Emotion: A Lesson in Grammar and Senses

e·mo·tion

əˈmōSH(ə)n/

noun

1.    a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.

For this blog I would like to change the definition of emotion.  The dictionary definition is seen above.  Focusing attention to “circumstances” it is possible to change ones state of mind towards a subject.  Please click on the link below and have your volume up to listen to the music as you read the selection. (You may need to right click to open it in a new tab)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RpYTPBgbLo&list=PL3QK-FeOu2cd1ULEkI5Zp1B5aN6nO9xL4&index=4

                

            Why are holidays in the United States being removed? Are they too flamboyant and fun? Holidays should be embraced through celebration for all cultures. People do not attempt to change national holidays in other countries, therefore why should they be changed here?

Okay stop the music. Was the previous piece fun and festive? I hope so. Now listen to the next piece and read the selection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOEaMnxqM5s&list=PL3QK-FeOu2cd1ULEkI5Zp1B5aN6nO9xL4&index=7

Holidays in the United States are being removed!! Some people claim that they are too flamboyant and fun! Why should we remove holidays here?! Is it then a fair statement to say that all holidays in other countries should be eliminated?! Holidays must be embraced!

               

            Once again stop the music.  Here is one last piece to listen to and read.

               

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3epw26xaj8&list=PL3QK-FeOu2cd1ULEkI5Zp1B5aN6nO9xL4&index=8

Holidays are fun. Why are people trying to take away, what brings joy to millions of people every year? It saddens me to have knowledge that holidays are being removed in the United States, while other countries are allowed to keep them and enjoy.

               

             Did you evoke different emotions after each selection? If all three pieces were read without music and had no grammar, they would all sound exactly the same.  To conclude this blog, I would like to define Emotion as a reaction to stimuli of the senses.

The Function of Memes

First let me begin by describing what a meme is. Basically a meme is a picture of something-possibly a person, animal, or object- that when words are added to the picture, represent an ironic situation.  These pictures people then use to describe their day or whatever they wish to add humor to.  Yet, how do we think the people in the meme feel. In a way we are all oppressors when we laugh at a picture of someone who making a face and is caught off-guard.  Another phrase for this in current jargon is a “candid” picture.  So what makes these situations so humorous to us? Well, a quick search on Google will bring up hundreds of websites, all allowing you to create your own meme. As one website has a button entitled “insert embarrassing image here” (funny-memes), it is apparent that it is irony that creates the humor.  When we see a picture of someone or something imitating an action we do in a more exposed way, it seems strange to us and causes a reflex of laughter.  One episode of the popular TV show The Big Bang Theory states “humor is derived from the element of surprise” which is backed up by the example below.

The Scarlet A

In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a young woman named Hester is forced to wear a large scarlet letter A on her clothing because she committed adultery.  This object was a repeating theme throughout the story and one can only fully understand its affect by breaking it apart.  First, the letter stood as a symbol of her sin, one that relates to the other symbol of her sin, Pearl. Pearl forces Hester to leave her letter on. Next, the color scarlet has a negative connotation and would be considered a hot color. This also relates to Pearl when she wears the scarlet dress.  The letter is traced in gold threads which is ironic because gold typically would be worn by someone of a high social status.  The town’s people describe how outsiders feel about the letter as the book progresses. At first they concluded the A stood for adulterer; however, eventually the A was deemed as able.  This demonstrates the power the public has on ideas, which would also explain peer pressure.  Lastly, the letters comprising the words “S-C-A-R-L-E-T” and “L-E-T-T-E-R” are very harsh sounds. The CAH and ET sounds slice through the word like a needle puncturing fabric.  These explanations should allow a full understanding of the scarlet A.

Opinion and Fact

          The difference between two concepts- opinion versus fact- can be very difficult to understand. When judging whether a statement can be placed into one of these two categories; people use their own opinions, hence the term “judge”.  As defined by a dictionary, an opinion is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. Compared to a fact which can be defined as a thing that is indisputably the case. Therefore, the sole way to prove that a statement is a fact is to have a unanimous opinion that the fact is correct.  Take Bigfoot for an example. There is much evidence surrounding the existence of Sasquatch and thousands of sightings. However, even though many people know Sasquatch is existent as a fact, it cannot fully be accepted as long as there are people who do not believe or disagree with the concept.  In the novel The Scarlet Letter Hester is shunned extremely by the fellow women in her community, however the book never directly refers to men doing the same.  One opinion I would like to contribute is that women tend to be bothered more particularly by other women due to the realization that they are in the same position.  They same could be said for men.  Whether or not you choose to take my opinion as fact, it’s your choice.

The Influence of Clothing

Today’s fashion and being in the correct attire for modern apparel appears to be one of the most important factors when judging a person for the first time.  When going to job interviews, one should dress up, otherwise he/she may be demeaned by the interviewer and loose a chance at that occupation.  When in a public area, it is a social normality that you wear appropriate clothing. Yet, “appropriate” is an opinion based term and therefore the idea of normal varies between people. In the novel The Scarlett Letter a young women is forced to wear a “scarlet A” on her clothing at all times to represent the adultery she had committed.  Her A has a underlying meaning that condemns her by the fellow Puritans. However, in modern society people are condemned for no reason, an example being wearing sweatpants or very vibrant mismatching outfits.  People do not have the right to judge another human off of something they wear with no intended disadvantage.   As described by the article entitled Dressing and Identity or: How Clothes Define You, by Aimee Boyle, people put a “label” on themselves when they compare clothing.  Therefore, people should not be judged by what they decide to wear, how they choose to wear it, or at what time they do.

What is the Line Between Stereotypes and Facts??

Stereotypes are obviously a way of grouping people into one category. Yet, stereotypes must be formed from something. Observations.  If a human brain notices that a group of people display certain characteristics that apply to all of them, it naturally ties those characteristics into them.  Stereotypes “satisf(y) the need to understand and predict the social world” (MSU.net), it is our brain trying to grasp the world by making it simpler.  That is solely how human brains work- if we tried to learn everything in school in separate sections without tying concepts together, we would never be able to remember everything. Take fish for example, not everyone knows individual fish names; however, if they saw a fish their brain would tie it to the category they know as “fish”.  Yes, it is possible for stereotypes to go too far.  When this happens it’s because the stereotype no longer becomes a general observation, it comes from one or a few individuals from the category who do something- and the idea get transferred to the rest.  People need to understand that stereotypes are a part of daily living and that without them life would be much more complicated.

Verisimilitude: Good or Bad?

What is verisimilitude? It can be defined by a dictionary as "the appearance of being true or real"(Online Dictionary Reference).  However, I feel that verisimilitude is just an excuse to compose a really good lie.  For example, in the book The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien creates a captivating war story that appears to be true until the book is labeled as fiction.  What a fib! Should a lie like that be accepted by the reading community? Some might say that verisimilitude is needed in order to evoke emotion from the reader; yet, I believe that emotion can also be obtained by a fictional story as well.  This is trickery! Imagine a setting in which you are fishing, you get an enormous tug on the line, your reel begins to make a ZI'ING sound, your hands are trembling, your arms are hesitating, your legs are shaking, and your teeth are chattering.  Finally, as you bring the beast closer to the dock you realize that it was only a stick. That is what verisimilitude is, an amazing journey ending in a disappointing reality. So, why is lying considered wrong while verisimilitude is considered an art? The world may never know.