Okonkwo As A Tragic Hero

Okonkwo As A Tragic Hero Essay Question. Is Okonkwo a tragic hero? To answer this question, one must first know the definition of the tragic hero. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle is a character who is noble in nature, has a tragic flaw and discovers his fate by his own actions. In Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo can be considered a tragic hero because he meets all of Aristotles criteria by being a tragic hero by being a successful and respected leader in Umuofia, having a tragic flaw, and discovering his fate soon after his action. The first Aristotles criterion of the tragic hero requires that the character must be noble or a man of high status. In that sense, as described by Achebe, Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements (Achebe, 3). Starting as a sharecropper with no inheritance from his father, Okonkwo works very hard and makes his way to a wealthy and respected man of titles in Umuofia. From his hard work, Okonkwo has 3 wives with many children, a large compound with obi for each of his wives and a large stock of yams. Okonkwo earns himself respect from people both inside his clan and outside his clan through many of his achievements. When he is a young man of eighteen, he brings honor to his village by throwing the Amalinze the Cat, a wrestler who is undefeated for 7 years. In addition, Okonkwo is one of the nine Egwugwu, a respected judge in the community who is believed to be the spirit of the ancestor. Furthermore, Okonkwo is also chosen by his village to be their representative to negotiate with Mbaino village about the murderer of an Umuofia girl in Mbaino market. With ease, Okonkwo successfully brings back a boy and a virgin as compensation and ends the conflict peacefully, without any confrontation. Similar to other tragic heroes, Okonkwo also has a tragic flaw, which is a fear of weakness and failure. While the fear of failure and weakness drives Okonkwo to work hard and helps him earns his fame and achievements, on the other hand, it also causes him many problems. Many times throughout Okonkwos life, his fear of failure and weakness leads him to act harshly, violently and impulsively toward other people, including his family members. Okonkwo is always harsh and violent with his family members because he doesnt want to be seen as a weak person. Okonkwo solves his problems only by the use strength and violence and it is this attitude that leads Okonkwo to several conflicts within his family, his failings and ultimately, his downfall. For instance, Okonkwo violates the clan rule and beats his youngest wife during the week of peace and almost shoots his second wife who comments on his gun skill. Moreover, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna, Nwoyes close friend whom Nwoye calls brother who as ks for Okonkwos help because He was afraid of being thought weak (Achebe, 43). By trying to be a strong person and deciding to kill Ikemefuna and beats his wives, Okonkwo not only weaken his relationship with his wives and Nwoye, but also hurts himself mentally. Most important, his violent and impulsive characteristics lead him to kill a court messenger from the British during the clan meeting which soon after leads Okonkwo to the discovery of his own tragic fate. The last Aristotles criterion for being a tragic hero requires that the character must discover his fate by his own actions. Okonkwos self-realization starts when he comes back to Umuofia after his seven years exile with a great plan. However, after his arrival, he realizes that Umuofia is much changed and he is not as important and famous as he used to be before his exile. His arrival doesnt attract as much as attention as he expect and he loses his place in the Egwugwu to the another man as soon as he leaves the clan. Moreover, he also has to wait for another two years to imitate his two sons into the ozo society. But most important, Okonkwo discovers that the white men have settled down in the village. The white men establish a church and a school in the village, and then start converting Igbo people into Christian and attacking Igbo customs and faith. Okonkwo is strongly unhappy with this situation and by his violent nature; he persuades his clan to use violence to drive the whit e men out of the village. However, the clan disagrees and reminds Okonkwo that the white men also have some of the clan members supporting them. Although there is no war between white men and Igbo people, the conflicts between these two groups still often occur, including the unmasking of Egwugwu, the burning of the church and the deceptive meeting held by the white men which results in the capture and humiliation of the five clan members, including Okonkwo. However, despite these failings, it is not until when Okonkwo kills one of the five British court members, who are sent to stop the clan meeting that he discovers his tragic fate. When Okonkwo beheads the messenger during the clan meeting and sees that none of his clan members go after the escaping white men, He knew that Umuofia would not go to war (Achebe, 144). He realizes that he will never be able to drive the white men out of Umuofia because his clan will not fight with him. Realizing that he is defeated and cannot save hi s village from the white men influences, Okonkwo decides to hang himself, which is consider as an abomination in Igbo culture. Okonkwos character greatly fits the Aristotles definition of the tragic hero. From nothing, he rises to the honorable and successful leader of Umuofia. He also has a tragic flaw of a fear of weakness and failure that leads to him to several failings and ultimately, his suicide. Finally, he discovers his own tragic fate because of his impulsive murderer of the British court messenger during the clan meeting. Although Okonkwo starts his life as a successful man of Umuofia but because of his violent and impulsive characteristics, even the most successful man like Okonkwo can still falls from his grace. Work Cited Achebe, Chinua.  Things Fall Apart. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996. Print.

Language And Society Today

Language And Society Today In any scientific study there are some views and ideas which possess different or similar forms about a particular phenomenon. Linguistics which is known as the scientific study of language is not exception. First of all, if we start with the phrase (the study of language) we will find that it is very important in this discussion to analyze what this phrase mean. Particularly, by dividing it into two words the study and the language. We will find that language according to Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary (2008) means a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar, or the system of communication used by a particular country or profession. While the study means the examination of subject in detail in order to discover new information. Subsequently, it could be said that the study of language is considered as a wide subject related to different aspects amongst is the social context which also can be divided into two words social which means activities in which you meet and spend time with other people and context which is defined as the text or speech that comes immediately before and after a particular phrase or piece of text and helps to explain its meaning. Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary (2008). Hence, there seems a relationship between the study of language and the social context according to the view of some writers in linguistics domain. This view is that the study of language can not be divorced or separated from its social context. On the other side, some writers tend to be against this view. It seems, therefore, that the argument about the study of language can not be divorced from its social context tends to be a controversial issue. This essay will shed light on this argument by discussing this view on one hand and the other view on the other hand. Language and Society: To study the language, it is very important to have the attempt to discover the relationship between the language and society and the secret which stands between them. Society is any group of people who are drawn together for a certain purpose or purposes and language is what the members of a particular society speak Wardhaugh (2010:1).it is noted from these definition that language and society is very close and can not be separated because language in this definition is related to society. The secret between language and society is what wardhaugh called the code, because people use this system which is the code to communicate through it. knowledge of language : knowledge of language is related to people who live in society. TODAY MOST LINGUISTS AGREE THAT THE KNOWLEDGE SPEAKERS HAVE OF THE LANGUAGEOR LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK IS KNOWLEDGE OF SOME THING QUITE ABSTRACT.IT IS AKNOWLEDGE OF RULES AND PRINCIPLES AND OF THE WAY OF SAYING AND DOING THINGS WITH SOUND SWORDS AND SENTENCES RATHER THAN JUST KNOWLEGDE OF SPECIFIC SONDS WORDS AND SENTENCES. IT IS KNOWING WHAT IS IN THE LG, AND WHAT IS NOT. IT IS KNOWING BOTH WHAT IS POSSIBLE TO SAY AND WHAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. THIS KNOWLEDGE EXPLAINS HOW IT IS WE CAN UNDERSTAND SENTENCES WE HAVE NOT HEARD BEFORE AND REJECT OTHERS AS BEING UNGRAMMATICAL.COMMUNICATION AMONG PEOPLE WHO SPEAK THE SAME LG, IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THEY SHARE SUCH KNOWLEDGE (ibid).Pinker(2007) agreed with wardhaugh in this point. He states that the linguistics behaviour of undividuals cannot be understood without knowledge of the communicaties that they belong to.Moreover, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to.Moreover, there are several possible relationships between language and society. One is the social à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ zhidao_help.html# There are several possible relationships between language and society. One is that social à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is the social structure may either influence or determine linguistic structure and behaviour.certain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is that social structure may either influence or determine linguistic structure and/or behavior. Certain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ behaviour.certain evidence may adduced to support this view:the agegrading à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the agegrading phenomenon whereby young children speak differently from older children and in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ age-grading phenomenon whereby young children speak differently from older chilÃÆ' °dren and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ from older children and in turn children speak differently from mature adults. Asecond possible à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ older chilÃÆ' °dren and, in turn, children speak differently from mature adults; studies which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ . Asecond à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ adults. Asecond possible relationship is directly opposed to the first:linguistic structure and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ A second possible relationship is directly opposed to the first: linguistic strucÃÆ' °ture and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ structure and /or behaviour à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ or behaviour may either influence or determine social structure this is the view that is behind the Whorfian hypothesis the claims of Bernstein and many of those who argue that languages rather than speakers of these languages can be sexist. Athird possible à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ or behavior may either influence or determine social structure. This is the view that is behind the Whorfian hypothesis, the claims of Bernstein, and many of those who argue that languages rather than speakers of these languages can be sexist. A third à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ . Athird à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ sexist. Athird possible relationship is that the influence is bi-directional:lg, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ A third possible relationship is that the influence is bi-directional: language and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ :lg, and society may influence each other.this view based on dittmars view. He argued à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He argued that speech behaviour and social behaviour are in astate of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ p. 238) that speech behaviour and social behaviour are in a state à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ astate of constant interaction. It is notably, indeed from the the views have discussed above that knowledge of language desperately needs the knowledge of social context. Language and Dialects: Since society which people live in consists of different areas based on the geographical division, those people then who live in these areas could have somewhat a variety in their language. Hudson (1996:22) defined this variety as a set of linguistics items with similar distribution. This definition gives us the opportunity to consider: Canadian English, London English, the English of football commentaries and so on come under the term varieties which means dialect Wardhaugh (2010). A good example for dialect and its relationship to the social context is Gumperzs example (1971). He points out that everyday living in parts of india , particularly in the large cities and among educated segments of those communities, requires some complex choices involving the distinction between hindi and urdu: the conversational level the use of hindi and urdu forms is not simply amatter of birth and education but just as it is customary for individuals to alternate between dialect and standard depend ing on social occasion. On the other hand, the term dialect à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ term dialect also be used to describe differences in speech associated with various social group or classes. To define social à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://www.smuu.net/vb/showthread.php?t=591 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ dialect can also be used to describe differences in speech associated with various social groups or classes. There are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ associated with various social group or classes. To define social group or social class giving proper weight to the various factors that can be used to determine social position e.g occupation, place of residence,education, income racial à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://www.smuu.net/vb/showthread.php?t=591 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ immediate problem is that of defining social group or social class , giving proper weight to the various factors that can be used to determine social position, e.g., occupation, place of residence, education, new versus à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ , income racial or ethnic origin cultural background,cast, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Students Paper: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ background,cast, religion and so on.such factors as these do appear to be related fairly directly to how people speak Wardhaugh (2010 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ http://www.smuu.net/vb/showthread.php?t=591 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ background, caste, religion, and so on. Such factors as these do appear to be related fairly directly to how people speak. There is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Wardhaugh (2010).he adds that there are some points which underlying the term dialect : Style: The study of dialects is further complicated by the fact that speakers can adopt different style of speaking. You can speak very formally or very informally, your choice being governed by circumstances. Ceremonial occasions almost invariably require very formal speech, public lectures somewhat less formal, casual conversation quite informal.we may try to relate the level of formalitychosen to avariety of factors: the kind of occasion, the various social, age and the other differences that exist between the participants. Register: Register is another complicating factor in any study of language varieties.registers are sets of language items associated with discrete occupation or social group.Hudson( 1996:46) indicates the difference between dialect and register your dialect shows who or what you are whilst your register shows what you are doing. Forexample , the kind of language of surgeons, airline pilots and so on. Wardhaugh (2010 ). Hence, it is important to note that wardhaugh and hudsons view agree that language and dialect closely related to the social context and can not be separated. Speech communities: Language is both an individual possession and social possession. therefore the certain individuals would behave linguistically like other individuals they might to speak the same language or the same dialect or the same variety i.e to employ the same code and in the respect to be members of the same speech community aterm probably derived from the German sprachgemeinschaft Wardhaugh (2010 ).Furthermore, if we focus on Bloomfields definition(1933:42)which is a speech community is agroup of people who interact by means of speech. We will find that Hymes (1974 in wardhaugh 2010) disagree with him in this point. He points out that is impossible to equate language and speech community when we lack aclear understanding of the nature of language. Moreover,he insists that speech communities cannot be defined soley through the use of linguistic criteria. It is agreed with Hymes ,because speech communities is not surrounded only by the linguistic perspective but the way speakers use language is very significant. Some thoughts against the relationship between the social context and the study of language: The view that the study of language can not be divorced from its social context is different from the perceptive of some writers who stand on the other side of this argument. According to Bernstein(1961) there are two distinct varieties of language in use in society.he calls one variety elaborated code ( formal code) and the other variety restricted code(public code). According to him these codes have very different characteristics. Forexample elaborated code makes use of accurate in the sense of standard grammatical order and syntax to regulate what is said that employ arrange of devices for conjuction and subordination and shows frequent use of the pronoun I.In contrast, restricted code employs short grammatically simple and often unfinished sentences of poor in the sense of nonstandard. Is rigid and limited in the use of adjectives and adverbs, makes infrequent use of impersonal pronoun subjects. He states that every speaker of the language has access to the restricted code becaus e all employ this code on certain occasions e.g it the language of intimacy between familiars.however, not all social classes have equal access to the elaborated code particularly lower working-class people and their children who are likely to have little experience with it.according to him, the consequences of this unequal distribution are considerable. In particular children from the lower working class are likely to find themselves at adisadvantage when they attend school in which extesive use is made of the elaborated code.therefore, there are serious consequences for children of the lowerworking class when they come to school beause elaborated code is the mediumof instruction in schooling. When schools attempt to develop in children the ability to manipulate this code they are really to involved in trying to change cultural patterns and such involvement may have profound social and psychological consequences for all engaged in the task. Educational failure is likely to result. This view might be true, but still has some limitation as Rosen( 1972 in Wardhaugh (2010 ) criticized Bernstein on the ground that he has not looked closely enough at working- class life and language and that many of the key terms in his work are quite inadequately defined e.g code, class, elaborated and so on. Many of the arguments also appear to be circular in nature and the hypotheses weak. On the other hand, another view against that the study of language and the social context cannot be divorced is what well known in the psycholinguistics domain by nativist theory. This is associated with Noam Chomsky who developed the theory that all humans are born with an innate capcity and knowledge system specifically desgined for language and language acquisition.under linguistic nativism anormally functioning human being is said to be born with universal grammar which aset of innate constrains on language that every unimpaired human brings to the task of language aquistion included princ iples that are invariate and apply to all natural human languages.an example of aprinciple is that all languages have abasic structural feature called aphrase (Vanpatten Benati 2010).this theory ignored that the interaction amongst individuals is positive in language learning.SLA theory needs to develop aconception of the language learner as having acomplex social identity that must be understood with reference to large and frequently inequitable social structures which are produce in day-to-day social interaction. In conclustion: List of plagiarised documents 6% http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/47763606.html 6% http://old.blog.edu.cn/user4/jinynwnu/archives/2007/1766739.shtml 6% http://jiny.blog.edu.cn/2007/141074.html 4% http://www.smuu.net/vb/showthread.php?t=591 1% http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/125844-using-context-contest.html 1% http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/context_2 1% http://www.nuis.ac.jp/%7Ehadley/publication/jeffrey/Jeffrey-EIL.htm 0% http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Americanism_semiotics/id/1910742 Master document text Introduction: Basically, in any scientific study there are some views and ideas which possess different or similar forms about a particular phenomenon. Linguistics which is known as the scientific study of language is not exception. First of all, if we start with the phrase (the study of language) we will find that it is very important in this discussion to analyze what this phrase mean. Particularly, by dividing it into two words the study and the language. We will find that language according to Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary (2008) means a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar, or the system of communication used by a particular country or profession. While the study means the examination of subject in detail in order to discover new information. Subsequently, it could be said that the study of language is considered as a wide subject related to different aspects amongst is the social context which also can be divided into two words social which means activitie s in which you meet and spend time with other people and context which is defined as the text or speech that comes immediately before and after a particular phrase or piece of text and helps to explain its meaning. Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary (2008). Hence, there seems a relationship between the study of language and the social context according to the view of some writers in linguistics domain. This view is that the study of language can not be divorced or separated from its social context. On the other side, some writers tend to be against this view. It seems, therefore, that the argument about the study of language can not be divorced from its social context tends to be a controversial issue. This essay will shed light on this argument by discussing this view on one hand and the other view on the other hand. Language and Society: To study the language, it is very important to have the attempt to discover the relationship between the language and society and the secret which stands between them. Society is any group of people who are drawn together for a certain purpose or purposes and language is what the members of a particular society speak Wardhaugh (2010:1).it is noted from these definition that language and society is very close and can not be separated because language in this definition is related to society. The secret between language and society is what wardhaugh called the code, because people use this system which is the code to communicate through it. knowledge of language : knowledge of language is related to people who live in society. TODAY MOST LINGUISTS AGREE THAT THE KNOWLEDGE SPEAKERS HAVE OF THE LANGUAGEOR LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK IS KNOWLEDGE OF SOME THING QUITE ABSTRACT.IT IS AKNOWLEDGE OF RULES AND PRINCIPLES AND OF THE WAY OF SAYING AND DOING THINGS WITH SOUND SWORDS AND SENTENCES RATHER THAN JUST KNOWLEGDE OF SPECIFIC SONDS WORDS AND SENTENCES. IT IS KNOWING WHAT IS IN THE LG, AND WHAT IS NOT. IT IS KNOWING BOTH WHAT IS POSSIBLE TO SAY AND WHAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. THIS KNOWLEDGE EXPLAINS HOW IT IS WE CAN UNDERSTAND SENTENCES WE HAVE NOT HEARD BEFORE AND REJECT OTHERS AS BEING UNGRAMMATICAL.COMMUNICATION AMONG PEOPLE WHO SPEAK THE SAME LG, IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THEY SHARE SUCH KNOWLEDGE (ibid).Pinker(2007) agreed with wardhaugh in this point. He states that the linguistics behaviour of undividuals cannot be understood without knowledge of the communicaties that they belong to.Moreover, there are several possible relationships between language and society. One is the social structure may either influence or determi ne linguistic structure and behaviour.certain evidence may adduced to support this view:the agegrading phenomenon whereby young children speak differently from older children and in turn children speak differently from mature adults. Asecond possible relationship is directly opposed to the first:linguistic structure and /or behaviour may either influence or determine social structure this is the view that is behind the Whorfian hypothesis the claims of Bernstein and many of those who argue that languages rather than speakers of these languages can be sexist. Athird possible relationship is that the influence is bi-directional:lg, and society may influence each other.this view based on dittmars view. He argued that speech behaviour and social behaviour are in astate of constant interaction. It is notably, indeed from the the views have discussed above that knowledge of language desperately needs the knowledge of social context. Language and Dialects: Since society which people live in consists of different areas based on the geographical division, those people then who live in these areas could have somewhat a variety in their language. Hudson (1996:22) defined this variety as a set of linguistics items with similar distribution. This definition gives us the opportunity to consider: Canadian English, London English, the English of football commentaries and so on come under the term varieties which means dialect Wardhaugh (2010). A good example for dialect and its relationship to the social context is Gumperzs example (1971). He points out that everyday living in parts of india , particularly in the large cities and among educated segments of those communities, requires some complex choices involving the distinction between hindi and urdu: the conversational level the use of hindi and urdu forms is not simply amatter of birth and education but just as it is customary for individuals to alternate between dialect and standard depend ing on social occasion. On the other hand, the term dialect also be used to describe differences in speech associated with various social group or classes. To define social group or social class giving proper weight to the various factors that can be used to determine social position e.g occupation, place of residence,education, income racial or ethnic origin cultural background,cast, religion and so on.such factors as these do appear to be related fairly directly to how people speak Wardhaugh (2010).he adds that there are some points which underlying the term dialect : Style: The study of dialects is further complicated by the fact that speakers can adopt different style of speaking. You can speak very formally or very informally, your choice being governed by circumstances. Ceremonial occasions almost invariably require very formal speech, public lectures somewhat less formal, casual conversation quite informal.we may try to relate the level of formalitychosen to avariety of factors: the kind of occasion, the various social, age and the other differences that exist between the participants. Register: Register is another complicating factor in any study of language varieties.registers are sets of language items associated with discrete occupation or social group.Hudson( 1996:46) indicates the difference between dialect and register your dialect shows who or what you are whilst your register shows what you are doing. Forexample , the kind of language of surgeons, airline pilots and so on. Wardhaugh (2010 ). Hence, it is important to note that wardhaugh and hudsons view agree that language and dialect closely related to the social context and can not be separated. Speech communities: Language is both an individual possession and social possession. therefore the certain individuals would behave linguistically like other individuals they might to speak the same language or the same dialect or the same variety i.e to employ the same code and in the respect to be members of the same speech community aterm probably derived from the German sprachgemeinschaft Wardhaugh (2010 ).Furthermore, if we focus on Bloomfields definition(1933:42)which is a speech community is agroup of people who interact by means of speech. We will find that Hymes (1974 in wardhaugh 2010) disagree with him in this point. He points out that is impossible to equate language and speech community when we lack aclear understanding of the nature of language. Moreover,he insists that speech communities cannot be defined soley through the use of linguistic criteria. It is agreed with Hymes ,because speech communities is not surrounded only by the linguistic perspective but the way speakers use language is very significant. Some thoughts against the relationship between the social context and the study of language: The view that the study of language can not be divorced from its social context is different from the perceptive of some writers who stand on the other side of this argument. According to Bernstein(1961) there are two distinct varieties of language in use in society.he calls one variety elaborated code ( formal code) and the other variety restricted code(public code). According to him these codes have very different characteristics. Forexample elaborated code makes use of accurate in the sense of standard grammatical order and syntax to regulate what is said that employ arrange of devices for conjuction and subordination and shows frequent use of the pronoun I.In contrast, restricted code employs short grammatically simple and often unfinished sentences of poor in the sense of nonstandard. Is rigid and limited in the use of adjectives and adverbs, makes infrequent use of impersonal pronoun subjects. He states that every speaker of the language has access to the restricted code becaus e all employ this code on certain occasions e.g it the language of intimacy between familiars.however, not all social classes have equal access to the elaborated code particularly lower working-class people and their children who are likely to have little experience with it.according to him, the consequences of this unequal distribution are considerable. In particular children from the lower working class are likely to find themselves at adisadvantage when they attend school in which extesive use is made of the elaborated code.therefore, there are serious consequences for children of the lowerworking class when they come to school beause elaborated code is the mediumof instruction in schooling. When schools attempt to develop in children the ability to manipulate this code they are really to involved in trying to change cultural patterns and such involvement may have profound social and psychological consequences for all engaged in the task. Educational failure is likely to result. This view might be true, but still has some limitation as Rosen( 1972 in Wardhaugh (2010 ) criticized Bernstein on the ground that he has not looked closely enough at working- class life and language and that many of the key terms in his work are quite inadequately defined e.g code, class, elaborated and so on. Many of the arguments also appear to be circular in nature and the hypotheses weak. On the other hand, another view against that the study of language and the social context cannot be divorced is what well known in the psycholinguistics domain by nativist theory. This is associated with Noam Chomsky who developed the theory that all humans are born with an innate capcity and knowledge system specifically desgined for language and language acquisition.under linguistic nativism anormally functioning human being is said to be born with universal grammar which aset of innate constrains on language that every unimpaired human brings to the task of language aquistion included princ iples that are invariate and apply to all natural human languages.an example of aprinciple is that all languages have abasic structural feature called aphrase (Vanpatten Benati 2010).this theory ignored that the interaction amongst individuals is positive in language learning.SLA theory needs to develop aconception of the language learner as having acomplex social identity that must be understood with reference to large and frequently inequitable social structures which are produce in day-to-day social interaction. In conclustion:

Personal Narrative- Improved Writing Essay -- Personal Narrative

My first real writing experience happened my junior year at HHS. It was the second to last day of school of my sophomore year, and I happened to be flipping through the course descriptions book, and was thinking of an English class to take next year. Well, I sat there and sat there thumbing through the pages, and finally, one particular class appealed to me. I thought, "WOW, this is a class I should take!" "Yeah right," but I still decided to register for American Lit.anyway. Well, the school year finally ended, and I wasn’t too happy for next year’s school year to begin. "I mean, American Lit. was going to be boring with all the reading, not to mention all the writing, too." But I didn’t consider the writing to be a big problem, because I had gotten to be pretty good at it by my junior year, or so I thought. To move on, the summer didn’t last long enough for me. I had tons of fun being at the cabin, fishing and stuff. But the thought of going back to school bothered me, so that kind of ruined my summer. And before I knew it, I was lying in bed the night before my first day of "hell" tossing and turning all night because I knew I was doomed for the next nine months of my life. "Finally," I said as I woke up after two hours of sleep, "let’s get this over with." I ran out the door without breakfast, and I was already fifteen minutes late by the time I got to school. I walked into my first class. It sucked. I walked into my second class, and that also sucked! American Lit. was next. "I don’t even know why I registered for this," I thought as I strolled into the classroom and took my seat way in the back. The teacher then walked in and said her name was Ms.Schmidt. "Man, she looks pretty damn old," I said under my bre... ...o work through this nasty theme habit. "Now that we have gone over pretty much everything I know about writing a good paper," my teacher said after six months of afterschool sessions, "I want you to write one paper for me, one that will show me my time wasn’t wasted with you." So I went back to my very first paper on Hester Prynne, and rewrote it. I came back the next day, turned it in, and anxiously awaited her comments. "What is takin’ so long for her to read my frickin’ paper?" I asked myself. Fifteen minutes later she was finally done. "My time wasn’t wasted with you. This paper shows me your creativeness as a writer. How you related Hester Prynne’s character to someone you know was really interesting. This paper held my attention throughout its’ entirety. I can’t say enough about your dramatic improvement in writing. I am really proud of you, Alex." Personal Narrative- Improved Writing Essay -- Personal Narrative My first real writing experience happened my junior year at HHS. It was the second to last day of school of my sophomore year, and I happened to be flipping through the course descriptions book, and was thinking of an English class to take next year. Well, I sat there and sat there thumbing through the pages, and finally, one particular class appealed to me. I thought, "WOW, this is a class I should take!" "Yeah right," but I still decided to register for American Lit.anyway. Well, the school year finally ended, and I wasn’t too happy for next year’s school year to begin. "I mean, American Lit. was going to be boring with all the reading, not to mention all the writing, too." But I didn’t consider the writing to be a big problem, because I had gotten to be pretty good at it by my junior year, or so I thought. To move on, the summer didn’t last long enough for me. I had tons of fun being at the cabin, fishing and stuff. But the thought of going back to school bothered me, so that kind of ruined my summer. And before I knew it, I was lying in bed the night before my first day of "hell" tossing and turning all night because I knew I was doomed for the next nine months of my life. "Finally," I said as I woke up after two hours of sleep, "let’s get this over with." I ran out the door without breakfast, and I was already fifteen minutes late by the time I got to school. I walked into my first class. It sucked. I walked into my second class, and that also sucked! American Lit. was next. "I don’t even know why I registered for this," I thought as I strolled into the classroom and took my seat way in the back. The teacher then walked in and said her name was Ms.Schmidt. "Man, she looks pretty damn old," I said under my bre... ...o work through this nasty theme habit. "Now that we have gone over pretty much everything I know about writing a good paper," my teacher said after six months of afterschool sessions, "I want you to write one paper for me, one that will show me my time wasn’t wasted with you." So I went back to my very first paper on Hester Prynne, and rewrote it. I came back the next day, turned it in, and anxiously awaited her comments. "What is takin’ so long for her to read my frickin’ paper?" I asked myself. Fifteen minutes later she was finally done. "My time wasn’t wasted with you. This paper shows me your creativeness as a writer. How you related Hester Prynne’s character to someone you know was really interesting. This paper held my attention throughout its’ entirety. I can’t say enough about your dramatic improvement in writing. I am really proud of you, Alex."

Free College Essays - The Motif of the Sun in The Stranger by Albert Camus :: The Stranger The Outsider

The Motif of the Sun in The Stranger In Camus' novel The Stranger the predominate motif of the sun has been variously interpreted by many critics as a symbol of Meursault's repressed emotions. This is an interpretation I simply cannot accept, for I have always regarded the sun as symbolic of the superego - the force of society within Meursault. Like the sun, society is generally thought to be a positive thing. People usually regard a good strong society that instills its members with a strong, unified code of morals as something to be desired. In the same way, people tend to think of a bright, warm, sunny day as something good and positive. However, both the force of society and theforce of the sun can become overpowering. They beat down on people, smothering and suffocating them, just as the sun beats down upon Meursault throughout the novel. The sun is present whenever the force of society is strong within Meursault. At the funeral the sun bears down on Meursault as society smothers him with expectations that he will grieve his mother's death in a typical manner. At the beach when he kills the Arab the sun is ever present and overpowering, making Meursault disoriented and confused. In the same way the power of society suffocates and confuses Meursault as it bears down on him with its views on morality. The sun is also present at the trial, just as is the force of society which claims to possess the right to judge people. The force of society is absent in the prison, likewise the sun is absent from Meursault's dark cell, and because the overpowering force of society has been removed, Meursault is finally able to "[open himself] to the gentle indifference of the world." At one point Meursault leans from the window in an attempt to feel the sun's last

The Two Different Cases Regarding Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

The Two Different Cases Regarding Capital Punishment Thesis : In principle a case can be made on moral grounds both supporting and opposing capital punishment. Two different cases can be made. One is based on justice and the nature of a moral community. This leads to a defense of capital punishment. The second is based on love and the nature of an ideal spiritual community. This leads to a rejection of capital punishment. JUSTICE AND THE NATURE OF MORAL COMMUNITY A central principal of a just society is that every person has an equal right to "life, liberity, and happiness." Within that, an arguement for capital punishment forms along the following lines: some acts are so evil and so destructive of a community that they void the right of the perpetrator to life. A community founded on moral principals has specific requirements. The right to belong to a community is not unconditional. The privilege of living and pursuing the good life in society is not certain. The essential reason on which community is built requires each citizen to honor the rightful claims of others. The precious live in a moral community must be so highly honored that those who do not honor the life of others void their own right to membership. Those who violate the personhood of others, especially if this is done persistently as a habit must pay the ultimate price. This must be done for the sake of the community which was violated. We can debate whether some non-lethal alternative is a suitable substitute for the death penalty. But the standard of judgment is whether the punishment fits the crime and if it honors the nature of the moral community. LOVE AND AN IDEAL SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY Christian live, is unconditional. It does not depend on the worthiness or value of those to whom it is directed. It is persistent in seeking the good of others regardless of whether they return the favor or even deserve to be treated well on the basis of their own wrongdoing. An ideal community would be made up pf free and equal citizens devoted to a balance between individual needs and the advancement of common good. Communal life would be based on mutual love in which equality of giving and receiving was the social practise. Everyone would contribute to the best of ability. What would a community based on this kind of love do with those who committed brutal acts of terror, violence, and murder? Put negatively, it would not live by the philosophy of "an eye for an eye,a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a

Power of social norms

In our day of age, technology has influenced many aspects of our everyday lives. There is not a day where we cannot go without our phones, computers or television sets. If all of that were to be taken from us, most likely we would be in an uproar. Being exposed to such technological devices, we have become consumed with social media. Social media has definitely shaped the way we communicate, get Information and the way we Interpret things. For example, Just recently Mile Cyrus released a music video called Wrecking Ball. Mile Cyrus is known for her innocent Disney role,Hannah Montana, a young teen who is trying to live a normal life as she Juggles being a high school teen and her secret blonde wigged pop star career as Hannah Montana. However, when the music video Wrecking Ball came out, Mile traded her innocent, parent-friendly Image for a pixie-cut, red lipped and cropped attire. The video consisted of a naked Mile riding a steel giant ball destroying cement walls and licking a sle dge hammer. When the video was released, many were shocked to see this coming from the former Disney starlet. Some were disgusted by the nudity.Others loved the singer's video and thought It was a great Interpretation of the song. Either way, the video shattered the Vivo record for most watched music video and caused many to correctly. Mile Cyrus did something that many here In America are not so exposed to, she broke a personal appearance norm. In America, we are not exposed to such nudity; and if so, the content is usually censored. But we also, have to include the gender roles. If a male is nude, it mostly likely considered as funny, but if a female is nude, it is most likely considered taboo and gets labeled a slut.Once, Mile appeared fully due riding a giant steel ball; many labeled it as inappropriate and calling her names, such as slut. However, if you were to show this to people in Europe, they would not be bothered by it. In Europe, they are exposed to nudity; many would co nsider It as an art form. So why are people concerned with the imagery of the video rather than the meaning behind the song? It all has to with our culture and environment we are exposed to. Culture consists of language, the behavior and any aspects that surround you In that moment.It Influences the way you see and accept at things in society. Every culture has a norms and sanctions that are considered acceptable. Norms are appropriate behaviors based on specific values and sanctions are prizes or punishment you receive when you go against the norm (Carl 54). Once you go against the norm, you are deviant and going against the social order. â€Å"Winners are the good and the normal; Losers are the sick, the crazy, the evil†¦ † (Introduction to the Sociology of Deviance) Social Norms cover almost every aspect of the way we live.However, with standards and guidelines of behavior, it does lead to some pressure to conform (Social Norms, Sociology Norms, Basic Concepts of Soci ology Guide). We see people conform every day because they fear society will shun them. Conformity and social norms In society all have to do with past generations culturally transmitting their values to us and the social Institutions teaching us hidden curriculum (Carl 50, 94) For Instance, In school whenever we see the American flag, we Immediately put our right hand over our heart and say the pledge of allegiance.If we don't do it, the America. By not placing our right hand over our heart, we would be considered deviant towards America. (Introduction to the Sociology of Deviance) Growing up, cheers and parents teach us to be proud of your culture and nation. As you can see, both the nature and nurture aspects come into play when we react towards a norm either being â€Å"broken† or â€Å"obeyed†. To get a better understanding of breaking a norm, I had to experience what it was like to break a norm.My task was simple; I am to only speak Toga, a native Filipino langua ge. But the problem was who, where and when am I going to break my norm. Luckily, my friend Alyssa, who I have known for three years, wanted to meet with me for a day of catching up as we shop at varies malls, local boutiques and stores in the San Diego area. I only speak English to Alyssa. So I thought this would be the perfect time for me to break my norm. However, to really comprehend the power of norms in society, I decided to perform the task on strangers too.Now with my mission already planned out, all I had to do was put into action; I had to only speak in Toga to my friend, Alyssa and strangers I encounter during my one-day visit to San Diego. My experience in my norm breaking experiment, I realized the norm of speaking a language other than English, people react and look at you as if you were an alien. To be honest, I did expect people to react in this manner. However, I was blind sighted by the incident in the Anthropologist store. For me, growing up in a different country and traveling exposed me to the norms of different cultures.I find myself learning something new; that does not mean I conform to the behavior or lifestyle. But I accept norms that I am not familiar with and have an open mind. But not everyone is accepting of different cultures or lifestyles, they are not familiar with. A huge percent of people in any society would feel uncomfortable and try to steer clear to those that are different from what they are used to. Society tends to Judge and criticize things because it's to something they are used to or exposed to.We have all experienced or witnessed something that was different from the way we live or behave, so we feel uncomfortable in the situation. We can change that, every society should look with culturally relativistic perspective. We don't have to accept their behavior, but that does not mean, we should Judge the way someone acts or behaves in life. We have to be open-minded and make an effort, rather than be in an ethnocentric perspective (Carl 54). This world consist of diverse cultures and lifestyles, we all could learn from one another. Man has the ability to expand his knowledge.

The movie Josie and the Pussycats

Attention Getter: Has anyone here seen the movie Josie and the Pussycats from 2001? It’s okay if you haven’t, I don’t blame you. Relate to Audience: Behind all the superb acting and catchy music, however, lies a highly controversial and interesting topic. That would be subliminal messaging, and that’s what I’ll be talking to you about today. Thesis: Subliminal messaging has been a controversial method of manipulation for years. Preview: I will talk about the different forms of subliminal messages, I’ll tell you about how influential they can be, and I will describe some of the most controversial examples throughout history. Transition: So let’s start by exploring the types of subliminal messages. Body I. MP1: Subliminal messages can be either audio or visual. According to Webster’s dictionary, the word â€Å"subliminal† is defined as â€Å"existing or functioning below the threshold of consciousness†. Basically, this means that your body can sense a subliminal message but it won’t be transferred into consciousness; it’s sensation without perception. Audio subliminal messages can be achieved by hiding the message at a volume too low to pick up. Other sounds are played above these messages to mask their identity. Another more famous form of audio subliminal messaging is known as â€Å"backmasking†. It often involves music that, when played backward, sends a different message than when played forward. This form of subliminal message was responsible for a wave of hysteria beginning in the 1970s as the media claimed that numerous songs hid satanic messages behind their lyrics. On the other hand, there are visual subliminal messages. These can take a couple different forms as well. An image (generally a word) can be quickly flashed and taken away before the subject can consciously perceive what it says. The image is often flashed repeatedly at this rapid pace through something like a commercial. Subliminal images can also be present as a part of other images. An example of this would be a word clearly spelled out in the clouds on an advertisement or details of a picture that suggest something else. Transition: Now that you know the basics of subliminal messaging, let’s explore how they’re used. II. MP2: MISSING An April 2010 New York Times article provides an interesting example. â€Å"New York State's health commissioner†¦ Dr. Richard F. Daines, was recently driving down Interstate 15 in Utah, his home state, when he came across four billboards in a row that beamed a subliminal message at him, and not the one the advertisers intended. † The repetitive billboards contained phrases that subliminally suggested a healthier lifestyle rather than the consumption of the soda it advertised. As with any subliminal message, there is no telling how it will affect the subject. In the Handbook of Consumer Psychology from 2009, Haugtvedt et. al state, â€Å"Subliminal advertising is, at best, a very weak force. However, there is evidence that subliminally presented stimuli can influence behavior and cognition. † It just may not be the intended behavior. Transition: Now that we have seen how subliminal messages can be used, let’s examine a few famous cases. III. MP3: The most controversial cases of subliminal messaging surround the fields of politics and music. George Bush’s 2000 political campaign was under scrutiny for displaying the word â€Å"RATS† while talking about one of Al Gore’s plans. The ad said â€Å"bureaucrats†, but these four letters flashed on the screen independently, creating an uproar. It was written off as a mere coincidence by the creator of the ad, but was taken off of television nonetheless. Heavy metal music is often scrutinized as a source of violence in adolescents, but the 1990 case of young James Vance and Raymond Belknap suggested it influenced suicide as well. According to Philips and Cogan of the 2009 Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music, â€Å"subliminal messages in the song â€Å"Better by You, Better Than Me† [by Judas Priest] †¦ allegedly had influenced the victims' actions† to commit suicide. The case was eventually dropped, but its impact was great. Signal Conclusion: As you have seen, subliminal messaging has been a controversial method of manipulation for years. Summary: I talked about the different forms of subliminal messaging. I also discussed how influential they can be. I followed up with some examples that have created controversy in recent years. Lasting thought: I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about a topic that really interests me. You’re now free to go play all your music backwards and see what really happens†¦ Questions (15 POINTS) Does the preview adequately map out the main points covered in the speech and is it in the right format? 2 points) I think it does a decent job at mapping out the main points. The second point could use some work, she says it’s about how influential subliminal messages are, then in the paragraph quotes a psychology book that says they are â€Å"†¦ at best, a very weak force†¦ †, and in the transition she says it’s a bout how they are used. A little confusing. Also, for your class, it’s missing signposts. Does the summary adequately review the main points covered in the speech and is it in the right format? (2 points) Same as in the preview, not sure about point two. Other than that it looks good. Also, signposts again. Does the speaker include smooth transitions between all of the MPs? (2 points) Yes. Except point the transition into MP2, to me the paragraph is really about when subliminal messages gone wrong; to make that clear she could say, â€Å"Now that you know the basics of subliminal messaging, let’s explore how not to use them. † At least one MP is missing a clear MP sentence. Write a MP sentence for that section. (4 points) MP2: In advertising, subliminal messages are often a disaster. Overall, what is your assessment of the organization of this speech (be concrete in your answer). (5 points) Overall, the speech is well organized. Main point two is the only area of the speech that really needs work. Though the information in the paragraph is interesting, her point is unclear. I would switch sub-point one and two. Also, take out the second quote, as it can be easily paraphrased, and add in details of what the billboards actually say, that way it makes sense to the listener. Possibly something like this: II. MP2: In advertising, subliminal messages are often a disaster. In the Handbook of Consumer Psychology from 2009, Haugtvedt et. al stated, â€Å"Subliminal advertising is, at best, a very weak force. However, there is evidence that subliminally presented stimuli can influence behavior and cognition. † The problem with these messages is that it is difficult to tell how it will affect the subject. Sometimes subliminal messages effect the viewer in the opposite way that the advertiser intended it to. An April 2010 New York Times article describes an instance where several billboards for a soda company suggested that viewers should choose a healthier lifestyle, rather than consuming their soda. (fill in with actual content of the ad) (The advertiser intended the message to be†¦ however to some it was perceived as†¦ As shown in this example, subliminal messages are not the best choice when promoting a product. Transition: Now that we have seen how subliminal messages can be misused, let’s examine how they can be successfully used (at least to stir up controversy. ) III. MP3: The most famous cases of subliminal messaging surround the fields of politics and music. Extra Credit (3 POINTS) Explain the difference between a prelim outline, a full sentence outline, and a keyword outline. A prelim outline is the base of a full sentence outline, it has a thesis, transitions, main points, a few sub-points and a conclusion. Add more detail, more sub-points, an attention getter and a lasting thought and you have your full sentence outline. The full sentence outline should be written in complete sentences and include everything you plan to discuss in the speech. The keyword outline is what you take up with you when you give the speech. I should contain no full sentences, besides the thesis and quotes and statistics that need to be worded in a specific way. It should only include a few words per line that can help you stay on track if you get lost during your speech.