Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Defining Moments
Whether you are comparing and contrasting Naylor's and Leong's reactions to derogatory labels, considering how language defines us, challenging George Will's assumption in "Equity," defining an addiction, OR determining the effect of euphemisms, post your initial, thoughtful responses for the AP Language Community "sagesblogspots."
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There are all kinds of euphemisms used in our daily lives; much is found in television, the newspaper, magazines, and from the people around us. Bettelheim writes his essay to illuminate the fact that we use these euphemisms in a way to cover up the real, raw emotion and/or horror that is linked to the idea that the euphemism is used in place of. In order to cover up these emotions, using a euphemism distances us away from the awfulness, like the Holocaust which was the inhumane and heinous torture of the Jews, fellow human beings. Placing a label on this atrocious event makes people think of it as some history vocabulary word that they must learn in order to pass a test and not as a horrific feat in history that has impacted the lives of many. Another example of a euphemism found in newspapers is calling illegal immigrants/aliens “undocumented workers.” This euphemism accomplishes the act of branding a group of people who do not nominally belong in the US; instead of using the harsh term of “illegal,” the word “undocumented” conceals the severity of the fact that those immigrants are not supposed to be in the US. This accomplishment is for the sake of other “legal” citizens of the US, and the euphemism only hurts those who just want a better life and equal chance to achieve a suitable happiness but cannot, for some reasons, obtain the official documents to “legally” do so even if they are capable of being just as good of a citizen as anyone else.
ReplyDeleteI believe the United States offers its citizens “broad if imperfect equal opportunity for striving” because it does not hold its people from success. I agree that we all have equal chances at excelling at something, but luck and motivation set people apart. I believe that it is easy to assume that not everyone has a perfect equal opportunity, but the reality of it is that hard work and determination divide the outcome for people in the United States. I have found that many people at school lack the kind of motivation that leads to success. I tutor a boy named Tyler for Power Period. All he cares about are the sports scores not the class he has already failed. Tyler is given credit recovery so he can graduate high school and move on with his life. He has the chance to succeed; but because he has a low work ethic, his chances of becoming financially successful are slim. Hopefully yet unlikely, he will succeed in athletics become a professional athlete. In essence, throughout our American lives, chances and opportunities are thrown at us at opportune and inopportune times. How a person reacts to these chances or how timely the opportunity affect one’s achievement in the future. The United States offers options but whether one takes the option manipulates the outcome.
ReplyDelete3. In today’s society, everyone from the youngest child to the oldest of grandmothers has a cell phone. Every person on the planet feels the need to maintain a connection with those closest to them, and the cell phone is the method through which most people remain in contact with one another. However, this increase in reliability of technology inevitably causes a dependence on it, resulting in millions of addictions to cell phones. The desire to feel connected, to feel as though someone actually wishes to interact with the person causes his or her to become enthralled by the tiny piece of plastic in which his or her social life dwells.
ReplyDeleteDespite all of the beneficial uses of cell phone, such as allowing parents to have the ability to reach their children, they have had several detrimental effects on society. While cell phones have brought some people closer together, they drive others apart. With the addition of texting to the cell phone, millions of people refuse to hold conversation with friends and family members that are sitting right beside them. Instead, they are texting or calling their friends, resulting in ruined personal relationships. Also, teenagers would rather text during school instead of paying attention to the instructors, resulting in lower test scores. Finally, many people use their cell phones while driving. This dangerous action has resulted in countless car accidents that have led to a large number of deaths.
As Winn states, addiction doesn’t have to be a serious disease. It can be used “ jokingly to denote a tendency to overindulge in some pleasurable activity,” such as an addiction to junk food. People aimlessly eat junk food after a “rough day” or just for pure enjoyment but they don’t realize the severe consequences. Just like alcohol they say they will only have one or two but have you only ever had one or two cookies or chips? Some people just sit on the couch with a bag of chips and before you know it, the whole bag is empty. Eating junk food sparsely is healthy and enjoyable, but people these days eat junk food as a supplement for healthy nutritious food. Overdosing on junk food can cause obesity and other health problems that could lead to death and life long diseases. Also when you get addicted to junk food you would rather be lazy instead of going outside to play or exercising. After you get addicted to junk food you start to make all the unhealthy choices.
ReplyDeleteYou might be thinking that you do not have an addiction to junk food and you only eat for fun. But ask yourself does junk food out weigh the amount of healthy food in your life? People crave drugs and they do it over and over again to satisfy their body. Don’t people do the same with junk food? When you are craving chocolate or fast food do you normally go out and get some? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you obviously have an addiction to junk food.
that is supposed to be 2, not 3. For some reason Word decided the it wanted to be a 3.
ReplyDeleteDoes language define us? Yes, it does because of the WAY we use words today. Back in the day, it might have been a different story, but for today, the answer is yes. In Leong's story "Being a Chink" Leong starts off with the statement that language defines who we are today, but later in her essay, states that she and her friends refuse to be defined by the racist language. I agree with her point, and I also believe that the contradiction does not weaken her story because who else would WANT to be defined as a derogatory label like that? Language is used today to communicate with each other beyond limits. We use Facebook (like we can't get enough of it), Myspace, Twitter, and texting with our cell phones (which we can't live without). Not only does language define who we are, the way we use language also defines who we are. When we communicate with our friends, we communicate with "loving insults." When we communicate with our parents and elders, we talk with "respectiveness." When we talk to somebody that angers us, we communicate with somebody that angers us, we talk with "anger." We can note all of this back to how lanuage defines us and who we are today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Will’s central assumption that the United States offers its citizens “broad if imperfect equal opportunity for striving”. The United States is commonly referred to as the “land of opportunity” because of the many chances that America gives its citizens to become successful. The United States is a society that recognizes talent and values hard-work; as long as you pursue your education and apply yourself, you will become economically successful. Every day I receive countless emails and letters with information of colleges, and of scholarships that I could win; these colleges are open for anyone to apply to, and the students are accepted purely on their merit, whether academic or athletic. Also, by paying for the students’ tuition and other expenses, the many scholarships that are offered allow students from poorer economic conditions to continue their educations. Public schools funded by the government also offer children the opportunity to learn and to expand their horizons. People are given many opportunities to pursue a higher education and to become economically successful. However, in the end, the individual determines how successful he or she will be in life; whether or not a person succeeds depends on the amount of effort and time that the person is willing to invest in their education and goals.
ReplyDeleteWhile the situation in which Naylor's and Leong's derogatory label was given differ, their reactions where similar. Both Naylor and Leong were surprised by the label, but their reasons were different. Leong knew what the word meant, but was more surprised somebody such as her father could be called such a name. Since Naylor is not completely sure what the word means, she analyzes how it could be used in various situations. By showing how Naylor and Leong, two completely different people, are affected by the power of language we, as readers, get a better understanding how words have a strong impact on a person. The context helped shape their reactions in different ways. In Leong's essay, the contents of the envelope was unexpected, and built up to. By having a contrasting light diction prior to the finding of the envelope, to strong diction after it shows the impact the word "chink" plays. In Naylor's essay the context shapes up their reaction by seeing how Naylor analyzes the derogatory label that is she is called.
ReplyDeleteVideo games give the players sensations that they probably never experience in real life. Some video games are violent, such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, which gamers can use to get their anger out and that give them a thrill that they have never experienced in the real world. These video games involve killing the people in the games freely and can cause the gamers to react to situations in real life in a similar way as they become used to the endeavors of the video games. When people play video games, they are essentially getting out of reality and the video games eventually become their reality, which can also be their “high.” When playing games that allow the gamers to indulge in a separate life from their own, they lose track of time and find that the video game is more fun than real life interaction for them. Gamers don’t want to engage in other activities and instead choose to sit and stare at a screen. Sitting for long periods of time can be detrimental to the gamers’ health, as it affects vision, can cause carp tunnel, and can make them gain weight when they sit down and eat constantly. Being addicted to video games can also bring their grades in school down as they label videos games as more of a priority and can be damaging to relationships with no communication with the real world.
ReplyDeleteEuphemisms are, most prominently, used to keep one person's speech politically correct and to maintain a neutral stance. By many prominent figures in society, from politicians to heads of organizations, utilizing euphemisms in their speech in order to protect themselves from opposer's outlashes the public is shaded from the reality of occurences and fed a watered down account of the truth, provoking less of a reaction and forming both more ignorant and less involved citizens, as very few take the time to deeply investigate matters themself and find an untainted version of a story.
ReplyDeleteEuphemisms help public figures as they allow for the discucssion of pressing current events and give them a method to "answer" pressing questions, while in fact they are discucssing the event neutrally and softening the edges of reality with kinder terms for true facts, therefore never actually taking a stance or making a point, so no one can argue against them.
By using euphemisms the harsh reality behind many events is concealed, leaving the majority of the world in the dark. For instance, describing the Japanese earthquake as "a slightly disturbing shudder of the Earth" is much less sympathy provoking than stating "Japan felt a earthquake that was over an 8 on the Richter scale and that injured nuclear power plants' abilities to safely manage their radioactive materials".
If euphemisms were eradicated from our speech I believe a much more altered state of mind in the general public would appear. I also would predict that eliminating euphemisms would lead to a much more educated and active society.
According to Webster's New Explorer Dictionary, a euphemism is "the substitution of a mild or pleasant expression for one offensive or unpleasant." The use of euphemisms is stimulated by the media, including television and newspapers, and by politicians in all areas of government. Authors, like Bettelheim, may or may not object to use these pleasant expressions in their writing in order to cushion the harshness of words that a select group of people may take offense to. Growing up in a world that is full of these types of numbing words, it can be almost impossible to distinguish a euphemism hidden between the lines of an author's essay, or a politician's sly words spoken to an audience of adults who are expecting the use of them. One can pick up a newspaper, flip through a couple of pages, and immediately discover multiple times that the writers of said newspaper have used a euphemism. An example of this type of word that many students and faculty at Lakeside have become accustomed to is "furlough." A furlough is a temporary leave of absence from employment, which can be voluntary or involuntary. In regards to Columbia County schools, these furlough days may be a vacation for students, but they drastically affect students and teachers alike. The use of the words "furlough" instead of a phrase like "no school," gives the perception that the county is just making the students stay home from school or simply having teachers at school in order to accomplish more without the students being there. In reality, students are missing out on instructional time in class, and for those who partake in the Advanced Placement classes, furlough days make studying for the AP exam more stressful on teachers as well as students because instructors are forced to teach the material in a shorter period of time, with more information to cover. In addition, teachers usually do not get paid on days when they are forced to come into work, but not teach. This can be especially difficult on a family relying on the income of one parent to bring in necessities to the household. By concealing the truth behind the word, the county does not seem like the bad guy; however, it is the teachers who are blamed for not instructing a mother's sweet little angel or a father's sports star.
ReplyDeleteOne “addiction” that has developed over the past decade or so, has been the “addiction” to technology. Now, I’m not talking about televisions (because the question said not to), but I mean products like phones, computers, the internet, and almost everything that we surround ourselves with that is technological. We live in a society in which when we want something, we want it now, and with our generation, that is usually possible. For the first time since the beginning of man, the answer to almost any question is just a few taps on the smartphone away. Since we’re now supplying for almost every need we can possibly think of, whether it’s a phone with a hundred different cameras on it or a scarf that blocks you from the outside world to allow you to indulge in your computer activities (http://gadgether.com/tech-scarf-privacy-clothing/), our society is drastically different from the 90s or even the early 2000s. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, with improvements in technology we can now perform complex medical procedures that save lives daily. Also, technology is (and has been) one of the best mediums for displaying cultural progression in terms of understanding and adapting to our complex environment. However, with such products such as the Tech Scarf as mentioned earlier, technology can also be a reliable indicator on the downward spiral that our society is sinking into. That addiction, or dependence rather, on our phone and our Facebook and our Twitter and our iPod and our GPS acts as a pair of crutches on an otherwise crippled existence. And what happens when those metaphorical crutches get metaphorically kicked out from under us by some sort of metaphorical disaster? We fall, and we fall hard. It seems like our entire world is falling apart around us because we can’t post a status on Facebook about how our phone and laptop just got stolen.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout the Cafe Reflection discussions, I learned alot that I didn't see firsthand. Things like as tone is important on how you approach something with someone, you have to put yourself in that other's shoes before you can be judgemental, and that behind the scenes, we don't really know if they had a bad past or not because we don't know who they are. Unless, they are our friends. We understand what is taken as a joke and what is not. I speak as "we" because I know that all of us, at one point in time, have been named a "label." I've been harassed with "deaf," Caroline said "white girl," and Alexis said that her grandfather was pounded with "he can't hear so he couldn't answer the telephone." At one point in time in everybody's life, we are faced with a situation like this, and it depends in our hands on how we handle the situation. Handle it in the "brush it off your shoulder" type, or "stand up for yourself" and tell them that what they just said was hurtful [Like today when Michael told Rachel when she called him a chink (even though they laughed about it, haha)] So all in all, it depends on how you handle that term. Ask about it, even though you've heard it in your surroundings all your life, or adapt to it, and turn it into something powerful instead of something racial.
ReplyDeleteAfter our conversations during the café discussions about The Holocaust and Being a Chink, I really examined the effects that racial discrimination has on our society and how we define an individual by their race. During World War II, American soldiers developed nicknames for their enemies in Germany and Japan. Then they defined the entire culture by the actions of those to whom the names had been assigned. This method allowed the soldiers to deal with the terrible acts that they were forced to commit in order to defend themselves and their country. The Nazis did the same thing, referring to their acts as “solving the Jew problem.” This got me thinking that maybe the reason people define others by terms that belittle and insult them is because they are trying to objectify the target of their insults in order to make the horrible actions that they commit against them seem more humane, as though they are doing these terrible things to objects instead of human beings. Like other euphemisms, the act of classifying a person based on race or gender is just a method through which someone can make a terrible situation or action seem justifiable.
ReplyDeleteAfter the cafe class discussions, I learned about the relationship that opposite words can have and the different ways people perceive the meanings of these words. In any society, the main aspect that everyone pushes for equality, but I learned that equality is not necessarily the most important part of society, because we need some inequality in order to be equal. This may sound silly, but Will reinforces this statement in "The Equity of Inequality." Inequities force people to be different and unique and keep life interesting. If everyone was exactly equal and was treated the exact same no matter what their actions, life would be dull and no one would strive to be better or worse because "good" and "bad" would no longer exist. I also learned that people will be given what they deserve. If one person puts all of his heart into his work, he will most likely result with a higher income than someone who slacks off. However, this outcome is equal because both got what they deserved.
ReplyDeleteAfter discussing the definition mode, I learned that language is powerful, especially in the context of which it is used. The definition mode establishes that certain words can mean different things depending on how it is used. For example, in both "Meanings of a Word" and "Being Chink" degrading words are used against the author. However the word is no longer degrading once the tone is changed and the word is used in a positive way of affection. A whole situation can change depending on how you look at the use of a word. You can accept a word and it can make you stronger. It will show the ignorance of the people who use it against you.Or, you can take the word to offense and continue being hurt by it. Words can also be used as euphemisms instead of revealing the true meaning of something. Like Grace, I also never thought about euphemisms as a way to distance ourselves from the true emotional meanings of a word. "TV Addiction" and "The Holocaust" are both euphemisms that reveal a concept to be much better than it actually is. The definition mode actually defines words and reveals the true meaning behind them.
ReplyDeleteFrom studying the definition mode, I have learned that a word’s connotation and the imagery that it provokes is much more important than the word’s literal meaning. A word’s significance is also dependent on the context that it is used in. In Naylor’s essay “The Meanings of a Word”, she explores the different meanings of the word “nigger” in different situations and when used in different tones. When the word is used among close friends and family, the term is one of endearment, but the word can also be used as an offensive, derogatory term for black people when it is intended as an insult. Similarly, Leong explores the meanings of the word “chink” in her essay; also arriving at the conclusion that, depending on the context the word is used in, it can be either hurtful or endearing. Naylor’s and Leong’s essays have shown me how people can alter a word’s meaning and overcome the negative connotations of a word and redefine the word, transforming it to have a more positive meaning. The café discussion of “The Equity of Inequality” made me realize that the meanings of many words often come in contradicting pairs. For example, without fear you cannot have courage; the more fear that you have and overcome, the more courageous you are. Through the café discussions, I also realized that the word “holocaust” was an attempt to objectify and emotionally detach us from the mass murder by the Nazis. The purpose of words is to capture and convey complex emotions and thoughts, and the context that the word is used in drastically affects the meaning that is conveyed.
ReplyDeleteAfter the cafe discussions in class, I have realized how important language is, especially the way it is used. The definition mode shows how powerful a word is and how different meanings of a word have different effects on society. For example, both "Meanings of a Word" and Being Chink" demonstrate how a racial word can be used to diminish ones race or take it as a term of endearment. Point of view and tone are also very important when writing in definition mode because as they are utilized and manipulated the essay can have a different purpose. I realized that a word is meaningless without the type of definition behind it. Definition can give a word power and strength or give the word a diminishing, insulting meaning. The "Holocaust" used the definition mode to show that words can also be used through euphemisms, but in this case the word Holocaust does not give justice to the real event. Euphemisms give the meaning an emotional detachment, which is also presented through "Holocaust."
ReplyDeleteThrough the cafe reflections of the definition mode in class, I have realized that words are very powerful in general. At first I thought that definition and division/analysis were very similar, but I noticed that definition really is "definition" -- these stories all provided thorough insight into what each subject really meant. Words carry emotional meanings in some cases, but in other cases, like in "The Holocaust," they are meaningless words assigned to emotional events. Words are often used carelessly, and reading all of these essays showed me that the actual meanings and usages of words should be taken into consideration before using them.
ReplyDeleteAfter discussing in class, I realized the strength and meanings behind a single word. In “Chink,” Leong become conscious of the derogatory terms used against her dad. Even though she and her friends use the word all the time in reference to each other, Leong becomes distraught over the malice behind someone of a difference race using it against her father. In “Meanings of a Word,” Naylor shows how she did not truly understand the word “nigger” without hearing it from a boy in class. The black people in her community use nigger as a term describing a man, but when one used the term niggers describing the stereotype created by the whites, the term is offensive. I learned that a single word can bring together a community to fight against the oppression. They can change the meaning by using it and giving it a more positive connotations. After the discussion with “Holocaust” I realized that the previous meaning of the word holocaust was “burnt offering” which is a religious event. The true events of the Holocaust transformed the word into a vile, mass murder, yet many are caught by the euphemisms that consider the Jews killed to be martyrs instead of victims. By far, I have found that the denotations behind each word can cause people to use them in a different way to change the actual connotation and feeling. Through each of the stories, the mode of definition is portrayed through the transitioning of meanings and the framing behind them.
ReplyDeleteFrom first delving into the mode of definition to the Cafe Reflection discussions, much knowledge has been gained and analyzed about the meanings of words. Each of the essays in this section all include important significance regarding the selected word. For example, through my annotations of "The Holocaust" and hosting the discussion of said essay, my peers and I discovered that an event so devastating in history cannot simply be summed up by a single word. Much like the other selections, the author objects the use of euphemisms in "The Holocaust" to reveal the true meaning of the word. In "TV Addiction," Winn analyzes the word "addiction" and compares several types of addictions. I noticed that both authors give positive and negative definitions of their selected word. Winn explains the difference between serious addictions like heroin and alcohol and joking addictions like reading mysteries and eating cookies. Bettelheim gives the dictionary definition of "holocaust," which is a "burnt offering," and then explains the real meaning of holocaust, which he concludes cannot be summarized with euphemisms. Both essays provide for the darker and lighter meanings of each word, which is something that particularly stood out to me.
ReplyDeleteAfter getting to know each story from the Definition mode, through the cafe reflections I've learned that one common factor through all of these stories was the tone and situation in which each derogatory label is said. In "The Meanings of the Word" Naylor displays how until the word "nigger" was used against her to humiliate her it never really crossed her mind to think about what the word actually meant. On the other hand, in Leong's essay, she was embarrassed that her father was exposed to such a word.
ReplyDeleteIn Bettelheim's essay about the Holocaust, we realize that one word can't sum up the pain and agony that people suffered at the time. Euphemisms are commonly used to take things on a lighter note, but they don't truly capture the essence behind the event. Other words such as "addiction" are more commonly used without the actual severity of the word being considered.