The Impact of American Society on Modern Language: Conotation Blog

When you hear the word “gay”, what do you really hear? Originally the word gay was a word to describe one’s feelings. For example, someone in earlier generations, might have said something like: “I’m gay because it has been such a wonderful day”. As you can see this word was a word of positive connotation; a word defining someone who was giddy, or happy. But it seems that through the generations, society has morphed the word gay from a word describing excitement and happiness, to a word that often makes many feel uncomfortable, or insulted.
Modern language is degrading. In our society we take a word, such as gay, and change it to something completely different from its original meaning. In modern times today the word gay seems to consist of two meanings.
The first way gay is commonly used today, and one of the correct ways, is to describe someone who is a homosexual. The use of the word gay to describe a person of homosexual origin is politically correct, however this connotation of the word has grown to be an uncomfortable connotation for many. This word is the correct way to describe someone who is a homosexual, but our society has degraded the word; giving it an insulting feel. Most people don’t prefer to call someone “gay” if they are a homosexual. This is because the word has been used in such a negative way so frequently that people now feel that its as if they are insulting someone who is, indeed, gay.
The second way the word gay is used, the way it is used most often, is to insult one’s intelligence. Now a days in American culture, this word is used all the time. You may hear someone say “That’s so gay.” or “You are hella gay.”, this clearly is an offensive way to use the word. For many, the use of the word gay is just a mere bad habit; a word culture has excepted to define someone who is behaving idiotically. But it doesn’t change the fact that this use of the word is incorrect and offensive, not only to homosexuals but to all Americans who respect their language! So what does this tell us about society? That society thinks gays are stupid? How could society degrade a whole community by giving the word such an offensive definition?
Society, as a whole, is a vicious and starving monster. When the monster encounters something different from itself, it eats it up. After it chews it spits it back up; regurgitates whatever perception it may have. Once the monster of society gags up its perception, it pries open the door to language with its sharp, yellow claws. And wallah! A new, offensive and incorrect word has branched of an original meaning; providing society only with yet another shameful impact on its language. The word gay is only one example of this madness. Society has done this with a countless number of words, and our language is no longer the same as it was before. It has been degraded dramatically by American society, and sadly, I don’t for see language being restored back to the way it was ment to be.

everything is an argument: Tuesdays with Morrie

Did you know everything is an argument? According to chapter one of Everything is an Argument anything and everything can be considered an argument, or make a statement. The author states that even a piece of clothing or a joke can be an argument. He also talks about the many types of arguments such as; to inform to convince, to explore, and so on. I believe this statement is accurate; everything, indeed, can be an argument. Recently I read an outstanding, powerful, and moving book called Tuesdays with Morrie. This book was written by Mitch Albom. In this book Albom presents his old professor’s enlightening argument to the world through the book, as well as incorporates his own subtle argument in to the story.
Morrie’s argument is that society takes the important things in life, such as love and compassion, for granted and that society is fearful of death and loneliness. He writes the lessons of his old teacher, and friend, Morrie, to describe that society must not revolve around materialistic things, and that humans need to appreciate and understand the important things in life.
Morrie introduces quite a few arguments that tie into his main argument. In the book Mitch Albom quotes Morrie’s wise words; “the most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and let it come in.”, this statement is a considerably powerful argument itself. It states that love is the most important thing in life, on may disagree with this, however I agree completely. The fact that this conjures up a debate makes this statement an argument. An argument is not to persuade or convince someone to join one’s side, or agree with one’s opinion, but to strike conversation to eventually come to a reasonable conclusion; to find the truth. Another argument of Morrie’s that Mitch Albom describes is that to learn to live life one must learn to give it up; to accept the obvious fact, that many deny internally, that on day everyone, including yourself, will die. Morrie says that once one has accepted the fact their life is going to end one day, then that person will learn to live; learn to appreciate life for what it is and truly distinguish the difference between the true importance of life in contrast to materialistic things. Obviously people in internal denial, or denial without even really understanding or realizing they are in a state of denial, would most likely not agree with this given claim. In an other’s eyes, this statement would lead them to discover a whole new perspective and learn the truth of life. And others may just simply agree, but most will learn from this argument, which brings me to my next topic: the type of argument provided by this insightful book.
This argument is an argument designed with the main purpose of informing. Mitch Albom’s argument made in Tuesdays with Morrie is an argument to inform, and the reader should know this because of the structure of the book and the diction of the author, as well as the overall purpose of the book. This book was written a narrative structure. In the book, the author describes his Tuesdays with Morrie as “lessons” taught by Morrie for his “final class”. this indicated that the argument was an argument to inform because of the diction the author chose. When the reader analyzes the text one can see that these “lessons” are really informing the reader. When Morrie shares his wise words, or teachings, with Mitch Albom in the novel, he is also sharing his thoughts with the reader. The reader learns Morrie’s many valuable and important lessons while reading, and these lessons impact the reader by bringing them into a conversation. You could say that Mitch is inviting you into Morrie’s class; introducing to the reader an argument.
The argument made by Mitch Albom is not actually stated, but implied. The author’s argument is that everyone in this world is capable of self growth and it is never to late to grow; for growing continues from the moment of birth from the moment of death in a course of a life. Mitch Albom makes is argument implied by using an unique literary method and structure. After each chapter the author wrote italicized passages that typically described events in his past. As one reads the novel one may realize that the Mitch italicized stories and the Mitch in the current time of the story have changed, and continue to grow in so many ways. This indicated a subtle argument that its never to late to grow.
This argument was made by the author to inform, just as Morrie’s argument, or arguments were designed to do. When the reader picks up on this argument, they begin to question their own self growth. This opens the reader’s mind to a conversation or debate. But Mitch Albom makes this argument to help the reader acquire there own truth about personal growth; to help the reader understand how they have grown, and how they are still in the processes of growing throughout their lives.
So there you have it, an argument can be proposed to inform, like In the book Tuesdays With Morrie, written by journalist, sports columnist, and author. Morrie’s argument that Mitch Albom describes is not only powerful, heartwarming, and even life changing, but it is informative as well! The argument made my Morrie shows us that love is the most important thing of all, and as human beings, we often take tat for granted. He also teaches one must accept the reality of death in order to truly experience life to its fullest. And the implied argument that the author provides in the story is very informative as well. It gets the reader thinking about all the growth they have experienced, the growth taking place in their lives at the current moment, and the growth they will experience in the future. Mitch Albom’s argument teaches one that it is never to late to grow and self growth is constant throughout a lifetime. In conclusion, the book Tuesdays With Morrie provides many informative arguments. So next time you think an argument is always to win over an opinion, reconsider and remember that an argument can be used for many things, such as to inform.

What Does Reading Mean to Me?

  What is reading to me? Well reading is more than just flipping through pages decorated with words; reading is a chance to see the world from a new perspective, a chance to experience a story, and an opportunity to learn new things. Being a reader means opening up one’s mind to new ideas.
   I prefer to read fictional stories. I love a good fictional story filled with creative ideas and powerful imagery. However, I also enjoy some nonfiction readings as well. I love a novel that has the power to open my mind to new perspective ideas and touch my heart.
  To become a better reader, I would like to expand my vocabulary. Not to mention, I am quite a slow reader, so I would like to improve by reading faster as well. In addition to the issues I mentioned previously, I have one more problem involving reading. My biggest struggle when it comes to reading is applying myself to readings that don’t catch my interest. Reading something that bores me is extremely challenging for me; my mind is wondering while I blankly scan the words on the page. I should be soaking up the information about Alexander Hamilton‘s ideas on the consolidation issue, or absorbing the words of Shakespeare, but what do I do? I find my self wondering what’s for dinner or trying to remember what time my guitar lessons are. Then I have to read whatever words I wasn’t taking in before once again. This is a bad habit I would very much like to eliminate. I want to be able to apply myself to the things I have to read, although I may not want to read them. And if I can get in to the habit of actually reading and comprehending the readings that bore me so much, maybe I’ll actually learn something interesting and helpful.
  Reading is a very important skill to have in life because words are like germs, they are everywhere you go. Words are on almost everything: road signs, products, instruction manuals, even grocery bags. Without being able to read a lot more accidents and deaths would occur. For example if a person could not read the warning label on a can of hairspray or on a bottle of Tylenol, that person could easily spray the hairspray near a candle, and cause a fire, or take to many pills and become very ill. But despite the obvious reasons I just mentioned about the importance of reading, reading is also important for other reasons. Reading is important to guide people to an open mind and help people obtain new knowledge. For example, people read the writings of historical figures to understand the past and to possibly understand the future. occasionally there are powerful heartwarming stories that touch one’s soul so much they can change our perspective on life. Much of the time, people read persuasive essays or read others’ opinions on a topic to hear a side of an argument or to open their minds up to knew ideas.
Reading is an opportunity to open up one’s mind to the world. To understand things, appreciate things, learn things. Reading is a world of endless possibilities and opportunities.