Group Project Update

My group consists of me, Lillian, Amy, Naila, Eddie, Diana, and Zach.

The topic we chose to satirize is Deforestation where our target will be big business owners and how they don't care about the environment. We already decided the three satirical techniques we will be using and the type of satire we will be doing. Currently, we are finishing up the script that we have for the skit and have plans to start rehearsing the skit. The location of the skit is still under debate but as for now, we plan on having it as a business meeting between companies that plan on collaborating with each other. We also created a google docs together so that we can all work on the presentation together. 

Direct and Indirect Language

When people communicate with each other, we either use direct language or indirect language. Direct language occurs when a particular sentence is being used for its specific function. An example would be "my favorite colors is blue". The speech is based on the literal meaning of the sentence. Direct language has three types of sentences. There's declarative, imperative and interrogative. With indirect speech, it occurs when the particular sentence type is not being used for its specific function. An example would be "can you pass the salt?" In this case, even though the sentence is interrogative, the literal meaning of the question was imperative. Due to these two types of speeches in society, some people believe that indirect speech should be used more than direct speech so that certain problems may be avoided. Others believe that direct speech should be used more than indirect speech so that no problems are evaded and issues can be addressed. In my opinion, I think that indirect speech is necessary but only in some cases. 

Dying Metaphors- Orwell's view

Recently, writers has been including dying metaphors in their writing. Dying metaphors are metaphors that has lost their original meaning due to overuse and repetition. Orwell believes that many politicians and influential writers has been using dying metaphors in their speeches. Not only does this weaken the purpose of their claim, it also makes it unclear about what they are trying to say and do. An example of a politician using dying metaphors would be a speech written by John F. Kennedy. In his inaugural speech, he used phrases such as "hand of God" and "jungle of suspicion" which weakened the purpose of his speech. It would have been more powerful without these dying metaphors and if he came up with original ones to use. Another example would be President Nasheed in his December 2009 speech. President Nasheed used phrases such as "in spite of the odds" and "will be the winners of tomorrow" which weakened his connection with the audience. These phrases made his speech very vague and made it unclear what he was going to do. Instead of making the speech more powerful, these metaphors did the opposite. Writers should try to stay away from dying metaphors and create original phrases to use in their writing.

Affirmative Action: The Problem or Solution?

For the past decade, there had been countless times where people had questioned whether or not affirmative action was considered the solution or the problem. Through affirmative action, minority groups were given an equal opportunity that white people had. Examples would be high school athletes who receive scholarships based on their permanence in games rather than their grades. This allows athletes to get into schools that they were unable to get into before. Another example would be     admission into a certain program based on either ur gender or race. This allows certain race and women to receive opportunities that others have had for a long time. Although affirmative action can be beneficial, some individuals like Abigail Fisher, believes that affirmative action is the problem because it causes individuals to be rejected from certain public facilities just because they are not a minority group. In my opinion, i believe that affirmative action is beneficial and allows minority groups to have opportunities that they never had before. This doesn't create a disadvantage for whites, instead, it helps to level the playing field.