if an item is truly ubiquitous. I would say one could describe air as being ubiquitous quite safely, but even then, as far as we know, there is no air beyond our own atmosphere, so is it truly ubiquitous?
How does this noble word, with such an important meaning, feel about the misuse of it? Should it be ashamed that people don’t use it correctly? Is it wishing it had a much simpler meaning like “common” and could actually fit in the many ways people use it? Maybe it is proud of its significant meaning. Maybe, it feels like people should educate themselves better and realize that there are very few things that are truly ubiquitous and quit throwing it into their phrases without considering the implication. It could be lonely, wondering why there are so few things that actually are ubiquitous, thus rending it useless more often than not. Maybe it wishes there could be more so he could get out more. He could be glad that he is misused so often so he has a chance to show up in writing about inconsequential things. I don’t know what the answer is, but I would sure like to ask it.
In the Mirriam Webster online dictionary, the definition is a little bit looser: existing or being everywhere at the same time: constantly encountered. If one were to use constantly encountered as the definition, there is a larger variety of ways to use ubiquitous. It can be used in reference to a popular fashion, a type of car, even a type of food, such as grapes or apples. But even with these examples, constantly is a word that means all the time. Which of course, means that whatever it is one would use ubiquitous to describe, one would be saying they encounter this thing all the time. Still quite an exaggeration.
When I think of ubiquitous, I think of only one being who can truly contemplate the meaning of. There is only one being who truly is ubiquitous. That being is God. He is everywhere at once, and while we can’t see him, he is there. It seems almost disrespectful to Him to even consider anything else ubiquitous. Sure, if one has a reference point, such as in reference to just our earth, there are plenty of things that are. The air as I mentioned before, dirt, the basic make up of the earth is omnipresent. Anywhere you go on the planet; there is some form of dirt, whether it is sand, clay, silt, or mulch.
One example found in the Oxford English dictionary online is this: This fern appears to be ubiquitous in the moist woods and marshes. That would be a correct usage of the word. It implies that the fern is everywhere in the moistwoods and marshes. There really could be no argument to the use of the word here. One could witness that in fact the fern was everywhere in the woods and marshes at once. I’m glad there are some people who have found a correct use of the word even if that sentence comes from a publication in 1840.
*Disclaimer: Please be aware that I am doing some serious revision to this paper. This is a very rough draft.
Adding Attitude is not Appropriate in Advertising
The beauty industry is the epitome of competition. Consumers must pick products from a gamut of brands, colors, and sizes. Thus, advertising is necessary in order to persuade a consumer to buy a specific product. In advertising, persuasive diction with a targeted audience in mind is key. Estee Lauder placed a lipstick ad online with the slogan, “lipstick with an attitude.” The authors used the word “attitude” with intent to attract a specific audience. However, by using a word that has survived centuries of use ranging from artistic inspirations to psychologically studied mannerisms to teen spirit; there are many connotations and denotations that may have been unintentionally attached to the word while creating the slogan.
Centuries ago attitude was slightly more bashful. It was a word that kept to itself and described objects with neutrality. A statue or piece of art had an attitude, meaning it was positioned in a specific way. Therefore, the word was meant to support the art, to be a neutral description that described created beauty. However, just as Darwin caught hold upon the idea of evolution, attitude followed suite and decided that evolution was needed for survival. It evolved to a rather dominant and condescending term.
The word used in today’s conversational use often has a negative connotation. It describes a cocky, arrogant, and defiant manner; it is even used as a challenge. When applied to the world of superficial beauty this makes sense. Make-up is meant to enhance one’s beauty and make one feel superior. Advertisers want people to notice the lipstick and admire it as confidence in a tube. However, the word has become so bold and domineering that is usually shadows its surroundings. Attitude demands attention and adoration and while put in a short sentence or advertisement does what one would expect attitude to do: attitude stands out. The selfish word strives to once again be the center of attention and detracts slightly from the article being sold.
Since the word attitude is so bold and dramatic the reaction that people have to the word is often also just as extreme. It would seem that if a word carries a negative connotation a person would react to the word in a negative way and not find it appealing. This is not always the case and the advertisers took the risk of offending customers in order to create a bold statement. If someone owns something of great worth and value they sometimes act prideful and arrogant. In addition, in psychological terms, attitudes are judgments. Therefore, the lipstick, while associated with this negative noun, is personified as having confidence and arrogance because it carries something of great worth. It is defiant because it holds high standards that assume quality. Advertisers used the modern slang term of attitude, which is usually negative, and combined it with the 1600s denotation meaning quality. What consumer does not want to invest in a product of quality?
I find it slightly disturbing if the true intentions of the authors of the advertisement were to make one believe that a lipstick is what gives one confidence and superiority to others. Advertisers are taking advantage of those with low self-esteem in an attempt to portray an object as something that will bring confidence and beauty. Another intention may have been to target the presently young generation. Today’s world often classifies the good as bad and the bad as good, as often quoted by the scriptures. The word attitude carries a negative connotation, which in the perspective of those living today may seem attractive. The older generation speaks of today’s generation as selfish, defiant, and cocky. If truth holds to that statement then lipstick with an attitude may be attractive. This implies that the lipstick pushes the boundaries, it defies the norm, and it stands out. While teenagers may purchase the product because of this reasoning, teenagers may also be repulsed at the lipstick because the description is a mocking imitation of their generation.
Attitude to me is high school. It reeks of excess perfume, leather purses, and clouds of hairspray. It sounds like oversized rings clinking together on a freshly manicured hand. It is neither quality nor wealth that I despise but rather the affect they sometimes have on the owner. Often wealth causes the owners to elevate themselves above others resulting in arrogant, defiant, and cocky mannerisms. In other words, they develop an attitude. By adding "attitude" to a lipstick ad, the authors detracted from selling the lipstick by possibly offending their targeted audience, portraying a negative image of their product, and refreshing repressed high school memories.
Centuries ago attitude was slightly more bashful. It was a word that kept to itself and described objects with neutrality. A statue or piece of art had an attitude, meaning it was positioned in a specific way. Therefore, the word was meant to support the art, to be a neutral description that described created beauty. However, just as Darwin caught hold upon the idea of evolution, attitude followed suite and decided that evolution was needed for survival. It evolved to a rather dominant and condescending term.
The word used in today’s conversational use often has a negative connotation. It describes a cocky, arrogant, and defiant manner; it is even used as a challenge. When applied to the world of superficial beauty this makes sense. Make-up is meant to enhance one’s beauty and make one feel superior. Advertisers want people to notice the lipstick and admire it as confidence in a tube. However, the word has become so bold and domineering that is usually shadows its surroundings. Attitude demands attention and adoration and while put in a short sentence or advertisement does what one would expect attitude to do: attitude stands out. The selfish word strives to once again be the center of attention and detracts slightly from the article being sold.
Since the word attitude is so bold and dramatic the reaction that people have to the word is often also just as extreme. It would seem that if a word carries a negative connotation a person would react to the word in a negative way and not find it appealing. This is not always the case and the advertisers took the risk of offending customers in order to create a bold statement. If someone owns something of great worth and value they sometimes act prideful and arrogant. In addition, in psychological terms, attitudes are judgments. Therefore, the lipstick, while associated with this negative noun, is personified as having confidence and arrogance because it carries something of great worth. It is defiant because it holds high standards that assume quality. Advertisers used the modern slang term of attitude, which is usually negative, and combined it with the 1600s denotation meaning quality. What consumer does not want to invest in a product of quality?
I find it slightly disturbing if the true intentions of the authors of the advertisement were to make one believe that a lipstick is what gives one confidence and superiority to others. Advertisers are taking advantage of those with low self-esteem in an attempt to portray an object as something that will bring confidence and beauty. Another intention may have been to target the presently young generation. Today’s world often classifies the good as bad and the bad as good, as often quoted by the scriptures. The word attitude carries a negative connotation, which in the perspective of those living today may seem attractive. The older generation speaks of today’s generation as selfish, defiant, and cocky. If truth holds to that statement then lipstick with an attitude may be attractive. This implies that the lipstick pushes the boundaries, it defies the norm, and it stands out. While teenagers may purchase the product because of this reasoning, teenagers may also be repulsed at the lipstick because the description is a mocking imitation of their generation.
Attitude to me is high school. It reeks of excess perfume, leather purses, and clouds of hairspray. It sounds like oversized rings clinking together on a freshly manicured hand. It is neither quality nor wealth that I despise but rather the affect they sometimes have on the owner. Often wealth causes the owners to elevate themselves above others resulting in arrogant, defiant, and cocky mannerisms. In other words, they develop an attitude. By adding "attitude" to a lipstick ad, the authors detracted from selling the lipstick by possibly offending their targeted audience, portraying a negative image of their product, and refreshing repressed high school memories.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Week 5
A. Go to the Museum of Art
B. Select a journal or other publication venue that you might submit a paper to. Research the editor: find out if he or she has any submission preferences and take notes. Read at least three essays from it and respond to them in your journal. Cite the journal (with MLA format).
C. Further analysis practice: Go to the Poetry Foundation website and read five poems. Why is word choice essential? Respond to your favorite poem: how does it use punctuation, why is it your favorite, how is it different and similar to the work you have done, and/or what did it make you think about?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
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