People and Punctuation

Although young people have been consistently neglecting to use punctuation especially when texting or online, the rules of formal punctuation must remain intact. Some believe that punctuation should be and is evolving as people and technology evolve. The rules remain the same; people have just decided not to use them. Elizabeth Austen challenges the necessity of rules for punctuation in 'On Punctuation" saying she would prefer to pick and choose which one she to adhere to: "not for me the dogma of the period" (1). Changing the rules of punctuation would result in chaos. Poetry is considered an example of how chaos is not the result of rule-free punctuation; however, poetry is often puzzling and ambiguous. Poetry is not used for all forms of writing and could never be used for every written work. Lewis Thomas, a scientist, in his commentary on punctuation, "Notes on Punctuation," writes what could be a grammar textbook demoing a punctuation mark in each paragraph. In a society in which time is increasingly valuable, people cannot waste time deciphering true meaning or dealing with a misunderstanding. Also, a misunderstanding could be dangerous or harmful like in medical and legal practice. It only takes one person that did not get the MEMO about a rule change to create a problem. Punctuation controls the flow of words like a traffic light controls cars, and if one person forgot that the green light now means stop, everyone loses. Punctuation is not evolving with our changing society, and if it ever does, numerous drawbacks will be realized.

StylisticSkillWithSpacing

Toni Morrison is an extremely stylistic writer. She uses punctuation, sentence structure, and even spacing to enhance her writing in The Bluest Eye. For example, in her introduction Morrison alludes to the children's book "Dick and Jane." She begins with the characteristic very simple sentence structure and punctuation; then, she repeats the same passage without any punctuation just spaces. Finally, she repeats the passage a third time the same as the previous one just without any spaces: "seefatherheisbigandstrongfatherwillyouplaywithjane"(Morrison). The simplicity of the content allows the structure to shine through as a pertinent aspect. With each repetition of the initial passage, the tone gets more frantic and hurried. Also, the lack of space adds a trapped feeling because there is no space. The experience of the introduction acts as a microcosm of the general chapter formats: beginning slowly then developing in intensity often to something shocking. This use of space is repeated throughout the book like when Pecola is being picked on by the boys: "Black e mo. Yadaddsleepsnekked" (Morrison 65). The spacing around "black" brings attention to the word as one of the subjects, and the lack of space to describe Pecola's dad makes the words into a unit to be the other subject of the chant. In addition, the lack of spacing mimics the way Pecola is trapped within the circle of boys and cannot escape their words. Morrison's stylistic skill elevates her writing above judgement solely based on the plot.

Halloween and Pauline

This year I continued my tradition of carving an intricate pumpkin for Halloween. It takes a while and is usually pretty labor intensive. This year it took about two hours and I really only got to enjoy it for the 10 minutes before we took it outside. (I couldn't enjoy it outside because it was too cold.) Though the comparison is arguable, the situation is similar to that of Pauline in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. She must endure a substantial amount of adversity with few moments of satisfaction to remain with Cholly: "He sure ain't give me much of a life...Only thing I miss sometimes is that rainbow"(Morrison 129-131). Her "rainbow," as much of a sexual innuendo as it is, gives her satisfaction. To me, the look of the pumpkin and knowledge that I made it are worth the effort. To Pauline, the small satisfaction she gets and her self-declaration as a martyr convince her that the relationship she has with Cholly is worthwhile. Though it may seem unthinkable that those motives could be worth all of the fighting, poverty, and emotional pain, the use of Pauline's viewpoint reveals her reasoning. Her past of isolation and the fantasies she had as a teen make her current life with Cholly preferable to the inconsistencies of the rest of the world. Despite the taxing nature of her relationship, Pauline remains with Cholly because of her unique mindset.

No, this is not from the Internet.

Violence

Children are very impressionable. Emily Prager exaggerates saying that she never married because she couldn't find "a man who looks as good in clam diggers as Ken" (4). Though it is a hyperbole, exaggerations contain a shred of truth. Prager also suggests that the apparently harmless Barbie dolls that girls across the country play with daily could be forcing sexuality into the lives of women of all ages. That really seems to only be a problem for women; however, there may be some influences on boys that create issues as well. The primary activity for action figures is fighting. Take transformers for example. In addition to action figures, many children's cartoons are violence based like Tom and Jerry or Looney Toons. Richard E. Goranson from York University Toronto, Ontario states,"observed violence serves to facilitate the expression of aggression" (sciencedirect.com). The desensitization to violence through such common presentation of it could make it a medium for expression to release stress and anger. It is confusing to me how such complex concepts like sexuality and violence could be presented to children so consistently with such a false depiction of the consequences. The consequences may be left out for sake of censorship, but only half of each concept is represented. Without a full understanding of these concepts children are not given much of a chance to make responsible choices regarding them.

The Othering: Opressors and Opressed

The distancing of a group or individual from society by the members empowered through majority not only results in the degradation of the outcast(s) through the shunning, it also defiles the psyche those in power through their act. This remains valid so long as the distancing is complete and of relative permanence. The claim may be wordy but it is necessary to convey the entire situation. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is shunned by the Puritans through a scarlet "A" on her chest. She loses passion and her identity over seven years; however, when she meets with her love for the first time since she is shunned: "There played around her mouth and beamed out of her eyes a radiant and tender smile" (Hawthorne 199). She is rejuvenated through a gap in her rejection. The Puritans lose self-awareness of their own faults. Also, Harriet Edwards notes in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Dr. Flint lacks capability of love through the his mindset on slaves and the existence of slavery," For example, he plans on using Harriet's children to break her spirit. Instead, he has to substitute with lust for Harriet. Harriet while a slave is disheartened and must make sacrifices defying her happiness with no good reason, but when she escapes, she gains determination and perseverance. Longstanding and complete oppression is an activity with no winners.

Grammer Regression or Maybe Advancement

Grammar is not something that applies to everyday speech, yet it is essential in formal writing. In the formal setting of school, written English is taught too have a right usage and wrong usage. On the contrary, the social setting of spoken English can foster developments of varied English because of the sheer amount of people that are involved. For example, grammatically, a singular pronoun or possessive should follow the indefinite pronoun "everyone," but in speech the possessive "their" is the only way to go. This difference could be viewed as grammatical regression of society or as a potential solution to a problem. Jane Mairs, the director of English Language Learning Publishing at Merriam-Websters Incorporated, explains why the written version is different that the spoken version: "[singular pronouns and possessives] can end up sounding awkward." The use of "his" or "her" to define everyone creates a problem because everyone could include both males and females. Picking a pronoun could result in insult and the use of "his or her" is wordy and awkward. Though grammatically incorrect, "their" is gender-neutral and is a single word. To me, it would make sense to accept this change and others like it into the written language. Both versions could be considered correct and you could choose that which you preferred. It's not regression; it's a solution.
 

The Forest

In our society, camping and "the woods" have taken on contradicting meanings. Though camping is an enjoyable to experience the outdoors, it is viewed by some as a frugal vacation. Camping a vacation for the lower class, or it is the poor man's vacation. Also, the forest is a place for illicit and malicious activities in literature as well as in real life. For example, Mistress Hibbins is known to take trips into the forest and invites Hester to go with her to the "merry company in the forest" to meet "the Black Man" (Hawthorne 113). Despite these negative views, camping and the forest also have a different side. Camping can become very expensive for example when you get an RV or rent a site and consider all of the equipment necessary to execute such an excursion like a bonfire pit, a grill, cooking utensils, and a tent to name a few. Then, in addition to being the scene of illicit activity, the forest is a place of beauty. We pay taxes to protect and keep national forests like the national parks protecting the redwood forests in California. Both camping and the forest take on different meanings as the context around them requires. Camping is economical yet a hefty investment and the forest both a beautiful and ominous location.