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Essay title: The Power of a Word
John Doe
English
Mrs. Robinson
01/14/2003
The Power of a Word
Passion: strong emotion, desire. The Power of a Word is all about how it is interpreted. Interpretation can change the meaning of any word. An eighty-year old man’s interpretation of the word passion would probably vary from a twenty-year old woman’s interpretation of passion. Interpretation is key when it comes to defining a word.
Rick Shaw says that passion is “The desire to do something that you like come hell or high-water”. Meanwhile, my younger brothers believe that “Passion is how you feel about women”. It is all in how people view things. I could stare at an abstract painting for hours, wondering what it is supposed to be. While Mrs. Goulet could take one glimpse at it and give you a two-hour long interpretation about what that painting means.
The word passion was first interpreted in 1175. It was interpreted as “the suffering of Christ on the cross”, hence the Passion of the Christ. Nearly two-hundred years later, 1374, the word began to be interpreted as “strong emotion, desire”. In 1588 passion was being defined as “sense of sexual love”. By 1638 the word was understood, by most, to mean “Strong liking, enthusiasm, and or predilection”. After this many different meaning of the word passion, it is easy to understand why it has so many different interpretations today.
Different languages also have different interpretations of words. The word passion in the English language would probably have a different meaning to Arabic people. But words do not only differ from person to person or language to language. Words will also heavily differ from culture to culture. Passion
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How men first learnt to invent words, is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things.
So that they could communicate them to each other; and that, later, they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. These sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words.
A word, then, is simply a sound, or the written sign of a sound, which men of any particular nation have agreed shall mean a certain thing, action, feeling or thought. How can such mere signs have any power?
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Well, of course, it is not the sign itself that has power, but the thing it stands for. A foreign word which has no meaning for us, can have no power over us; but the meaning of many words of our language have the power to rouse in us the passions of fear, love, hate, anger, desire, shame, joy and sorrow.
For example, the word “Fire!” shouted in a crowded theatre, will put the whole audience into a panic; the word “home” will bring tears to the eyes of an exile; the word “freedom” will rouse a subjected people to revolution; the word “death” will chill the bravest heart.
To call a man a “coward” will make him blush for shame, or rouse him to a blaze of indignant anger; to tell him a loved one is “dead”, will fill him with sorrow; to tell a poor man he is “rich”, will fill him with joy. And there are words for which men have died, such as “fatherland”, “king”, and “faith”.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations the things they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but who express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions.
This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears.
Words are alive. As time passes they are born, grow to full maturity, and die. And they change morally. Some that began as common words become great and noble in meaning, like “religion”, that originally meant a “bond”.
And some innocent words become degraded; for example, a “villain” originally meant simply a farmer, and “knave” meant simply a boy-servant. “Damn” meant at first simply to condemn.
And words, like coins, get worn and rubbed with use, till they lose their true meaning and become weak and ineffective; for example, “nice” meant originally dainty, delicate, fine, while now it means almost anything. We should therefore choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar.
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We give words a lot less credibility than they deserve, for they have a lot more power than one might think. Words are made of vibrations and sound. It’s these sounds formed by the movements of our mouth that create the reality around us, without words our thoughts would never become reality and it is something that impacts us in every minute of every day. People throughout history and literature have used words to shape the reality of their own life and others around them through the means of propaganda.
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In the book Animal Farm Squealer who represents propaganda or, information, used to promote a particular political cause or point of view, uses the power of words to promote Napoleon as a more selfless person then he is and that Snowball was the true enemy.
In chapter seven Squealer is trying to convince the animals that Snowball was in fact working with Jones, ‘That was part of the arrangement!’ cried Squealer.
‘Jones’s shot only grazed him. I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to read it. The plot was for Snowball, at the critical moment, to give the signal for flight and leave the field to the enemy. And he very nearly succeeded– I will even say, comrades, he would have succeeded if it had not been for our heroic Leader, Comrade Napoleon”(Orwell 90). Is it true that Snowball was working with Jones, no, but the animals believe and him and that means that to them that this is true.
We can see the effect words have on us everywhere today. Media is a perfect example. Most people, and I am at fault of this too, do not check multiple news sources to get a balanced view of world events resulting in people seeing these events through a filter created by the single news outlet we are exposed to.
Media through the power of words has the ability to change and influence our thoughts and if the company decides to bring bias into it listeners will only view that particular subject through the lens of a biased broadcaster until exposed to another point of view. This can directly relate to the animals of Animal Farm only getting their information from Squealer who was biased toward Napoleon. It is a human tendency to organise into hierarchies. Ever since our tribal days it has been human instinct to organise ourselves into groups of leaders and followers. Hierarchies can be seen anywhere you go, In your place of work you have a boss and even your boss has a boss, Political systems are hierarchies.
In our country, the hierarchy starts at the top with the president, and then the vice president, then the Senate, followed by the secretary of state, and so on and so forth. Even the human body is a hierarchy. We are made up of systems of organs which are made from tissues which are made from individual and specialized cells whose purpose it is to help the individual organ function. George Orwell illustrates this throughout Animal Farm by creating a hierarchy of animals starting with Napoleon at the top then the pigs,dogs and other animals below. After the overthrow of Manor Farm the animals automatically arrange themselves in this fashion , “The work of teaching and organising of others fell naturally on the pigs, who were recognised as being the cleverest of the animals”(Orwell 35).
This is how it stays throughout the story. The animals below the pigs do not have the strive for power or will to speke up against the pigs and the are the ones who want control. Some people are naturally more outspoken than others and are willing to be the boss, and others simple just want to do what they are told. It’s just our human nature. Squealer plays an immensely important role in furthering the plot of animal farm. Squealer uses his thoughts to persuade the animals into believing that the pigs selfish actions were justifiable. ‘Comrades!’ he cried. ‘You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples.
I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organization of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples.’ (Orwell 52). Without Squealer the animals probably would have objected to Napoleon quicker. Squealers propaganda convinces the animals that Napoleon only wants the best for the animals, otherwise they might have revolted. Squealer helps create fear and loyalty towards their new leader.
2 pages, 625 words
Words are the most powerful weapon man or woman can ever acquire, the power to explain thy thoughts and feeling upon another. The power to manipulate, the power to fabricate a story, the power to compose a song or story, is all powers that the English language and intelligence around the world has brought to us.
When I was an adolescent I was not the smartest. I didn’t have a gratifying vocabulary, and always had to work harder then the other student peers in my class. My cousin Blake always says to me “its not what you say, its how you say It.” That saying always makes me wonder of the times I sat there stupefied and could have proved myself and everyone else around me that was accusing me of the wrong. Then I took into consideration and decided that I was not going to let myself alter to a mindless human being. I started paying more attention to my surroundings and what people say and how they say it, instead of playing on the computer, checking my myspace I would study the thesaurus by putting random words and finding other uses for it, and other routes for the word. Having an extinctive vocabulary makes you experience more things that life has to offer, like being able to have a conversation with out anyone ridiculing you, and being able to converse to someone and actually understand them. To walk out side and not be imbecilic, but realize what really life has to offer. The person that has no logic is going to lose to the person with logic.
At times it seems that students get leaned on and manipulated into doing what others want or think they should do. Because some students may have a disability or may not be as good as the so call “smart students”, that may make them feel that they are not able to realize the consequences that are involved.
4 pages, 1648 words
The Book Thief – Power of Words Essay
Words … words are things we use and hear literally all of the time, although they give us the power to communicate, they are certainly not as influential or manipulative as they have the ability to be. Nazi Germany is a place where the use of the immense power of combined letters is perfected. In the novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, words are used to create goodness, comfort, and sanity in …
Take for example, words have also put us as a country into situations that sometimes we may have wondered if we would ever get out of. The war is one of those Instances, because of the words that were spoken between the people in control, we are now finding ourselves in what seems to be an endless war. So we as a people really need to watch how we say things, because you can never take back the words that you say. Words are a powerful tool, and should always be taken as a two-edge sword.
White lies are also something that people do, and sometimes they may not even know or realize that they are lying.
Students find themselves sometimes in a predicament, because they sometimes model the behavior of their classmates, and that leads to trouble. A lot of times, they do things just to see how far they go. This includes maybe telling a fib, every now and then.
Ask any student, and I will guarantee they will agree that to them they don’t see anything wrong with telling a fib, because everyone does it.
In conclusion, I just want to say that I have learned quite a bit about the power of words, and I will be cautious the next time I start to say something I think may not be the best expression to use. I would not want to hurt anyone’s feelings or make anyone feel less of a person because of the words that may come from my mouth. One lesson I would really like to convey, is that everyone should really think before you speak. If I could leave one thing behind as a reminder to any student or adult, that would be, “ALWAYS THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK”.
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When God was creating earth, He was saying words. According the Bible a word has a huge power. First, we would like to know what Christian preaches say about the power of word.
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What Christian Preaches Think about Words
1. John Osteen. He always said, basing on the Scripture, that life and death are in the power of tongue. It is super important what comes out of one’s mouth. Words can help you to make something or to fail. It is better from time to time to put a hand over a mouth. Sometimes it is better to keep silence instead of saying words.
Words can put someone’s down or put one on his feet. These are not just the words of others, these are words that a person speaks himself. Many people do not realize what confession means. Confession means to say the same things or to agree. So, when a person says, “Confess the word of God”, it means that someone has to say the same words that God says.
If a person sick, for instance, he does not say, “I do not hurt, I do not have any symptoms.” All are those are facts. A person should not deny them. One has not reject the fact of sickness, he has to read the Bible to know what God says about healing. Then one simply says, “I agree with God.” That turns things around.
2. Joyce Meyer. This Bible teacher emphasizes one’s attention on outrageous promises of God. For these reasons, when a person takes a word of God and asks Him to do what he has said, a person hopes to receive it. Joyce Meyer shows the connection between an answer on prayer and the words of one’s mouth.
Meyer is taking this teaching very seriously. She claims that every word contains power of some kind. Through saying words, a person gets opportunity to improve his life; words change one’s life. If someone wants to see changes, he must understand that it greatly depends on words.
She maintains that a mouth plays a major role in a love walk; people do not realize to what extent words and love deeds are connected; what people can do for other people. We can build people up and tear them down by a word.
Although we are not writing knowledge is power essay, we are talking about knowledge that helps us to say right words. Most people do not highlight the sense of words in their life. This is amazing how one can advance in different fields just because of power of words.
What Power is Hidden into Words. How Different People See It
1. Will Smith. Popular actor states that greatness exists in all people. It is not an unattainable thing that only chosen people can gain. Greatness is a living matter that is available for all. Will Smith believe that someone may create whatever he wants to create. It is possible when work hard and say proper words.
2. Maya Angelou. In this paragraph one will find out what a distinguished poet says about words. She says that vulgarity is vulgarity, it may come out of black mouth or white mouth, but it is still vulgarity. The words may easily bring somebody down.
When a person says something, he also shows how powerful he is. Very often people use words to demean someone else; to make him believe he is smaller than a hole. People use words without thinking about consequences. It happens that life can be tricky, and words may boomerang on you.
3. Eve Poumpouras. This lady insists that words are the most powerful weapon. Communication is not only art form. Communication is what gets you to where it is you want to go. Someone’s words are what really matter in this world.
People say what they want, email what they want, but they do not understand the impact of their words.
Eve illustrates an example from her life. She says that she was a cadet. Once Eve’s instructor told her that she would have a great career; it would happen, if she used words, not weapon.
Word is an instrument that makes people to give you what you want. It is a means that make other to comply.
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4. Jim Carrey. This brilliant actor always says about the power of thoughts and words. He often motivated himself. Jim Carrey believes that a motivation speech encourages a person. It makes him to think positively and commit successful acts. Jim tells that a believe system always has a practical way. If you see something, believe in it, and say it, it will be much easier to achieve it.
How to Use the Power of Words
A word is a mysterious mechanism that moves one’s thoughts in deeds. People have to invoke their desires. Call up to universe and tell what you want. Understand that someone has not only think about what he wants but speak out loud. Sound is an element that creates our individual reality. People either destroy or boost their dreams.
Most of us do not realize how things work. There is a power of invocation. When you say a word, happens the same thing when you make an order, you receive it. So, begin to speak about your needs out loud.
Believe that your success is true just because you say that it is true. For these reasons, if you invoke something, you create what you need. Do not use such words as “maybe”, “I am doubt”, or “uncertain”; be certain, be absolutely positive, and confident. All your dreams are reality, you hold them in your hand. Just pronounce the word that has power and change your life for better.
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