Articulate Thought Essay Example for Free

Articulate Thought Essay â€Å"Articulate speech marks [people] out as [individuals] and in some settings, this can be rather dangerous because people are often suspicious and frightened of articulateness. † (Humanities). Articulateness describes a person’s ability to express an idea coherently. A well articulated idea, concept or opinion, does not use proof based on a fallacy to back up its view. When people speak or write articulately, they are able to convey a message to others in a way that cannot be distorted. It can even be said, â€Å"[a]rticulateness builds the human community. † (Humanities) Without the ability to understand each other there would be no way for a society to function. Each person would not be able to communicate a message from his or her thoughts to another person, thus any sort of teamwork would be impossible. It is the understanding of others’ ideas told to a person in a way more specific than basic gestures or grunts that allows humans to be more successful in groups than any animal. Properly expressed thoughts are the best way to communicate in any form of society, because failing to articulate properly often leads to misinterpretation. A lack of articulation, and thus a lack of complete understanding, leads to people being misinformed. Sometimes people in power use the ability to misinform others to their advantage. By deliberately explaining campaigns vaguely so that the general public does not fully understand, people in power, or people who wish to be in power, can skew facts in their favour. â€Å"We are taught to read and write so that we can obey the traffic signs and to cipher so that we can make out our income tax† (Humanities), but people are deliberately expected to maintain only a level of intelligence sufficient to allow them to participate in society at a minimal level. People are kept in a docile state so that they will not question generally accepted ideas proposed by the government. People are only provided with education to a level insufficient to challenge the inarticulate ideas of those considered superiors. The general public is expected to automatically respect the opinions of superiors, and the people considered more powerful in society are thus able to fool the unintelligent general public. If campaigns proposed by governments were explained articulately, the people would be able to understand the true intent and make fully informed decisions. Privileged to all of the information, the general public would be able to spot any deceptions and each campaign would be subjected to scrutiny. Inarticulateness is nearly as powerful a tool as true articulateness, in some respects. By extending the human capacity of knowledge further than allowed in fundamental schooling, it is possible to overcome the system that attempts to keep society unintelligent. People are able to absorb and think about ideas of others that they have not physically met or spoken to through reading well-written literature. The more people read and are able to understand literature, the more they will develop their own articulate ideas. â€Å"As we challenge ourselves to read more and more difficult literature, we become able to extend ourselves further† (Literature). Literature allows people to â€Å"[leap] over the boundaries that usually separate us from other selves and worlds† (Literature) and increase each person’s base of knowledge substantially. It is only with prior knowledge of a subject that humans are able to intelligently articulate their ideas. However, society is not quick to embrace the powers that articulate thought gives individuals. People do not wish to pick up books unless they are necessary for their immediate success in a submissive society. â€Å"A society like ours doesn’t have much interest in literacy† (Humanities). Governments work to keep society in a level of cautious unintelligence, and are hesitant to embrace articulate ideas because they are truly powerful things. Powerful and well articulated ideas often lead to change, and change is something most people are apprehensive of. People with individual thoughts are marked out and scorned by the masses, and in many less democratic countries than Canada radical thinkers are silenced by means of intimidation or imprisonment. â€Å"Understanding and articulateness lead to [government’s] destruction† (Humanities). The government, as we know it, the system that works in a way which is not always beneficial to the general public because society remains afraid to challenge, could not exist. A well-articulated idea that goes against the government can cause upheaval in society. If people were to act on those ideas and rebel against laws put in place by the government, any sort of order would be in a state of constant flux, moving from one extreme to another. Without radicals, there would be no forward movement in humanity. Radicals such as Aristotle, who believed that there was a proper way to think and that many of the things society automatically accepts as truths are nothing more than fallacy, were scorned during their lifetimes. Many scholars’ ideas were immediately dismissed because people were frightened of their ability to articulate ideas that were radically different from those commonly held. In society there is a nature ingrained into each person, a feeling that one singled from the group will be defenseless and vulnerable. This instinct may be a result of evolution, something that humans needed in order to survive. Now it could be said the need that humans feel to conform to a group because it is presumed safer, is holding society back. Radical thinkers move humanity forward. The need for acceptance, and the desire to fit in rather than stand out in a community is something common to each person. â€Å"Young adolescents today often betray a curious sense of shame about speaking articulately† (Humanities). There is an almost paralyzing fear shared by many people, most noticeably in school children but in adults as well, of not only public speaking but also even raising their hands in a classroom setting. A child asked to give a speech to a classroom of peers about a topic, to share ideas and opinions unique to that child, will often become frightened that his or her opinions will not be shared by the rest of the class. The need for acceptance is often greater than the need to articulate and stand out. People in many cases would rather believe and agree with an idea that they have valid reason to believe to be false in order to be part of a community than voice their own opinion and be rejected. Fallacies are a barrier created by the structure of society in order to discourage articulate thought. People are often afraid of articulateness because it conveys well-formed and direct ideas, something uncommon in society. Humans are naturally afraid of something that is unfamiliar to them. An intelligent individual who thinks differently from the masses, even if his or her idea is perfectly valid and conveyed in such a way that makes their reasoning clear, are often ridiculed because society tends to accept fallacies as proof of validity. An example of a commonly believed fallacy is Circulous probando, or â€Å"thinking in circles† (Think). This term created by Aristotle, â€Å"often entails joining an intellectual herd charging round and round† (Think). The drive that humans have, the instinct to stay equal with the group both in a physical sense and an intellectual respect, leads society to want to believe in fallacies. The notion that if â€Å"everybody thinks such and such; it must be so for the simple reason that everybody thinks it is so† (Think). is safe. If everyone in the group believes a fallacy, those people are all on the same level intellectually, and there is safety in numbers. No one in the group will be singled out. The more people believe in something, be it fallacy or truth, the more likely it is that other people will believe the same simply because it is commonly accepted. This way of thinking can be detrimental to a group of people, because if the group believes in commonly held fallacies over intelligent articulate thought. â€Å"The surest way to destroy freedom is to destroy the capacity to articulate freely. † (Humanities) Without articulate freedom, human society will never progress or evolve.

The Mother Daughter Relationship in I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olse

The Mother Daughter Relationship in "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen 'I stand here ironing,' a unique phrase uttered by a woman in her conquest of life. It may seem like an unwanted phrase to many, but it has deep meaning behind it. This phrase is almost whispered by the narrator of ?I Stand Here Ironing,? Tillie Olsen, and also by many other mothers going through an important stage in their lives. The stage in life that the mother in the story is going through is called child development, and within this complicated stage arise many new worlds of imagination, emotional journeys, and soothing memories. The whole story is based around a mother's view, and joy, of her child growing up in a world filled with barriers and hurdles that she must overcome. The entire point of view is that of the narrator, as a mother concerned with the way her child is being raised and the hardships she must overcome. She also witnesses her daughter?s happiness and the colorful meanings of life that she discovers herself. I believe this story is based around the hardships of growing up as a woman in the Nineteen-hundreds. It has all the symbolism of being a true feminist short story. As Elaine Orr expresses in her criticism, Tillie Olsen and a Feminist Spiritual Vision, about how ?Suddenly Emily is emblematic of all children, of the next generation??(EO 84) that the times were of the early feministic era. When feminists were about conquering oppression and rising above the rest of the doubt that society places upon them. She talks about how ?Emily will not survive. If she does not believe in future presence, in beginnings latent in her own life, all is lost: past, present, and future.?(EO 84) expressing once again how the times were differen... ...cts of the mother and the descriptions, which are presented to us from her, are very conclusive and need to be further examined to draw out any further conclusions on how she ?really? felt. The mother-daughter relationship between the narrator and her daughter bring up many questions as to their exact connection. At times it seems strong, as when the narrator is relating her childhood and recounting the good times. Other times it is very strained. All in all the connection between the two seems to be a very real and lifelike account of an actual mother-daughter relationship. Bibliography: 1. Orr, Elaine. Tillie Olsen and a Feminist Spiritual Vision. Jackson: University Press, 1987 2. Responding to Literature. ?I Stand Here Ironing?. Mayfield Publishing Company: Judith Stanford. 1999. Pg. 815-821.

What Is Caribbean Studies and Why Is It Important to Study It

Caribbean studies is a very fascinating subject for anyone to study but in order for one to know what exactly Caribbean Studies entails, we must know what is the basis of its existence, the Caribbean. The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, the islands (most of which enclose the sea) and the surrounding coasts. The region is located east of Central America, the southeast of North America and north of South America. This region comprises more than 7000 islands, islets, reefs and cays. The ‘West Indies’, the name used very regular today was given to it by Christopher Columbus when landing in Hispaniola in 1492, believed he had reached the Indies (in Asia). This arrival shaped the very existence of the Caribbean and most particular its people today. Knowing the history of the Caribbean region goes a long way toward understanding its people. Each island has a unique cultural identity shaped by the European colonialists, the African heritage of slaves, and the enduring legacies of the native Indian tribes. This rich history and its lasting influence is set against a backdrop of crystal clear waters and perpetual sunshine. Just knowing the history is just the tip of the iceberg. To understand the diversity of each island, their distinctive physical, political and socioeconomic challenges must be examined as well as their geography, common historical experiences, participation in the global community, not forgetting the diverse ethnic and racial groups and the continuing struggle for survival and sovereignty. This is why Caribbean Studies is important. Almost all the islands except for the very small ones are self-governed so they all exist on their own ,so why do we study them all? According to the geographical arrangement and most importantly, the settlements that were made after Columbus, the Caribbean islands were seen as one big unit that would provide liquidity for Europe. Each island shares a commonness of how they were colonized, how they fought to become independent and how they are sustaining themselves to compete with the international market. For a people to know where they are going, they must know where they came from, who they are now in order to shape their future. Many different events took place in the islands that changed the islands and their people. It is seen throughout history that the Caribbean people fought for whatever the wanted from the Indigenous people to African slaves for freedom to the Black citizens for independence of colonial rule. The independence of Haiti in 1804, mobilized the other countries in and around the Caribbean to fight for freedom. In Grenada, through Sir Eric Matthew Gary, she got her independence after long debates. Independence enabled the islands to be self-relying to make decisions on their owns so that the people today can choose what they do on a daily basis. Because of what happened many years ago, we can enjoy these benefits. This is why Caribbean Studies is important.

Toni Morrison s Beloved And The Ghosts Of Slavery ...

In the novel Beloved, Toni Morrison develops character Beloved as an allegorical figure to embody slavery’s horrific past and the lasting impact that unresolved past trauma has upon the present. Morrison develops the character Beloved to represent all the unremembered and untold stories of slavery and to further the message that we must maintain a collective memory of slavery in order to pursue a hopeful future. Morrison develops Beloved as a character through her interactions with other characters in the novel and they way in which they interact with their past trauma. In Lina Krumholz’s The Ghosts of Slavery: Historical Recovery in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, she comments on Morrison’s construction of a parallel between individual and community memories and the nature of history making as a healing process. Krumholz’s argues that the individual memories of the characters of the novel function as collective memories as well, just as slavery does in ou r history. It is both deeply personal while being a collective experience, the importance of community and of confrontation of the past therefore presents itself as the theme that Morrison hopes to further. Morrison therefore forms the tragedy of slavery into something that can be manageably remembered and able to handle, while also setting the tone for an optimistic future in the face of this rememory. Beloved’s character is surrounded by a great deal of ambiguity as she functions as the novel’s central enigma. Morrison neverShow MoreRelatedHow Does Toni Morrisons Beloved Reflect a Postcolonial Sensitivity997 Words   |  4 PagesToni Morrison defines her writing as a kind of literary archaeology which relies on memory, history and autobiography. How does her literary practice reflect a postcolonial sensitivity? The archaeologist sifts through the rubble of past civilisations for signs of human activity, in order to construct a picture of how people lived in the past. Like a kind of literary archaeologist, Morrison sifted through historical records and researched the diaries and memoirs of slaves and their owners beforeRead MoreThe And Invisible Man By Toni Morrison And Ralph Ellison1726 Words   |  7 Pagesthe African American race has battled great social injustices. From slavery to freedom, being property to owning property, African Americans have fought their way to be a part of equal justice. For many black individuals, their identity was non-existent, stripped away, leaving them powerless due to white power. Race, class, and economic standing are all social issues that are prominent in both Beloved and Invisible Man. Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison are both American novelists who have created emotional