Meiosis - Definition and Examples in Rhetoric

(1) To belittle, use a degrading epithet or nickname, often through a trope of one word. A concise form of invective. (2) A kind of humorous understatement that dismisses or belittles, especially by using terms that make something seem less significant than it really is or ought to be.Plural meioses; adjectival form, meiotic. See Examples and Observations, below. Etymology:From the Greek, diminish Definition #1: Examples and Observations Meiosis, often achieved through a trope of one word, may range from bitter scorn to light derision.​(Sister Miriam Joseph, Shakespeares Use of the Arts of Language, 1947)The unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.(Oscar Wilde on fox hunting)rhymester for poetgrease monkey for mechanicshrink for psychiatristslasher for surgeonright-wing nutjobs for Republicans; left-wing pansies for Democratspecker checker for urologistambulance chaser for personal injury lawyershort-order chef for morgue workertreehugger for environmentalistKing Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft excalibur from the bosom of the water.Peasant: Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Power derives from the masses not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.King Arthur: Be quiet!Peasant: You cant expect to wield supreme power because some watery tart threw a sword at you.King Arthur: Shut up!Peasant: If I went around saying I was an emperor because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me . . ..(Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975) Definition #2: Examples and Observations Meiosis is a statement that depicts something important in terms that lessen or belittle it. [Woody] Allens fictitious graduation speech . . . alternated between hyperbole and meiosis. Discussing the crisis of alienation in society, Allen remarked. Man has seen the ravages of war, he has known natural catastrophes, he has been to singles bars. Commenting on the benefits of democracy, Allen observed, In a democracy at least, civil liberties are upheld. No citizen can be wantonly tortured, imprisoned, or made to sit through certain Broadway shows. The pattern in each case was the same. Allen introduced a serious topic, began to treat it in a dignified and elevated manner, but ended on a note of understatement.(James Jasinksi, Sourcebook on Rhetoric. Sage, 2001)In The Black Cat [by Edgar Allen Poe] the narrator . . . wants desperately to believe that the narrative he is about to relate is not one of supernatural vengeance on the part of demonic cats and punishing gods; rather, he calls it--again using meiosis--a homely narrative. By homely he means ordinary. Through meiosis he attempts to downplay the events and their possible implications for his soul. When he mentions the apparent shape of the white fur on the second cat as resembling a gallows, he again tries to deemphasize the significance of the phenomenon by referring to it as one of the merest chimeras it would be possible to conceive. He frantically wants to believe that the gallows on the cats fur is a mere trick of the imagination and not a supernatural portent of his doom.(Brett Zimmerman, Edgar Allan Poe: Rhetoric and Style. McGill-Queens University Press, 2005) Pronunciation: MI-o-sis Also Known As: diminutio, minution, extenuatio, figure of extenuation, prosonomasia, the disabler, the nicknamer

Graduation Speech School Start Time - 871 Words

School Start Time High school students spend seven hours a day in school, five days a week. To put this into a greater perspective that is 35 hours a week, 154 hours a month and approximately 1,358 hours a year. Numerous high school students feel that delaying the school start time by one hour would benefit their grades and mood because of sleep gained. It is important for those challenging the current start time to take into consideration that one who spends 35 hours a week in school may be sleep deprived due to other reasons, such as time management. High school starting an hour later would not be beneficial because scheduling would be difficult for parents and time would be drained from extra activities. There are various alternatives for tired students other than a later start time. In Douglas County most of the high schools are currently start at 7:45 am and end at 2:50 pm. This start time is very helpful to parents that drop off their children at school before work. According to the U.S. Department of Labor most Americans that work full time arrive to work at eight o’clock in the morning. With school starting an hour later most working parents would find transporting their children to school onerous because they would already be at work. Of course, one could argue that students could drive themselves or take the bus. Though, not all families can afford a third car for their teenager. According to Heritage.org 31 percent of American families have two or moreShow MoreRelatedGraduation Speech : School Start Times1192 Words   |  5 PagesSchool Start Times At six in the morning a loud blaring Beep Beep Beep blares from a teenager’s alarm clock followed by an agitated smack of a hand. Everyday, students stumble into school stressed out and exhausted. High schools around the nation begin around seven in the morning causing students to fall asleep in classes. For years this has been occurring, but now it is time for change. All high schools should start later in the morning to improve the overall experience of schooling. In medicalRead MoreAnalysis Of Graduation By Maya Angelou960 Words   |  4 PagesEssay on â€Å"Graduation† by Maya Angelou Racial segregation was very dominant in the United States in the mid nineteen hundreds. This is the time that Maya Angelou was graduating from the eighth grade in Stamps Arkansas. The theme of racial segregation is well shown by the how different the schools of the African-Americans was compared to that of whites in the essay â€Å"Graduation† by Maya Angelou. In the essay the Angelou points out that Lafayette County Training School didn’t have a lawn, hedges, tennisRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Graduation Essay1022 Words   |  5 Pages My Graduation A Graduation ceremony is one of the major steps in life, it marks the start of new changes in our lives. It ushers us into growing up and be responsible for our actions. It marks a new dawn of embracing life experiences, cultivation of good work ethics and eventually culminates in chasing our dreams. On my graduation day, I woke up to the sweet aroma of the breakfast my sister was making. I sat down to eat when the food was ready. It took me about 2 hours to finishRead MoreGraduation by Maya Angelou Critique1386 Words   |  6 PagesEnglish 121 SL May 9, 2012 â€Å"Graduation† Critique â€Å"Graduation† was written by Maya Angelou in 1969. Angelou was born in Missouri, but after her parents divorced, she was sent to live with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. While in Arkansas, Angelou attended the Lafayette County Training School. The school is the setting for her essay â€Å"Graduation.† Angelou graduated from eighth grade at Lafayette with top honors and went on to graduate from high school. After high school, Angelou wrote over thirtyRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Maya Angelou s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings 1036 Words   |  5 PagesFily Thiam English 002 Mrs. Vilato 9 April 2015 Rhetorical Analysis on â€Å"Graduation† by Maya Angelou In Graduation, a chapter in her autobiography â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings†, Maya Angelou talks vividly about her middle school graduation in the segregated South. Graduation is an important milestone in most people’s life, as they get a degree and move on to their next level, something better and more important, with the hope that they can use their new knowledge to achieve their life goals andRead MoreAnalysis Of Graduation By Maya Angelou766 Words   |  4 Pagesto win the journey of our life. In the essay, Graduation, Maya Angelou states about the unfair treatment of whites against the African Americans during the graduation. There are situations in life where we feel discriminated but no matter what we have to gain the strength to prosper. In this article, Angelou talks about her eight-grade graduation experience. Angelou mainly focused about the unfair treatment of African Americans during that time because they were not values on their educationalRead More Life Lessons in Maya Angelous Graduation Essay1709 Words   |  7 PagesLife Lessons in Maya Angelous Graduation Throughout life we go through many stepping stones, Maya Angelous autobiographical essay Graduation, was about more than just moving on to another grade. The unexpected events that occurred during the ceremony enabled her to graduate from the views of a child to the more experienced and sometimes disenchanting views of an adult. Upon reading the story there is an initial feeling of excitement and hope which was quickly tarnished with the abrupt awarenessRead MoreMaya Angelous the Graduation1596 Words   |  7 PagesMaya Angelou’s The Graduation Throughout life we go through many stepping stones, Maya Angelous autobiographical essay Graduation, was about more than just moving on to another grade. The unexpected events that occurred during the ceremony enabled her to graduate from the views of a child to the more experienced and sometimes disenchanting views of an adult. Upon reading the story there is an initial feeling of excitement and hope which was quickly tarnished with the awareness of human prejudicesRead MoreGraduation Speech : Graduating High School1034 Words   |  5 PagesGraduating high school was a big defining moment in my life. It is a step closer to the real world, a step closer to my future and that is what most exciting about leading up to this day. Preparation to graduating high school was difficult for me there was a lot of ups and downs, but it got easier once I took things more serious and not as a joke. Having that feeling of knowing that your family members are proud of you is an amazing feeling and having my grandmother explain to me how she felt onRead MoreLanguage as a Tool in Maya Angelous quot;graduationquot; Essay688 Words   |  3 Pages In Maya Angelous Essay `Graduation the use of language as a navigational tool is very evident, as it leads from emotion to emotion on the occasion of the authors graduation from eighth grade. Over the course of the work, Angelou displays 3 major emotions simply based from the language she uses; excitement, disappointment and finally, redemption The beginning of this work focuses on speaking of excitement and joy due to the upcoming eighth grade graduation, The children in Stamps trembled

Human Beings Free Essays

Human beings live in a world which is characterized by a variety of preferences and opinions about various facets of life. For instance, people hold different views and opinions about certain aspects of life, such as attitudes towards a given orientation in life. These different opinions impose some limitations to the study beforehand. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Beings or any similar topic only for you Order Now In order to obtain a clear explanation of these differences, firstly we need to establish the exact meaning of the world â€Å"culture†. Hofstede (2003 ) defines culture as the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes members of the human group from each other. This definition brings out the fact that cultural orientations are different and they vary from place to place. What comes out from this definition is that culture is learned. Culture represents a link between our past and future generations, which we come from. This invariably implies that the way we perceive our sexual orientation is a total sum of what the society has made us to be (Ortner, 1981). Researchers agree that gender expectations vary across cultures, as much as understandings of our sexual orientation (Bohan, 1996 ), which imposes a limitation on the study of gender and sexuality. The study of gender and sexuality has observed debates, which lead to the conclusion that there are two dimensions with regard to gender and sexuality. These dimensions are the biological essentialism versus social constructionist (Broeck, 2005). This happens because scholars have observed that gender and sexuality appear to be fluid concepts (Broeck, 2005). This had specific implications of the general outlook of the gender and sexuality subject. Essentially, this has led to the view that gender and sexuality should not just be viewed as a biological reality. Instead, constructionists have perpetuated the notion that sexual identities are the product of the society which brings a major limitation, when it comes to studying this subject (Broeck, 2005). According to this debate, there is a gap that has been brought about by the conflict in terms, which have been utilized. Essentially, this has been caused by the fact that the majority of the people have the tendency to look at gender and sexuality in terms of black and white. This at times is usually at loggerheads (Broeck, 2005). Eventually, this would pose to be a major limitation in the study. Furthermore, owing to the rapid changes and transformation, which took place in this century, there had been a shift with regard to sexual orientations. For instance, the concept of homosexuality, which had arisen in the mid nineteenth century, transformed certain acts of sexuality into a certain form of sexual identity (Rust, 1992). Although anatomy and physiology explain the biological bases of human sexuality, most people’s sexual experiences also involve beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and social behaviors (Gordon, Eric, ; Kelli, 2000). The way how we behave either as male or female is a direct product of what the society has trained us to think and behave with regard to our sexuality. The roles which are derived from our social orientation with regard to our aspect of sex are referred to gender. Gender roles refer to a collection of attitudes and behaviors that are considered to be normal and appropriate in a given culture (Samovar, Porter, ; McDaniel, 2008). It is also important to note that out of these roles certain inclinations, which are related to our sexuality in light of the society, are created. The gender roles establish sex-related behavioral expectations, which people are expected to fulfill, being normally fashioned about the age of two years (Gordon, Eric, ; Kelli, 2000). In conclusion, it is important to note that gender socialization is understood as a complex psychological and social construction, but not as a simple extension of anatomically based reproductive capacities or brain physiology (Anita ; Schwarzbaum, 2010). This implies that we eventually obtain the roles, which we tend to play in the society based on the social environment, where we find ourselves earlier in life. However, in spite of all cultural changes that currently take place, there are still a lot of things that should be done in line with the subject of gender and sexuality. How to cite Human Beings, Papers

Out, Out Essay Example For Students

Out, Out Essay Out, OutOut, Out-Out, Out by Robert Frost is a poem about a young boy who dies as a result of cutting his hand using a saw. In order to give the reader a clear picture of this bizarre scenario, Frost utilizes imagery, personification, blank verse, and variation in sentence length to display various feelings and perceptions throughout the poem.Frost also makes a reference to Macbeths speech in the play by Shakespear called Macbeth which is somewhat parallel to the occurrences in Out, Out-. Frost begins the poem by describing a young boy cutting some wood using a buzz-saw.The setting is Vermont and the time is late afternoon. Frost uses different stylistic devices throughout this poem. He is very descriptive using things such as imagery and personification to express his intentions in the poem. Frost uses imagery when he describes the setting of the place. He tells his readers the boy is standing outside by describing the visible mountain ranges and sets the time of day by saying that the sun is setting. Frost gives his readers an image of the boy feeling pain by using contradicting words such as rueful and laugh and by using powerful words such as outcry. He also describes the blood coming from the boys hand as life that is spilling. To show how the boy is dying, Frost gives his readers an image of the boy breathing shallowly by saying that he is puffing his lips out with his breath. When talking about the saw, Frost uses personification and repetition. Personification is seen when he says that at times it can run light and at others it has to bear a load, talking as if the saw was a person which had to carry something. Repetition is used to help build an image of the saws movements where the words snarled and rattled are repeated several times throughout the poem to display an image of the saw moving back and forth. Frosts variation in the lengths of his sentences almost reflect the boys life for when the boy is still alive and healthy, the lengths of Frosts sentences are much longer then they are when the boy is dying. The poems title, Out, Out- is taken from the Shakespeare play Macbeth where the main character, Macbeth, speaks after he is told that his wife is dead. Using a simile to compare Lady Macbeths death to a candle which is blown out he says Out, out, brief candle! Both Lady Macbeths death and the death of the young boy from Frosts poem are tragedies. They are both about people whos lives come to an end before it is their time to die, before theyve lived a long life and aged to die a natural death. Comparing them to a candle is suitable because just like a candles light can go in a matter of seconds caused by a simple blow, their lives ended in a matter of seconds. A candle that leaves darkness once it is not shining any longer, can be compared to the darkness left in the hearts of the families of Lady Macbeth and of the boy after their death. .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f , .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .postImageUrl , .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f , .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f:hover , .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f:visited , .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f:active { border:0!important; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f:active , .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u72e299c617c3bb6b3ec81d1f993df27f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Learning To Flycast Essay Saying brief candle clearly compares to the boy, who dies before he even gets the chance to reach manhood. Another comparison that can be made between Lady Macbeth and the boy, is the way that after their