The Feet and Inches Separating America

The Metric system of measurement has been used in Europe and other parts of the world for ages. Our system of feet, yards, gallons, and inches has been a part of American history since the very beginning…about two to three hundred years ago. It has become an integral part of our culture. We assert our independence through our difference in the measuring system, and still our dominance from the fact that we are unique, and yet still manage to communicate and trade with people who use the other unit, the metric system. We do have experts scattered throughout the country, though, who are familiar with and used to the metric system. Those people are all modernists, though, scientists, doctors, people with extremely high educations and world visions. It’s not their fault they want to break out into the world and act as if America wasn’t the best place in the world and only place you need for basically any job. We have resources, materials, and land galore to support these fields and people, but change is changing to become more common those encouraging it are going out in the world and connecting with the metric system users and getting more ideas. Holding onto the system of feet is one of the only things left in this changing world, making us different from the world that is getting so much closer together and tight-knit through travel and business and sticking to what our Founding Fathers intended for this nation. Even if it troubles in miscommunication can cost an indebted nation millions of dollars, cause troubles among scientists and doctors and even cooks from different nations, discourage travelers from going somewhere they don’t know the new system, and even causing disastrous effects such as the NASA conversion mistake which endanger many lives. But what separates us from our enemies, and even allies, makes us stronger as a nation because we can survive on our own; we don’t need no fancy European ways.

Short Stories

“The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams (who would name their child William Williams, I don’t know) shocked me when it got to be so violent. When the girl bit down on the tongue depressor and blood went everywhere I didn’t expect her to be so obstinate. Obviously the child was scared and didn’t want to show that she had the deadly disease of diphtheria. But perhaps the doctor, being overworked and underpaid in these times – $3 for a visit – was the cause of the ruckus, and the character we were supposed to pay attention to. Maybe his impatience with the parents and pitying respect for the “brat” came from his experience with having a difficult job, working with hurting patients, many of whom die. In Eudora Welty’s “A Visit of Charity” I expected Marian to get to know the old ladies, once she finally started talking and asked how old she was. However, when the woman grabbed Marian in the hallway and asked her for money, they kept their scary old image, but also reflected the care they were given. This was illustrated by the nurse’s 3-step process of checking her watch, indicating the impersonal care the old ladies were getting. I didn’t think the apple was a reference to Adam and Eve, but rather a healthy fruit to calm her after leaving a place of such shocking reality. The most shocking reality, however, was in Anton Chekhov’s “Sleepy,” when the girl strangles the baby. When I think back about it, the memories of her father dying may have foreshadowed the sadness in her. Also, the lack of sleep, which had undoubtedly been going on for at least days on end, is enough to drive anyone insane. But by having her kill the child instead of run away or just fall asleep, Chekhov shows the horror in the everyday lives of lower class servants in that time.

Song Lyrics as Poetry?

For the poetry of a song essay, I think I will write about Jason Mraz’s song, “I’m Yours.” This song doesn’t appear to have many poetic aspects at first besides some rhyme, and common colloquial metaphors or slang phrases. However, this song’s lyrics easily become stuck in a person’s head and were pretty easy to learn quickly because it is “catchy.” I’m not sure exactly what makes this “catchy” but when you look closer at the lyrics there are many hidden metaphors, more rhyme that is first noticeable, rhythm markers, and many other poetic elements. Maybe the poetic aspect of the song raises it from being more than just words to accompany lyrics, but a clever use of language as literature. Maybe the poem was written first and the music was then written to enhance it, rather than the other way around.
I picked the song because it was stuck in my head and I generally like the song every time I hear it. Looking into the song’s lyrics as a poem rather than just something you sing along as the melody could provide insight as to how some songs are catchy and successful and others are not very well known. I think that because this song is easy to sing, that means that the language of the lyrics has been created thoughtfully, using poetic techniques, to make it that way. Many times people sing along to songs without really knowing what they are saying just because that is how the song goes, even though out of context of the song those phrases would be awkward and stand out. This makes it seem that the music is more important than the lyrics and therefore it isn’t poetry, and maybe some aren’t, but as I look into “I’m Yours,” in particular, I believe that I will find that the lyrics could stand alone as a poem.

Essay 2 Topic

I decided to write my second essay on the language and imagery used in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Franz Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony.” This seemed like a good choice because both of them have extreme topics but aren’t worded in a way that would exaggerate the circumstances in any way. In fact, they use much of the descriptive language and imagery to seem as if they were downplaying the incident, which therefore arises even more tension in the story and emotion from the reader. By using such matter-of-fact tones and language to tell such gruesome stories, Jackson and Kafka first appear as if they are telling a more factual story and letting the reader decide whether or not the incidents described truly warrant judgment and negative reactions. I found this to be creative and interesting because as you look more closely at the pieces, the conservative language is actually used at key points where the author could have built apprehension. Maybe that’s an effective way to create the desired response from the reader when words, languages and images have been too over-exaggerated and overused. Because the simple phrases and tones throughout the gruesome parts stand out more when the exaggeration happens in the reader’s mind rather than in the author’s words. For example, Jackson hints subtly that something is not quite right, but keeps the context of the story more common than sullen, fearful or even horrific, as she could have done. Therefore, when Mrs. Hutchinson starts to argue, plead, and show emotion, it has a greater effect on the reader as it is compared to the empty language tones which reported the beginning of the story. I feel like the two traditions told in the stories are similar in style and context and very comparable in their use of descriptions.