Great Gatsby Wt2 Essay example - 838 Words

Writing Task 2 on Great Gatsby Question: How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? The Great Gatsby presents different social groups to embody and transmit the idea that each class has it’s own problems to prevail over and unhappiness transcends over all the social classes. The problems in each group, despite the social stratification, reveal the instability of the world they live in. The three classes are old money, new money, and no money in which all three believe their own rules of survival in society and enforce boundaries between social classes. Fitzgerald uses the similarities between the poor and the rich to reinforce his opinion and his characterization of the upper class. The new rich represented by†¦show more content†¦Since they were born into money they do not work and rarely do they ever speak about business instead they entertain themselves with whatever pleases them. The old rich lack the ability to see the essence of others and themselves due to their superficiality and judgmental attitudes. They scorn the new rich because they do n ot have the elegance and subtlety that the old rich possesses. However what the old rich lack is heart. They are inconsiderate people who use their money to replace emotions and avoid the guilt of hurting other people. The Buchanan’s show this when they buy a bigger house far away and purposely miss Gatsby’s funeral. Their money allows them to remove themselves physically and emotionally from the tragedy they just witnessed. Fitzgerald uses the no money class to make a strong statement as well. Nick although he doesn’t have money proves himself to be an honorable man. Almost immediately social discomfort is characterized by the Buchanan marriage however the affairs and actions of the old rich eventually lead to similarities between the wealthy and the poor. George and Myrtle’s interaction with the wealthy serve as a reinforcement for Fitzgerald’s social commentary on the rich. Myrtle is like Tom and she displays the same qualities that he does. She tries to exert a sort of superiority with her husband just as Tom does with people who he considers inferior to him. Myrtle’s actions cause the rich’s behavior to be seen as absurd and ridiculous by the

Definition and Examples of Pejoration in Language

In linguistics, pejoration is the downgrading or depreciation of a words meaning, as when a word with a positive sense develops a negative one. Pejoration is much more common than the opposite process, called amelioration. Here are some examples and observations from other writers: Silly The word silly is a classic example of pejoration, or gradual worsening of meaning. In early Middle English (around 1200), sely (as the word was then spelled) meant happy, blissful, blessed, fortunate, as it did in Old English. . . . The original meaning was followed by a succession of narrower ones, including spiritually blessed, pious, holy, good, innocent, harmless. . . . As the form (and pronunciation) sely changed to silly in the 1500s, the earlier meanings passed into increasingly less favorable senses such as weak, feeble, insignificant. . . . By the late 1500s, the words use declined to its present-day meaning of lacking good sense, empty-headed, senseless, foolish, as in This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard (1595, Shakespeare, A Midsummer Nights Dream). (Sol Steinmetz, Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meanings. Random House, 2008) Hierarchy Hierarchy shows a similar, though more pronounced, deterioration. Originally applied to an order or a host of angels from the fourteenth century, it has steadily moved down the scale of being, referring to a collective body of ecclesiastical rulers from c. 1619, from whence the similar secular sense develops c.1643 (in Miltons tract on divorce). . . . Today one frequently hears of the party hierarchy, business hierarchies, and the like, denoting only the top of the hierarchy, not the whole order, and conveying the same nuances of hostility and envy implied in elite.(Geoffrey Hughes, Words in Time: A Social History of the English Vocabulary. Basil Blackwell, 1988) Discreet [U]sing language to spin may worsen the meaning of the substituted language, a process linguists call pejoration. That has happened to the previously innocuous adjective discreet, when used in personal columns as a euphemism for illicit sexual meetings. A recent Wall Street Journal article quoted the customer service manager of an online dating service as saying he banned the use of discreet from his service because its often code for married and looking to fool around. The site is for singles only.(Gertrude Block, Legal Writing Advice: Questions and Answers. William S. Hein, 2004) Attitude Let me give one final example of this kind of semantic corrosion--the word attitude. . . . Originally, attitude was a technical term, meaning position, pose. It shifted to mean mental state, mode of thinking (presumably whatever was implied by someones posture). In colloquial usage, it has since deteriorated. Hes got an attitude means hes got a confronting manner (probably uncooperative, antagonistic); something to be corrected by parents or teachers. Whereas once this would have been rendered Hes got a bad attitude or an attitude problem, the negative sense has now become overwhelming.(Kate Burridge, Gift of the Gob: Morsels of English Language History. HarperCollins Australia, 2011)​ Pejoration and Euphemism One specific source of  pejoration is euphemism . . .: in avoiding some taboo word, speakers may use an alternative which in time acquires the meaning of the original and itself falls out of use. Thus, in English, disinformation has replaced lying in some political contexts, where it has recently been joined by being economical with the truth.(April M. S. McMahon, Understanding Language Change. Cambridge University Press, 1999) Generalizations About Pejoration Some few generalizations are possible:Words meaning inexpensive have an inherent likelihood to become negative in connotation, often highly negative. Lat. [Latin] vilis at a good price (i.e. inevitably, low price) commonplace trashy, contemptible, low (the current meaning of It. [Italian], Fr. [French], NE. [Modern English] vile).Words for clever, intelligent, capable commonly develop connotations (and eventually denotations of sharp practice, dishonesty, and so on: . . . NE crafty dishonestly clever is from OE craeftig strong(ly)l skillful(ly) (NHG [New High German] krà ¤ftig strong; the ancient sense strong, strength of this family of words fades very early in the history of English, where the usual senses pertain to skill).NE cunning has very negative connotations in present-day English, but in Middle English it meant learned, skillful, expert . . ..(Andrew L. Sihler, Language History: An Introduction. John Benjamins, 2000) Pronunciation: PEDGE-e-RAY-shun Also Known As: deterioration, degeneration EtymologyFrom the Latin, worse

Topic Tourism Free Essays

Essay on topic â€Å"Tourism†. Tourism is becoming increasingly important as a source of revenue to many countries bit its disadvantages should not be overlooked. What are some of the problems of tourism? Often, people are surprised when they hear that the tourism industry has problems. We will write a custom essay sample on Topic Tourism or any similar topic only for you Order Now Indeed, many perceive tourism as a fascinating kind of rest that allows changing of scenery and lifestyle for a while. Whatever it was, tourism has not only advantages, but also disadvantages, such as pollution of the environment, the problems of population and security.The biggest problem of tourism is air and land pollution. In fact, the more people visiting the country, the more debris could be found there. Tourists go on picnics and visit the monuments and landmarks and everywhere leave trash behind them. Also, tourists often use transport: rent cars or use buses. All this transport produces many different toxic substances that pollute the air. The second problem of fast growing tourism is the problem of population. Some cities, which are very popular for tourists, are not big enough for the number of people, who visit them every year. Because of this, there is a problem of placing these people. Hotels are being built for tourists on the places that once used to be forests or parks.. There are crowds on the streets and traffic jams on the roads. The last problem of tourism, which affects this essay, is a security problem. Moreover, this problem concerns both tourists and indigenous people. After all, a tourist is an easy target for fraudsters and thieves as they are in unfamiliar territory and very often do not know the local language. They are very easy to be cheated or robbed. On the other hand, many criminals are among tourists. because they are in this country permanently, and they are very difficult to catch. In conclusion, tourism is very important sector for many countries. But we should not disregard and its shortcomings. And governments should try to find a solution to these problems; otherwise they can inflict great damage to those countries. How to cite Topic Tourism, Papers