Eric Danner
English 101 141343
Eric Shaw
11/16/09
The Meanings of a Word
Analyzing Rhetorical Choices
2. That sentence is an effective opening to the rest of the essay primarily because it shocks the reader with how sudden it is and causes you to read onward with great interest. It is also effective because that sentence sets up the rest of the essay and the point Ms. Naylor is trying to convey to the reader. She is saying that, to her, that word had no meaning in the way she heard it the first time. Words in general are given power by the people that speak them and how they speak them. Black folks, according to the writer, used the word often, but not in the way that the boy in her class did. The boy in her class used it as a term to signify worthlessness or degradation. The people that she grew up around used it more as a term of endearment or a way of describing someone who had distinguished themselves in a way that everyone approved of. Words are given power in inflection, context, tone, and by those that speak the words.
Writing About Issues and Contexts
1. The opening paragraph relates to the topic she is writing about because she is saying that written word is interpreted by the person reading it. At least in the inflection and whatnot. And she seems to say in the essay that a particular word may mean something entirely different when it is typed than when someone actually says it. The reason being, you can hear emotions in the inflection of the words, tone, and context. All of those things are interpreted when they are read.
I very much agree that the consensus gives words power. Words themselves are words. They mean nothing until human beings decide what they mean. Sometimes words mean nothing much when used a certain way and something else entirely another way. Like the word bitch. If you are referring to a female dog then that is true. But in the context of calling a woman that, well you are likely to get a slap to...