Thursday, March 19, 2020

Hitler and Mussoulini essays

Hitler and Mussoulini essays It can be said that WWII was the darkest chapter in Modern History. The world was a place full of economic depression and social turmoil. We should learn from modern history lest it be repeated. There are certain characteristics about these men that should be examined closely, so the world may not have to suffer under the tyranny of such evil men again. As a youth, Hitler described himself as an argumentative little ring leader who liked to hang out with husky boys. He was an instigator who got other people to do the bullying for him. His interests in art and romanticized German nationalism were obvious from a very young age. He and his father had a bitter feud about his schooling. Hitler despised Capitalism, Socialism, and the Church. His father wanted him to be a civil servant loyal to the Austrian Hapsburg Monarchy; however, this only fueled his obsession of liberating Germany from the raw deal they got in WWI. Similarly, during Benito Mussolinis early years, he was prone to fighting. His father encouraged his belligerent behavior, and he was also disdainful of religious order. His socialist views were passed on to him by his father. He wrote for a socialist paper as a young man, and would speak to anyone regarding politics or religion; he was a staunch defender socialist ideas. He really didnt know much about socialism or economics, yet he drew crowds wherever he spoke. Shortly after a democratic revolution in Germany which ended the ruling monarchy, Hitler became involved in propaganda. Hitler was obsessed with a vision that Germans were destined to rule greater Europe. While employed by a propaganda press, he became involved with a right-wing workers party that had similar views as his. He saw the German Workers Party as a vehicle to launch his political career. His oratory skills soon drew crowds (and cash) which filled the ranks of his party from just a handful of people to thousands. The ide...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Elegant Variation

Elegant Variation Elegant Variation Elegant Variation By Michael I learned about elegant variation from my high school English teacher, but even she taught about it with a slightly-skeptical smile. Its a rule that many writers feel bound to follow when they dont need to. According to this so-called rule, a writer should never use the same word twice in a paragraph. Newscasters follow elegant variation when they say, The Dow-Jones Industrial Average rose more than 300 points yesterday. It was the blue-chip indicators fourth straight gain. Or Chinas Sichuan province experienced another earthquake yesterday afternoon, the second in three months. The temblor measured 6.1 on the Richter scale. Admittedly, a news story might sound a bit childish if it said, The Dow-Jones gained 300 points yesterday. It was the fourth straight gain for the Dow-Jones. Too much repetition reads like a toddlers picture book. But more important than not repeating a word is not using the wrong word. I experienced several earthquakes when I lived in California, and not once did I hear anybody say, Did you feel that temblor last night? I remember one local radio newscaster who spent about twenty minutes saying basically, We had a big earthquake this morning, and we dont know anything else about it, but I have to keep talking about it because this is an all-news station and its our top story. But I dont think he ever used the word temblor. In fact, Ive never heard that word at all, except from radio announcers trying to avoid saying earthquake. Instead of asking What other word can I use the next time?, we should be asking, What better word can I add the next time?. In my first example, using the term blue-chip indicator in parallel to Dow-Jones Industrial Average defines the Dow-Jones Industrial Average as a performance indicator for blue-chip stocks. It adds to the meaning of the sentence, instead of simply providing variation. Another problem with elegant variation is that it can push your writing out of the readability zone. If youre trying to be elegant, youre probably trying to be formal. If youre trying to be formal, youre probably going to use big words that fewer readers understand (porcine instead of piggish). If youre straining to find a synonym for the right word, you may end up doing worse than finding the wrong word. You may end up with finding a word that even you dont understand. Repetition is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes once you find a good thing, the best course is to stick with it. My previous paragraph was stronger because of its repetition. Repetition emphasizes parallelism, which makes sentences and paragraphs more understandable. Elegance is not necessarily a good thing. When the term elegant variation was coined by Henry Watson Fowler in the 1920s, it implied precious writing overly dainty and falsely sophisticated. When I was a magazine writer, I was often faced with the desire to find a more elegant word. The Sharchops dwell in the mountains of Bhutan The Sharchops reside The Sharchops are situated near The Sharchops homeland is nestled within I decided that if I couldnt find a better way to say, The Sharchops live in eastern Bhutan, I could always say, The Sharchops live in eastern Bhutan. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire You36 Poetry Terms15 Idioms for Periods of Time