Word connotations- "Sick"

What does a word mean? Well, what it means to me doesn’t always equate to what it means to you in all circumstances. Words can have multiple connotations at a time, meaning something positive in one culture, and maybe just a little distance away is a complete insult. You have to be extremely careful of how you use some words when you travel, especially, because a word or gesture that is familiar to you may be an act of violence, for example, in another country. In America, even some words can switch meanings from conversation to conversation. For example, the word ‘sick.’  Sick can have multiple meanings from time to time. It all depends on the context it is used in.

Here are some of the ways that the word sick can be used in different ways:

1.       Sick can mean what it is usually used as and intended for, a person in bad health. It can even mean different things from there, for example, physically sick of mentally sick? If you are physically sick, who’s to tell whether or not it is just a cold or even a terminal illness? It is a broad descriptive word. If one is mentally sick, is it just what some would call ‘sick minded,’ or mental retardation? To describe someone with poor health as sick, you must use more specific and descriptive words. Someone may even be offended if used in a specific circumstance.

2.       Sick can be a hip word, equating to words such as awesome, cool, or even admiration. Somebody may say something is sick to express that they like something, they think it was really cool, in style, or even that they may want something themselves. It is a positive connotation, and generally taken as a compliment.

3.       Sick can equate to the meaning of disgusting, which isn’t taken as a compliment 99% of the time. Sick would generally be a exclamatory term, of adjective. When something ‘disgustin’ is said or done, the word sick may quite likely follow.

Sick isn’t generally a very formal term, but it can be used in either a very serious or loose way. It has multiple connotations.  If not used correctly, it may confuse or even offend somebody. So be careful, in every thing you say and do, especially in an unfamiliar location, and be sure to use it in the right context. Following that rule will make things much easier when trying to find the right word.

Everything is an argument.

Every book has a purpose. Some are obvious and out front, some are difficult to catch. Some books’ puproses are just to entertain, or to tell a story, and some are to persuade.  Some are to inform, and some are to help. However, intentional or not, every book, newspaper article, magazine, or text makes an argument. They inform the reader of something that they need to know, even if it’s not a non-fiction book. This argument can vary greatly, and I’m going to explore some of these areguments and a couple examples of one.

When told to write this blog, I had to analyze the argument from a popular book I have read lately. The problem was,  any book I had read lately was assigned reading. I haven’t been able to read any book out of enjoyment. Anything that you might be able to call a “good read” wasn’t exactly popular. Therefore, I decided to do this blog off of a book I had read after my freshman year, And Their Eyes Were Watching God . To give you a good idea of the events that occurred in this book, here is a summary from Wikipedia.com:

“The main character, an African American woman in her early forties named Janie Crawford, tells the story of her life and journey via an extended flashback to her best friend, Pheoby, so that Pheoby can tell Janie's story to the nosy community on her behalf. Her life has three major periods corresponding to her marriages to three very different men.

Nanny, Janie's grandmother, was a slave who became pregnant by her owner and gave birth to a daughter, Leafy. Though Nanny tries to create a good life for her daughter, Leafy is raped by her school teacher and she becomes pregnant with Janie. Shortly after Janie's birth, Leafy begins to drink and stay out at night. Eventually, she runs away leaving Janie with Nanny. Nanny transfers all the hopes she had for Leafy to Janie. When Janie is sixteen, Nanny sees her kissing a neighborhood boy, Johnny Taylor, and fears that Janie will become a "mule" to some man. Nanny arranges for Janie to marry Logan Killicks, an older man and farmer who is looking for a wife to keep his home and help on the farm. Although Janie was not interested in marriage at that time, her grandmother wanted her to have the kinds of things she never had the chance to have, and by marrying Logan Killicks Janie's grandmother thought it gave her the opportunity to make this possible.[3] Janie has the idea that marriage must involve love, forged in a pivotal early scene where she sees bees pollinating a pear tree, and believes that marriage is the human equivalent to this natural process. Logan Killicks, however, wants a domestic helper rather than a lover or partner, and after he tries to force her to help him with the hard labor of the farm, Janie runs off with the glib Jody (Joe) Starks, who takes her to Eatonville.

Starks arrives in Eatonville to find the residents devoid of ambition, so he arranges to buy more land from the neighboring landowner, hires some local residents to build a general store for him to own and run, and the people of the town appoint him mayor. Janie soon realizes that Joe wants her as a trophy wife. He wants the image of his perfect wife to reinforce his powerful position in town, as he asks her to run the store but forbids her from participating in the substantial social life that occurs on the store's front porch.

After Starks passes away, Janie finds herself financially independent and beset with suitors, some of whom are men of some means or have prestigious occupations, but she falls in love with a drifter and gambler named Vergible Woods who goes by the name of Tea Cake throughout the story. She falls in love with Tea Cake after he plays the guitar for her. She sells the store and the two head to Jacksonville and get married, only to move to the Everglades region ("the muck") soon after for Tea Cake to find work planting and harvesting beans. While their relationship has its ups and downs, including mutual bouts of jealousy, Janie now has the marriage with love that she had wanted.

The area is hit by the great Okeechobee hurricane, and while Tea Cake and Janie survive it, Tea Cake is bitten by a rabid dog while saving Janie from drowning. He contracts the disease himself. He ultimately tries to shoot Janie with his pistol, but she shoots him with a rifle in self-defense. She is charged with murder. At the trial, Tea Cake's black, male friends show up to oppose her, while a group of local white women arrive to support her. The all-white jury acquits Janie, and she gives Tea Cake a lavish funeral. Tea Cake's friends forgive her, and they want her to remain in the Everglades. However, she decides to return to Eatonville, only to find the residents gossiping about her.”

Now that you can understand the plot overview, it will help you understand the argument that I believe the book is inadvertently conveying to its readers.

The author of Their eyes were watching God walks the reader through Janie’s journey towards happiness and how she strives to achieve it. Although it ends quite badly for Janie, she possessed happiness for a while. I believe that The author’s purpose in writing the book was that It is possible to find happiness. It may be a difficult journey, and it may not last forever, but it is achievable.

 To achieve this purpose, The author uses many culturally significant words, phrases and dialects. This helps the reader to better relate to and understand the text. This is crucial as it is necessary for a reader to understand the text to understand the author’s argument.

Just like you can find an argument from reading And their eyes were watching God, and learn a valuable lesson from it, you can find an argument in anything. The argument might not be based off of the author’s intentions, however, but there is always a lesson to be learned. The argument may be a story, for you to learn from the triumphs and or mistakes of the characters, or just an explanation of a lesson that the author wants you to learn.

In conclusion, everything you will read, hear, or say, is a statement that can either be a challenge for someone, or a valuable lesson for another. Everything is an argument.

What does it mean to be a reader?

To be a reader doesn’t mean just to be someone who skims their eyes back and forth across the paper over and over and flips the page every once in a while. You can force someone to read something, as a teacher can require a class to read a book they’re really uninterested in. However, you can’t force a person to actually learn something, be entertained, or finish with a new insight into life. To be able to call someone a reader, that person must be able to refer to themselves a reader. They must want to read, to be interested in a text, and have the desire to gain something from it. If one didn’t learn anything from what they “read,” then they might as well have not even bothered. Therefore, they should not be called a reader.

                On multiple occasions I have been required to read books, poems, or essays for class. Most of the time I understand and I am completely interested. However, at times I can’t focus on the text, or even relate to it. If a writer wants a reader to be able to relate to their work, should I be called a reader on those occasions? I would have to say not. To be called a reader, one must want to and be able to fully understand and potentially gain knowledge or insight from the words on that page.

                I greatly enjoy to read. I deeply enjoy being entertained, learning new things, and gaining new insights, opinions, and perspectives. Reading gives my mind exercise. One can definitely lable me as a reader, even outside the classroom assignments. However, much of the reading I do is non-fiction, as it is a great challenge for me to find a fiction novel that I actually become interested in. It’s even become difficult to become committed to a book lately, as I have large amounts of homework and extracurricular activities. Therefore, I find it practical to read non-fiction, whether it be a newspaper, bibliography, or even a book full of facts. I feel as if I can relate better to non-fiction, as it applies to life and isn’t just a story that stays on the page. I feel as if I can be more confident in calling myself a reader when I read nonfiction.

                Everyone enjoys their own form of entertainment, and everyone enjoys to read different things. While one may enjoy a comic book, someone else may enjoy to read the dictionary itself. I believe that as long as one is engulfed in the text or at least following along and retaining the information within,  no matter it’s title, they should be able to be called a reader. Becoming a reader is much more challenging for some people. Some struggle to read a novel within a month while some can read one a day. Whether we choose to use it or not, the ability to become a reader is a privilege that we can take advantage of to be entertained, learned new concepts, and gain knowledge that you may not be able to get from anyone else. Y ou can learn almost anything from a book. If you are ready to become a reader, do it. If you are ready to learn something, it’s out there. You can be a reader only if you choose to be.