Language And Gendered Representations Of Power In Oleanna

Perhaps the most significant event that occurred on October 7, 2015 was the exclusive screen of Finding the Gold Within in the W.V.M. Fines Arts Center. This film touched my soul because it revealed the concerns of young, black males at predominately white institutions. Although the students encountered similar problems as students at historically black colleges, their struggles differed due to the fact that racism was one of the greatest obstacles during their college experience. In addition to the discrimination and the racial undertones in the academic institution in which the males attended, the youths had to learn how to balance their internal conflicts as well. One of the greatest conflicts that continue to affect the African American

A person’s fundamental beliefs and attitudes can be greatly influenced by the people in their lives. As an illustration, the presence of parents in a child 's life can influence them greatly. Parenting goes far beyond the care of the child, as parents also have a significant influence on the child’s personality, emotional development, and behavioral habits. Like in Karen Thompson Walker dystopian novel The Age of Miracles, the protagonist 's parents also have a crucial impact on her self-discovery. The novel is an inventive story, combining classic coming-of-age themes with the horror of a natural disaster of apocalyptic proportions. The novel shows how the protagonist, Julia, changes drastically as she moves forward in her adolescent years.

The dramatic coming-of-age film Dead Poet’s Society follows a group of young as they attend Welton Academy, an ultra conservative all-boys preparatory school, in 1959. Enthralled and inspired by the unconventional musings of their new English teacher, Mr. Keating, each of the students embark on a powerful journey of self-discovery, reflecting core transcendental themes of civil disobedience, non-conformity, and self-reliance. Heeding the mantra of their eccentric professor, the film’s characters learn they must rebel against societal conformity and willingly accept the consequences to truly seize the day and make life extraordinary.

Prejudices and, more specifically, racial prejudices have been a plague on society for an extensive amount of time. Most believe that the worst of racial prejudices are in the past and that society has moved past them; however, Brent Staples argues that society is nowhere near past these prejudices. Staples argues this through his great use of rhetorical strategies to implement credibility and emotion into his essay.

Throughout the course of the year, as a class, we have discussed countless works from a variety of authors, artists, directors and speakers. One overarching theme from these works is the ability that a character can have to redefine social standards and have the courage to break societal norms. In society, it is incredibly hard to take a different stance than your peers and choose an alternative to the ordinary. The contrasting forces between good and evil in the world is the cause for exceptional people who are able to break social norms, however, not always in a positive manner. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the film Schindler’s List directed by Steven Spielberg, and the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut,

Sometimes, events, actions, or thoughts that seem excellent or prosperous in the beginning prove themselves to be less beneficial than they originally may seem. The aforementioned theme is proven to be true in A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. In the novel, the narrator, John Wheelwright, is best friends with Owen Meany, a small boy with a strange voice who believes himself to be God’s instrument. Even after Owen accidentally kill’s John mother by hitting her with a baseball, the two boys remain friends. John tells tales of his and Owen’s lives, from when they are kids to Owen’s death, and even after that horrible event. Owen effects every aspect of John’s life in a way that no other person could. The novel, however,

The 2002 release of “Agonism in Academic Discourse” by author Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, proposes a new method of debate, or rather any discourse found in academe. This new form of discourse – new only in the sense of its possible wide use – is not dominated by agonism, defined by Tannen as ritualized adversativeness, but rather cooperation among scholars in pursuit of uncovering true knowledge through productive and analytical conversation. Conversation being a superior term to describe Tannen’s proposal than debate, a sharing of ideas as equals with no perception of winning or losing - closer in relation to the Socratic method; wherein debate is often perceived as a battle in which winning is the object and brings to mind politics and other crude forms of

Differences among social classes are apparent in every single society; such distinctions were especially visible in the British Isles during the late nineteenth century, the setting of Henry James’s 1891 short story “The Pupil”. James portrays an employer-employee and an employee-client relationship of scorn with its roots in socioeconomic inequality by using devices such as point of view and diction.

When isolation comes to mind, people often think of being stranded without any outside contact. In this day and age however, the removal of outside contact in scarcely heard of. Humans now are living in a time where they are constantly connected. Whether this is by means of transportation or technology, the human race rarely ever experiences moments of isolation. Before cars, planes, and technology though, the feeling of being isolated was much more familiar. In the short story “The Painted Door,” Sinclair Ross takes readers through the everyday life of a couple living on a farm in a remote area. The isolation experienced in this story can be attributed to a time when phones, cars, and the internet were not around. As a result, a feeling

Winfield pays close mind to the vocabulary she uses and how readers are likely to perceive it. This conscious decision benefits and strengthens both the quality of the essay and her argument alike.

When first writing in my journal I struggled with how deep to go with my discussion questions and what I should be asking my classmates. I feel that I have struggled with this because I lack confidence on what I am trying to prove or say in my writing. When reading in the past I have never pushed myself to question the author’s purpose or ask questions that invoke much thought. Up to this point in the year writing in my journal as well as annotating in the text, has helped my reading and writing immensely. My journal this year mostly contains quotes from texts and points from in class discussions that I felt were useful to understanding the novel and its purpose. I do not journal as much as

Charles Baxter’s “Gryphon” provides an interesting look at standardized education and the way society views those who deviate from it. Baxter shows this through how the narrator Tommy views his new substitute, Miss Ferenczi. The character Miss Ferenczi tries to revolt against the clinical and strict standards of society and positively impact the morality and ethicality of herself, Tommy, and the fourth graders.

The topic of homosexuality in Tom Hanks speech is one of great division among the people of our country, especially at the time he chose to bring attention to it, yet his use of rhetorical speaking, particularly Ethos and Pathos, assist to both mitigate and normalize a typically polarizing issue. The introduction to his speech features an immediate nod to emotion when he mentions love and his “lover”, or wife, saying “I could not be standing here without that undying love… And I have that in a lover that is so close to fine, we should all be able to experience such heaven right here on earth”. By introducing the concept of “love” as the preliminary subject before the actual meaning of the speech is made clear, a common connection is made between the audience, who includes both celebrities and the American public, that is necessary to establish due to the status that the speaker possesses. Because of this elevated status, Ethos emerges as a secondary rhetorical device that aids Tom in delivering his message. Due to the occupation that Mr. Hanks holds, there is often a perceived disconnect between the average person and himself, which can then make delivering an important message all the more difficult as there is no emotional connection between him and the audience. Tom overcomes this hurdle with the aforementioned use of the universal feeling of love, which all can relate to. Once common ground is found between the speaker and the audience, he begins to foreshadow his later

In Martha’s personal narrative, “The Scholarship Jacket,” Martha Salinas shares her experience when she has earned the scholarship jacket but almost loses it to a less deserving peer. In the beginning, 14 year old Martha, is attending in a small Texas school in 8th grade. Martha knows she would get the scholarship jacket because she has earned straight A’s for the past 8 years. Forgetting her PE bag in one of her classrooms, she overhears a conversation between her history teacher, Mr.Schmidt, and Mr. Boone, her math teacher. When she hears they were arguing about her and who would get the scholarship jacket, Martha became shocked and ran. In the middle, Martha gets called up to go to the principal’s office. She already knew what the principal

Language is one of the definitive advantages that allowed humans to become the dominant race on earth. Though many species may have effective forms of communication, none is as fluid and wide reaching as that which we use in everyday life. The depth in our array of languages has led to an increasing amount of disparity between the educated and uneducated, with a narrowing of opportunities for the latter. It is no coincidence that those on the in Shakespeare’s The Tempest with the greatest power are also the ones with the greatest linguistic skills. Language is a direct indicator of power; those who are adept in controlling the language are able to exploit the ignorance of those under them and thus assert their dominance. As demonstrated throughout