David Foster Wallace on SNOOTS

SNOOT (n) (highly colloq) is this reviewers nuclear familys nickname à   clef for a really extreme usage fanatic, the sort of person whose idea of Sunday fun is to hunt for mistakes in the very prose of [William] Safires column [in The New York Times Magazine]. This definition of the family word SNOOT (an acronym for Sprachgefà ¼hl Necessitates Our Ongoing Tendance or Syntax Nudniks of Our Time) appears in footnote number five of David Foster Wallaces review article Authority and American Usage (in Consider the Lobster and Other Essays,  2005). There, the late author of Infinite Jest devotes more than 50 smart and entertaining pages to the topic of grammar, in particular, to the dispute between linguistic conservatives and linguistic liberals, otherwise known as the Prescriptivists vs. the Descriptivists. Before deciding whether you would feel comfortable characterizing yourself as a SNOOT, consider Wallaces description of SNOOTitude: There are lots of epithets for people like this--Grammar Nazis, Usage Nerds, Syntax Snobs, the Grammar Battalion, the Language Police. The term I was raised with is SNOOT. The word might be slightly self-mocking, but those other terms are outright dysphemisms. A SNOOT can be defined as somebody who knows what dysphemism means and doesnt mind letting you know it.I submit that we SNOOTs are just about the last remaining kind of truly elitist nerd. There are, granted, plenty of nerd-species in todays America, and some of these are elitist within their own nerdy purview (e.g., the skinny, carbuncular, semi-autistic Computer Nerd moves instantly up on the totem pole of status when your screen freezes and now you need his help, and the bland condescension with which he performs the two occult keystrokes that unfreeze your screen is both elitist and situationally valid). But the SNOOTs purview is interhuman social life itself. You dont, after all (despite withering cultural pressure), have to use a computer, but you cant escape language: Language is everything and everywhere; its what lets us have anything to do with one another; its what separates us from the animals; Genesis 11:7-10 and so on. And we SNOOTS know when and how to hyphenate phrasal adjectives and to keep participles from dangling, and we know that we know, and we know how very few other Americans know this stuff or even care, and we judge them accordingly.In ways that certain of us are uncomfortable about, SNOOTs attitudes about contemporary usage resemble religious/political conservatives attitudes about contemporary culture: We combine a missionary zeal and a near-neural faith in our beliefs importance with a curmudgeonly hell-in-a-handbasket despair at the way English is routinely manhandled and corrupted by supposedly literate adults. Plus a dash of the elitism of, say, Billy Zane in Titanic--a fellow SNOOT I know likes to say that listening to most peoples public English feels like watching somebo dy use a Stradivarius to pound nails. We are the Few, the Proud, the More or Less Constantly Appalled at Everyone Else.(David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and Other Essays. Little, Brown and Company, 2005) As regular visitors to this site may have noticed, we strive to remain on speaking terms with both sides in the Usage Wars. Looking at how language works (description) happens to interest us more than laying down arbitrary laws on how language should be used (prescription). And yet its clear that most readers arrive at About.com Grammar Composition in search of rulings, not linguistic ruminations, and so we do try to be accommodating. But how do you define your interest in language? Are you a fan of Lynne Trusss Eats, Shoots Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (2004), or do you feel more at home with David Crystals The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left (2007)? Are you inclined to fuss at a child who uses aint, or are you more interested in finding out that until the 19th century in both England and America aint was an acceptable usage?

Argumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants - 758 Words

â€Å"When they are a little bit overweight, that’s not gonna cut it. You don’t want to see a chubby child on stage. You have to have the barbie look.† a mom on Toddlers and Tiaras said. Now available to children, around 250,000 girls compete in beauty pageants each year. These pageants have had damaging consequences on them. Child beauty pageants need to be banned because they sexualize young girls, put too much pressure on them to win, and lead them to focus too much on beauty. Girls are sexualized in beauty pageants at a very young age. On Toddlers and Tiaras, girls are shown in ‘sexy’ costumes, showing too much skin, especially for their age. With around 1.3 million viewers a week, the show has normalized this sexualization. In one†¦show more content†¦Everything is part of a routine whether or not the girl enjoys it. The most important factor of these pageants, beauty. When competing in and watching beauty pageants at a young age, girls believe that their outer beauty matters most. Girls who watch Toddlers and Tiaras focus on the contestant’s beauty, causing them to do the same with themselves. The skinny girls hidden under piles of makeup on tv make both the contestant and viewer think that this is normal. Before a pageant, a mom injected botox in her 8 year old daughter’s face to take away her wrinkles. Another mom fed her daughter tapeworms to make her skinnier. Soon after, the girl was in the hospital. In no situation should little girls have to go through this just to improve their outer appearance. If this is what it takes for a girl to win, then we are better off without these pageants. In some ways, child beauty pageants can be great for young girls to compete in. Pageants can build confidence by putting girls in front of lots of people to perform and speak. This leads to confidence through life and public speaking skills. Another positive outcome of competing is winning scholarships and priz e money. Scholarships will help a child receive a higher education later on. Next, in order to continue competing well, a girl needs to stay fit and healthy. She must also work hard and be disciplined. While these are great life traits to have, there are manyShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants814 Words   |  4 Pages Beauty contests for women have always been popular around the world, but in recent years child pageants have become more successful. This success led to the production of the well-known show, Toddlers and Tiaras. Beauty pageants have now evolved and even include newborn babies. Contestants are not only rewarded with a title, but also receive cash prices. These rewards and fame without a doubt attract parents into the world of beauty pageants. Children who are involved in beauty pageants are perceivedRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants780 Words   |  4 Pagesterm â€Å"beauty pageants coming up,† will result in 2,710,000 results appearing in 1.18 seconds. Children are the fastest-growing segment of the beauty pageant market, with annual childrens competitions attracting an estimated 3 million children, mostly girls, ages six months to 16 years, who compete for crowns and cash. Infants, carried onto the stage by their mothers, are commonplace. April Brilliant, reigning Mrs. Maryland and the director of Maryland-based Mystic Pageants, says pageants give littleRead MoreBeauty Pageants Argumentative Essay1311 Words   |  6 PagesThe Problems and Pleasures of Pageants Beauty pageants have been questioned on whether or not their truly innocent. In some cases, the smiles are more likely than not phony. On the other hand, the abundance of memories and skills gained from these extravaganzas can create a positive effect on the child. On the negative side, pageants are found to be full of drama from both the parents and from the stress of the requirements, including eating disorders. They also lead to bad sportsmanship and theRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants794 Words   |  4 Pagesever watched beauty pageants like the tv show Toddlers and Tiaras, and think the parents are absurd for pushing their daughters too hard for a sparkling plastic tiara? Maybe you have been to a live beauty-pageant, or specifically, support or despise them. Well, most people particularly do not like beauty-pageants as the toddlers mothers have them on strict diets, make them wear extensive makeup, shave their legs, and get spray tans. But to the people within th is culture, beauty-pageants are valuableRead MoreEdward Burtynsky s Photographic Series, Oil, And His Nature1815 Words   |  8 Pagesfeelings often provoked by the boundless essence drawn from the power of landscape. This essay will investigate the Edward Burtynsky’s photographic series, Oil, and his approach to find a sinister beauty within the damned. The underlying metaphors poised within Burtynsky’s work in regard to environmental change, in pursuit to document nature transformed through industry will be the central idea in this argumentative dissertation. Oil comprises 50 photographs, some referred to as primary landscapes that

Re-reading of ‘A Birthday Present’ Free Essays

Re-read ‘A Birthday Present’. By means of close analysis of the language of this poem, demonstrate how Plath achieves her effects in this poem, and by means of BRIEF reference to one or two other poems, say how typical of her writing you find it. Plath’s poem ‘A Birthday Present’ creates binary oppositions of images by using antithesis. We will write a custom essay sample on Re-reading of ‘A Birthday Present’ or any similar topic only for you Order Now An example of antithesis in this poem is when the narrator asks, â€Å"is it ugly, is it beautiful?† The adjectives ‘ugly’ and ‘beautiful’ are opposing images. The structure of this phrase is mirrored in the line below when the narrator asks, â€Å"has it breasts, has it edges?† These two images are opposite as when we imagine ‘breasts’ they are round and smooth and not sharp like an ‘edge’. By using this linguistic device Plath creates a ‘seesaw’ effect between positive (‘beautiful’) and negative (‘ugly’) lexis. Plath uses this device of conflicting lexis throughout the poem creating a tension. Furthermore, it can also be said that Plath uses these binary oppositions on a more subtle level to create the theme of good vs. evil. This theme can be seen in some of Plath’s other poems. Take ‘Face Lift’ or ‘Morning Song’ for example, the theme of good and evil is represented by the images of babies she juxtaposes with those of death. The same binary opposition of images is used in ‘A Birthday Present’ when the narrator says, â€Å"White as babies’ bedding and glittering with dead breath.† Again the two juxtaposed images are of death and babies. It can therefore be said that this theme is typical of Plath’s writing and is probably influenced by the miscarriage she suffered prior to writing these poems. Another device that Plath employs for a specific effect in this poem is her use of the personal pronoun ‘you’. The narrator questions, â€Å"Is it impossible for you to let something go and have it go whole?† and, â€Å"Must you kill what you can?† Many other writers use this device to achieve the desired effect of involving the audience as it addresses them directly. However Plath also has another motive. On first glance one may assume that the narrator is questioning the present as it is the apparent focus of the narrator throughout the poem. However, considering the number of references to God throughout the poem, (â€Å"My God what a laugh!†, But my god, the clouds are like cotton.†) one could assess that the question is actually aimed at God. Moreover, the theme in ‘A Birthday Present’ of questioning God can be linked to some of Plaths other poetry. Plath’s father died when she was a young child. From studying her life I found out that she loved and idolised her father. In her poems ‘Daddy’ and ‘Full Fathom Five’ Plath makes subtle suggests that she now sees her father as a God-like figure. In ‘Full Fathom Five’ she writes, â€Å"You defy other Godhood. I walk dry on your kingdom’s border†, when talking to her father. This could therefore be evidence that although she may seem to be addressing the birthday present with questions in this poem she is really questioning to her Dad. The theme of Dad arises in many of Plath’s poems and so this poem is typical of her writing. Like many of Plath’s other poems she uses personification in ‘A Birthday Present’ to make an inert object appear to have a life of its own. The narrator is describing the present when she says, â€Å"I feel it looking. I feel it thinking†. The two verbs are actions that only a living person could do. Plath, however uses them to make the present in the poem come alive. The literary device of personification is typical to some of Plath’s other poems. One example is in her poem ‘Cut’ where she personifies her thumb by referring to it as ‘Little pilgrim’, ‘Saboteur’ and ‘Kamikaze man’, before reminding us at the end of the poem that it is just a ‘Thumb stump’. This is therefore a device that Plath uses typically in her writing. In conclusion, many of the themes and ideas found in ‘A Birthday Poem’ can also be found and mirrored in Plath’s other poetry. She also uses a range of literary and linguistic devices in this poem that is typical of her writing. How to cite Re-reading of ‘A Birthday Present’, Papers