Aphrodite Essay examples - 1167 Words

Aphrodite The image that has been produced over time about the Goddess of Desire, the renowned Aphrodite, is one of a longhaired beauty, riding atop a scallop shell to bestow her beauteous wonders upon the mortal earth and Olympus. This is an icon of femininity and perfection, the most stunning of the already statuesque gods and goddesses. Doves and sparrows are her counterparts as is the sweet and playful Cupid in later Roman myths. However, this seemingly flawless picture of delicacy and sensual delights is far from perfect. In fact, when looked at a little more closely, the mien of Aphrodite becomes distorted, her beauty playing out to actually be her curse. In the next pages we will delve into the true nature of the Love†¦show more content†¦The girdle is not simply an item of clothing; rather it is one that produces an impression of restriction and manipulation. A girdle is worn to make a woman’s figure appear more curvaceous and virile, it is meant to produce attrac tiveness. Correspondingly, Aphrodite is known as an opportunist with very skillful techniques. However her tactics are commonly childish which can only be expected when her weapon is an undergarment. Writes Stephen L. Harris and Gloria Platzner of California State University, â€Å"Aphrodite is variously redefined as a flirt who seduces men for the fun of it, as a mistress or lover, or as a whore. Consequently, she remains alluring, but her power is drastically diminished: in a world in which marriage is sanctified, she has no legitimate social place† (Harris Platzner pg. 98). So it is such that despite an outward presence of incomparability, Aphrodite falls despite herself into the common role of the beautiful temptress. The nature of her myth is much in the same trend as the biblical figures of Jezebel, Delilah and perhaps even Eve. Her femininity is her flaw and her curse. Perhaps it is unfair to put all of the blame on Aphrodite herself. After all mythical beings are designed to serve as a representation of the mortal race, only on a higher scale. The myth of Aphrodite, in the light of the symbol, is a statement on the calamity of the female race. That is to say that perhaps in the creation ofShow MoreRelatedAphrodite1027 Words   |  5 PagesAPHRODITE (a-fro-DYE-tee; Roman name Venus) was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was also a protectress of sailors. The poet Hesiod said that Aphrodite was born from sea-foam. Homer, on the other hand, said that she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. When the Trojan prince Paris was asked to judge which of three Olympian goddesses was the most beautiful, he chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena. The latter two had hoped to bribe him with power and victory in battle, but AphroditeRead MoreThe Characteristic Of Aphrodite871 Words   |  4 Pagesof the goddess that I chose is Aphrodite, a Greek mythology goddess of love, desire, and beauty. A characteristic that describes Aphrodite in a good way is joyful because she brought happiness and laughter to the mortals. Beauty is the second characteristic, she was very irresistible and brought beauty to everyone. An evil characteristic of Aphrodite is that she is disloyal. She did not love her husband, Hephaestus, so she decided to have an affair with Ares. Aphrodite is jealous, she did not wantRead MoreAphrodite: Goddess of Love702 Words   |  3 PagesAphrodite: Goddess of Love When anyone with a general knowledge of Greek mythology hears her name, their mind automatically shifts to images of beauty. Beauty is what Aphrodite stands for. She is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Aphrodite has a very loving, compassionate nature. Due to her nature, she has numerous powers. They include, but are not limited to, influencing birth, life, love, death and fate. She uses her beauty to her advantage and with it can leave her lover defenselessRead MoreAphrodite And The Victorian Era2248 Words   |  9 PagesAphrodite who is also referred to as Venus, was hugely admired in the Victorian-era and appeared to have kept much of her respected status that she had carried through with her from the 5th Century Greek and Roman mythology. Aphrodite from an early century is the goddess of love and beauty and is the subject to many art and literature forms in the Victorian-era. What Briton’s in the Victorian-era wrote about Aphrodite and how they illustrat ed her indicates what the average, educated Victorian-eraRead MoreEssay on Hera and Aphrodite1947 Words   |  8 PagesHera and Aphrodite. Two goddesses on two sides of the Trojan War. Both of them have their own personalities, and their own agendas. The two of them do have certain similarities. Both Hera and Aphrodite seem to believe in the cause they are fighting for. They do, however have very different ways about getting what they want. In The Illiad, both of these goddesses are on the opposing sides (as I stated before). Hera fights on the side of the Acheans, where Aphrodite has taken sides with the TrojansRead MoreAthena And Aphrodite : Greek Mythology920 Words   |  4 PagesAthena and Aphrodite, two of the most well-known goddess’ from Ancient Greek mythology. Athena is the goddess of war strategy and wisdom, she never married or had relationships. Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, she had a lot of relationships and had several children. Besides both of them being extremely popular and worshiped goddess’ it seems like these two goddess’ have nothing else in common. However, Athena and Aphrodite have a lot of similarities between the two of them. Some similaritiesRead MoreAn Analysis Of The Torso Of Aphrodite 870 Words   |  4 Pagespieces in the exhibit. In this paper, I will be describing The Torso of Aphrodite, using my own viewpoints and the elements of formal art analysis, in order to explain the uniqueness when compared to other pieces in The Classical World exhibit. The Torso of Aphrodite was constructed in the 1st century A.D. and is made entirely of marble. The torso used to belong to a life-sized version statue of The Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. From the moment I saw this piece, I knew I was attracted to it in aRead MoreAphrodite And Hera Mythology Essay817 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent. For example the goddesses were seen as insanely beautiful but also vain. Two examples of this are Aphrodite and Hera, who were beautiful but very envious. These goddess were viewed upon as selfish because of their habits of being jealous of mortal maidens. In Aphrodites case, she was jealous of the human, Psyche, because the mortals saw her as so beautiful that was even more so than Aphrodite herself. This led to Aphrodites temples being neglected and her favorite towns falling in ruins. InRead MoreAphrodite : The Standard Of Femininity And Mortality Essay2220 Words   |  9 Pages Aphrodite: the Standard of Femininity and Mortality in the Iliad In the story of the Iliad, an epic focusing on mortality and its flaws, the immortal gods often contrast with the tragic and heroic nature of the story . No god shows this more than Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexual relations. Her appearances on the battlefield are few and far in between, but when she does appear it leaves a lasting impression on our mind, since she acts so differently than the honor-filled men of the epicRead MoreHomers Relationship With Paris And Aphrodite1737 Words   |  7 Pagesfirst place† Under the leadership of Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon, the Greeks fight around Troy for ten years before finally succeeding in destroying the city and regaining Helen. But who was Helen and what was her relationship with Paris and Aphrodite? Is the Helen that is portrayed in pop culture today still representative of the one put forth by Homer in the Iliad? I will begin to answer these questions and explain how these relationships help to define her by utilizing source material from

Essay Emotion in T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred...

Emotion in T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock In his poem â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,† T.S. Eliot subtly conveys a wide variety of Prufrock’s emotions; he creates pathos for the speaker by employing the â€Å"objective correlative,† which Eliot defines as â€Å"a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events [that] shall be the formula of that particular emotion† (â€Å"Hamlet and His Problems†). The first stanza introduces Prufrock’s isolation, as epitomized metaphorically by â€Å"half-deserted streets† (4): while empty streets imply solitude, Eliot’s diction emphasize Prufrock having been abandoned by the other â€Å"half† needed for a relationship or an â€Å"argument† (8). Hoping for a companion, Prufrock speaks to the reader when†¦show more content†¦The â€Å"eyes† (55) and â€Å"arms† (62) that Prufrock claims to â€Å"have known† are synecdoches for women; since he does not say he is familiar with their hearts, which would metaphorically imply experience with their love, Prufrock only knows women physically. He gives one explanation for this by noting the â€Å"perfume† and â€Å"dress† (65) that make him â€Å"digress† (66) from presumably his goal: instead of fostering relationships, Prufrock focuses on sexual/sensual aspects. In spite of this, Eliot provides insight to Prufrock d esiring more than physical intimacy through the repeated mention of meals: â€Å"toast and tea† (34), â€Å"tea and cakes and ices† (79), â€Å"marmalade† (88), â€Å"tea cups† (102); these references indicate a wish to no longer dine alone, and Prufrock saying, â€Å"Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me† exemplifies his aspiration for domestic life. Eliot explains Prufrock’s isolation by hinting at the man’s anxiety. When Prufrock says, â€Å"There will be time to murder and create,† (29), he likely refers to the elimination of possibilities and the manifestation of a consequent situation and/or problem; he could refer to, for example, how best to use the time â€Å"before†¦toast and tea† (34), meaning breakfast, i.e. a night. Copulating would â€Å"murder† the opportunity of talking all night and could â€Å"create† a problem in the form of an illegitimate child, while sleeping would eliminate any options, thus forcing Prufrock toShow MoreRelatedThe Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock1647 Words   |  7 Pagescan be seen in T.S. Eliot’s work The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The main character, Prufrock, plans to ask the woman he loves the overwhelming question of marriage, but due to his pessimistic outlook, he became hesitant and self conscious. Surges of insecurity arise, and instead of proposing his love, Prufrock delays the question and spends the night talking nonsense to avoid the situation. In the end, Prufrock’s insecurities and fear of rejection alter his feelings of love into a sense ofRead MoreAnalysis Of The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock1371 Words   |  6 PagesThe dramatic monologue, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, is a short poem written by the Nobel Prize winner, and scholar T.S. Eliot. He wrote this poem and published it in the Poetry Magazine in 1915, while he was still in college at Washington University in St. Louis. Eliot is one of the most important English- language writers of the 20th century, and he lived in St Louis at an early age being raised by his mother. His mother was both loving and manipulative, and from that, a lonely and strictRead MoreTheme Of The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock1230 Words   |  5 PagesThe dramatic monologue, â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock†, is a short poem written by the Nobel Prize winner, and scholar T.S. Eliot. He wrote this poem and published it in the Poetry Magazine in 1915, while he was still in college at Washington University in St. Louis. Eliot is one of the most important English- language writers of the 20th century, and he lived in St Louis at an early age being raised by his mother. His mother was both loving and manipulative, and from that a lonely and strictRead MoreA Competitive Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1014 Words   |  4 Pageswere T.S. Eliot who wrote his very well-known poem, â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† (1915), and F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote his famous novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). Both Eliot and Fitzgerald criticized the spiritual emptiness in their society by revealing their characters inability to communicate, to love, and to see the truth about their own lives. Eliot and Fitzgeralds characters are unable to communicate because of their spiritual emptiness. In T.S. Eliots â€Å"The Love Song of J. AlfredRead MoreThe Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock Analysis872 Words   |  4 PagesT.S Eliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† is a literary work that entails the life of an indecisive, intellectual man of great solitude. The beginning of the poem sets a disillusioned and nostalgic tone of the poem. It vividly recounts some of Prufrock’s dealings with various women, who took an interest in Renaissance artist Michelangelo. It further elaborates on the yellow fog that covers the windows to his social life of the outside world. Prufrock appears to be a middle-aged, modern manRead MoreT. S. Eliots Poetic Devices Essay1038 Words   |  5 PagesT.S. Eliots Poetical Devices T.S. Eliot was one of the great early 20th Century poets. He wrote many poems throughout his career including The Waste Land(1922), The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock(1917), and Ash Wednesday(1930). Throughout his poems, he uses the same poetic devices to express emotion and give an added depth to his poetry and act like a trademark in his works. One of the devices used throughout is his personification of nature. The second device he often uses is allusionsRead MoreEssay on T.S. Eliot704 Words   |  3 PagesT.S. Eliot T.S. Eliot is said to be one of the most influential modernist poets of our time. His poetry, although very complex is the subject of literary classes and discussions around the world. His poems â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† and â€Å"The Waste Land† are not only alike in his literary style, but also share the same theme of unsuccessful male and female relationships. Eliot experienced a very unsuccessful relationship with the opposite sex when he was married to a drug-addictedRead MoreAnalysis Of The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock1231 Words   |  5 Pages T.S. Eliot was an outstanding author and an exemplary representation of the ideas of modernism. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, despite being one of T.S Eliots earliest publications, still manages to remain one of the most famous. He uses this poem to not only draw out the psychological aspect of members of modern society, but also to draw out the aspect of the time that he lived in. The spe aker of this poem is a modern man who feels alone, isolated, and incapable of making decisive actionsRead MoreArtistic Expression: Poems Speak to Emtions and Capture Feelings963 Words   |  4 Pagesof artistic expression; Poems speak to emotions and capture feelings. There is no right format of a poem, but yet a world of possibilities. Instead being unchangeable poems are innately open to interpretation; they should be spoken out loud in order to be â€Å"heard†, convey truth and cause impact. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is an extremely meaningful poem; it is one of Elliot’s best-known works and without a doubt a masterpiece (Hillis). T.S. Eliot introduces the poem with a quoteRead Moreâ€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† by T.S. Eliot is a widely studied and analyzed modernist1300 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† by T.S. Eliot is a widely studied and analyzed modernist poem. This poem is one that many high school students are subjected to, leading to an overall displeasure for â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.† However, those that revisit the poem are more inclined to enjoy and analyze the poem, finding an interest in the character of J. Alfred Prufrock. Charles C. Walcutt is one of the many individuals fueled to provide a deeper analysis of this text and in his contribution

Corrections Trends Evaluation Paper free essay sample

Corrections have existed throughout society for many years and continued to change and evolve in the United States reflecting society’s values and ideals throughout the centuries. In the criminal justice system, corrections exist in more than one form. Not only do corrections refer to jails and prison systems but they also pertain to community-based programs, such as probation, parole, halfway houses, and treatment facilities. Past, present, and future trends in regard to the development and operation of institutional and community-based corrections vary between states but corrections have grown immensely since the early 1800s and have continued to expand over time. Corrections are adamant to continue to expand into the future because crime is not slowing down so there will remain a strong need for corrections throughout society. The subject of this paper pertains to research of past, present, and future trends in the development and operation of corrections. In some ways corrections are similar to the operation trends of two decades ago. In other ways the development of corrections has come far compared to corrections in the beginning. Other subjects of the paper include current and future issues for prisons and prison administrators and an explanation for why these issues overwhelm corrections. A last topic for discussion is the roles of alternate corrections as a developing trend. Conditions in the early era were inhumane because of prisoners starving, and trends of punishment were in the form of physical punishment. Examples of this were punishments, such as prisoners hanged, tortured, beheaded, or mutilated. This punishment was popular in England, but it had an effect on its American predecessors. Although the conservative e trend that emerged in the 1970s continued to dominate justice system policy the debate between punishment and treatment brought new questions about (Muraskin amp; Roberts, 2009, pp. 263). Over the years and into the future many still wonder the dominate method in reducing the number of criminals in the department of corrections. The American colonies used means of a corporal punishment just as the motherlands (Gaines amp; Miller, 208, pp. 313). The system brutally executed citizens who had violated any law. However, not all colonial administrators adhered to a brutal punishment, such as the death penalty. â€Å"The Great Law† ensured any victim a restitution of property or goods, given by the felon (pp. 313). This code, based on Quaker ideals and humanity and rehabilitation, by William Penn was introduced. Although â€Å"The Great Law† still allowed the death penalty, most felons who could not pay restitution to their victims were not executed but were sent to prison where they worked. This exceptional code, in William Penn’s case gained attention by other American colonies. After Penn’s death, Pennsylvania, The center of prison reform, opened its very first penitentiary in Philadelphia (Johnston, 2011). This initiated a chain reaction and other states looked to Pennsylvania as an example for reform. They looked to the penitentiary as a hope of rehabilitating the criminal spirit. It helped to treat and discipline prisoners rather than physically harm them. The silence in a penitentiary was meant to force prisoners to think about their crimes, and weigh the benefits against the consequences. Although the silence treatment was successful, many inmates brought into the penitentiaries and had to share rooms as a result of crowded conditions. This happened at the Walnut Street Prison Penitentiary, and it ended with overcrowded conditions and excessive cost. The prison eventually shut down. Although the prison was shut down, many states continued to use the penitentiary system. If overcrowding occurred it just meant building new penitentiaries. The penitentiary system was important because it influenced later concepts. Such as the idea of separate confinement, which kept inmates separated in individual cells (Gaines amp; Miller. 2008, pp. 314). These prisoners had contact with religious instructors known as clergy or prison officials only. Another concept introduced was the idea of reform and progress. Inmates who behaved well and followed rules climb a ladder and once at the top may qualify for early release from confinement. The history and structure of prisons and prison administrators has changed immensely over the years. Society today faces the increased probability of incarceration for offenders and inmates serve more time for crimes in the present-day compared to the length of incarceration several years ago. This is in part because of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, which caused the length of time served by federal convicts for their crimes to rise significantly (Gaines amp; Miller, 2008, pp. 316). With more offenders going to prison for longer stays many prisons face overcrowding conditions. The prison overcrowding problem contributes to several issues currently facing prisons and prison administrators. Prison overcrowding is a current issue that without some extreme solutions will continue to plaque the entire department of corrections well into the future. Over the past decade the prison population continues to rise sharply. Stricter laws, harsher punishment, high rates of recidivism, and higher levels of drug related crimes contribute to the rapid growth of incarcerated offenders. Prison overcrowding almost always has a negative effect on inmates and prison administration or staff. Overcrowding leads to higher rates of illness, so in turn prison administrators see an increase in health care costs. Limited more are resources and the likelihood of recidivism rates is higher when prisons reach a maximum capacity population. Another current and future issue of concern for prisons and prison administrators stemming from overcrowding is prison violence. Prison researcher Stephen C. Light found that when conditions such as overcrowding worsen. Inmate misconduct often increases (Gaines amp; Miller, 2008, pp. 340). Prisoners often use violence as a way to show power or to control other inmates. Prison violence is a means of surviving for some inmates who think of violence as a deterrent against victimization or violence to acquire money or sexual favors. The correctional officers also have to resort to violence as a form of discipline or controlling prison gangs and riots. Funding is another major issue facing prisons and prison administration currently and will continue into the future. The operational cost to house inmates must stay with the limits of an assigned budget. Currently a majority of prisons operate under state and federal governments, unlike the past when private prisons were more common. Private prisons were often more cost-efficient because of labor costs, competitive bidding, and less red tape involved with private prisons. Prison administration and staff place themselves at risk daily for a paycheck; therefore wages must be in a prison budget. Operating costs for electric and water is essential and rises as the inmate population increases. Prisoners have rights to three meals a day and prison budgets must provide these rights. Another necessity in the budget for prisons and prison administrators is the need to rehabilitate and reform inmates. Counselors, doctors, and teachers are necessary inside prisons to attempt to reduce the number of repeat offenders in the prison system. Several alternate correction systems play a role as developing trends in society today. With many issues facing correctional institutions today the developing trends and roles of community-based corrections are becoming more common. Community corrections are being framed in terms of alternative sanctions but a slow pace (Muraskin amp; Roberts, 2009, pp. 263). The emphasis of community corrections is on controlling punishment and retribution potential (263). The main reason for community-based program is that the cost to place an offender on probation is less than the cost to house an offender in prison. The goal of probation is to give an offender the opportunity to stay out of trouble as opposed to prison. In a sense probation is a second chance for offenders to stay in the community and maintain freedom under supervision. Day reporting centers, half way houses, and electronic monitoring are other examples of community-based corrections that prevent an offender from incarceration in a prison. The goals of these corrections are to allow offenders to stay in the community and maintain employment with special conditions. Community-based programs save funding and space in correctional facilities while recognizing that offenders do need some supervision and discipline to remain in the general population of the community. Corrections have existed throughout society for many years in one form or another. Several types of corrections exist today from jails and prisons to community-based corrections such as probation, halfway houses, and electronic monitoring. Corrections and trends are much different today than in the past and years from then as society evolves changes in corrections are sure to occur. Issues facing corrections, including funding shortages, prison overcrowding, and violence in correctional facilities have worsened over the years and will continue into the future. Community-based programs will continue to make some progress in the correction institutions by improving alternative programs for offenders, but society will never be crime free and therefore corrections will always be necessary.

The Significance of Language

Table of Contents Introduction Language and Its Effects Language Can Unite and Isolate Language as a Necessity The Basic Concept: Communication Conclusion Works Cited Introduction Language, identity and power have an interrelationship that has generated debate and discourses that affect not only an individual, but also the larger community from where he comes. In this essay, we will explore the relationship between language and identity. Using Amy Tan’s ‘Mother Tongue, we will look at the importance language and how it affects the lives of people in their communities.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Significance of Language specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Language and Its Effects Reading this story, it comes out clearly that language affects the lives of individuals. It is language that defines who a person is and therefore, plays a role in his or her choices and the lifestyle he or she live s. People use language to view life in different perspectives. In this story, Amy explores how the language she learned affected her life in different ways. She is a daughter to immigrant parents; her mother is shown as a very intelligent woman. She is a source of communication between her mother and those who don’t understand her. Here, Amy has used this story to emphasize that someone is not less intelligent just because he or she can not speak perfect English like those who are native speakers. It is rare to get two people who speak the same exact language, even those who think they do so, fail to notice the variations in their language because they are used to it. Amy is of Chinese decent, and therefore, language played a major role in her family as she struggled to fit into the American society with a mother who spoke â€Å"limited English† (Tan 78). This story reflects the lives of many Americans who are natural citizens of the United States. I am sure there are many people out there who have parents with their own way of speaking and comprehension of the English language as did Amy. This does not in any way reduce the intelligence of such parents, but they are forced to depend on their children for translations during communications. This sometimes makes children to be ashamed by their parents, just as Amy did when she joined others to describe her mother’s English as ‘Broken â€Å"or â€Å"Fractured† (Tan 78). Language is very special, not just for Amy and immigrants in foreign lands, but for all of us. Language brings people closer to their families in unique ways. Amy agrees with me when she says that language â€Å"can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth† (Tan 76).Advertising Looking for essay on languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Imagine a situation why by you wake up one day to the realization that you have no voice and therefore can not communicate with those around you. This is when you will realize how important language is. To lack a voice means that you are not able to express yourself, communicate or participate in what goes on in your world. Language involves combining specific words in a certain order. This depends on different people where you can find people using the same words but in a different order. What is important is that so long as they are able to communicate, then that order is important to them. Language therefore, helps in empowering a people and helping them establish and define their identity. Language Can Unite and Isolate There is no doubt that through language, people are bound together as one community. However language can also alienate individuals in a community. Sometimes people use language to label others as outsiders. People use language to form stereotypes of others. For instance, in this story Amy tells us that she has often been asked why there arenâ €™t many Asian Americans in American literature. We also learn that there are very few Asian Americans who are enrolled in creative writing. The answer to these questions lies in the formation of stereotypes. Many Asian Americans are known to do well in sciences and mathematics than in English. Their English, as Amy says, is also described as â€Å"broken† or â€Å"limited†. This means that their teachers use these stereotypes to steer them away from writing. They encourage them to take mathematics and sciences course just as they did to Amy. Stereotyping in essence is wrong (Zeng 10). Language does more than just articulating a simple truth, the way one commands language also matters a lot. We have just learned that without language, an individual will be voiceless, but having an imperfect language makes others see one as imperfect. However, those who are fluent in the standard language are seen to be superior to others. This is clearly illustrated in â€Å"mothe r tongue† when Amy gives us examples of how her mother was treated in the community. She says: People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her. (Tan 78)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Significance of Language specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These people treated Amy’s mother in this disrespectful way solely because she spoke English that was simple and with non-native variations which they disparagingly termed as â€Å"broken† or â€Å"fractured† (Tan 78). This reflects what happens in many communities of the world. When people lack the standard skills of a language they are labeled as outsiders and therefore, live under discrimination from those who enjoy the standard language skills in their communities. Language as a Necessity Reading t hrough this story, one gets to understand that acquiring a certain language does not only enable one to be accepted in a community, it also helps in determining one’s individuality. The experience that an individual goes through with language goes a long way in shaping his or her self identity. This is illustrated in this story clearly when Amy tells us about the different Englishes she applies in her daily communication. We see that when communicating with her family she uses the simple form of English, she calls the one her mother uses as broken English, and however, when interacting with people in her personal life, Amy uses a more complex version of the English language. Bond explains further that both accommodation and affirmation can occur to the same content, in other words, there can be different effects language happening to the same type of content (Chen Bond, p.399). She confesses that there were instances in her life when she was embarrassed by the English her mo ther used. However, as she continued to grow, she came to understand how important that English was to her. She says in this story that she realized that her mother’s English was perfectly clear, it was actually her mother tongue. This means that it was this language that helped her make sense of what goes around her. This realization makes her wince whenever she calls her mother’s English as â€Å"broken† or â€Å"fractured†. She does not think that her mother’s English needs any fixing, to her it is whole and sound and therefore terming it broken or fractured when she uses it to communicate with her mum looks unfair (Tan 77). The Basic Concept: Communication Towards the end of this story, Amy tells us that it doesn’t matter what type of English you use, what matters is that you are able to communicate. The different Englishes in her life shaped her into what she later become, a writer, much to her critics disapproval that she couldnâ€℠¢t make a good writer.Advertising Looking for essay on languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is an encouragement to those who are in the same circumstances as Amy that even if they find it hard to speak perfect English, they should never back down from giving their point of view. We have seen that despite her broken English, Amy’s mother helped her to understand English better. It is her mother who encouraged her to become a writer. People have different mother tongues that they were taught when young, but as individuals grow they develop different Englishes which they use as circumstances direct. The language that an individual uses at work is not the same he uses at home or with friends. Language should be seen as a tool for social improvement, through which many people of different backgrounds come together in a cohesive coexistence (Feng 159). Conclusion Tan’s â€Å"Mother Tongue† story tells us that the main purpose of language is to enable people express themselves and also be in a position to share the expression with others. It doesn’t matter what form of the language one uses, so long as it is used to express oneself and others understand the expression, then no one is justified to discriminate against it no matter how broken or fractured the language . Tan’s mother managed to express herself with people in her life using her Broken English, it is this same broken English that shaped Tan into what she is today. Had her mother stooped to intimidation probably Tan wouldn’t have grown up to become a writer. It is a person’s point of view that matters; therefore people should not be intimidated by those who think they know the standard language from giving their points of view. Works Cited Chen, Sylvia Bond, Michael. â€Å"Explaining language priming effects: Further evidence for ethnic affirmation among Chinese-English bilinguals.† Journal of language and social psychology 26.1 (2007): 398-406. Feng, Hui. â€Å"Different languages, different cultures, different language ideologies, dif ferent linguistic models.† Journal of multicultural discourses 4.2 (2009): 151-164. Print. Tan Amy (1990). â€Å"Mother Tongue.† Three penny Review (1990): 76-80. Print. Zeng, Li. â€Å"Diasporic Self, Cultural Other: Negotiating Ethnicity through Transformation in the Fiction of Tan and Kingston.† Language and Literature XXVIII (2003): 1-15. Print. This essay on The Significance of Language was written and submitted by user Adan Moses to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.