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Amanda Lawler and Taylor Bruns
Mrs. Clesson
AP English Language 8:00
February 12, 2009
Reader Response Chapter 2 “A Bridesmaid’s Bad Breath”
“A Bridesmaid’s Bad Breath” focuses on warning signs of trickery. Politics and
advertisements are full of deceptions which one should not buy into. Today we are being
affected and swayed by others and their bold statements. Language can easily deceive
and swindle us out of our money and individual thoughts. Select Language Awareness
articles and 1984 can provide insight into the extremities that could occur if we are not
warned about the dangers of speech.
Symbols cause us to think about the thing being symbolized (pg. 55 “Language
and Thought”). A dove causes one to think of peace and all words associated with
nature, white, and the world. When one sees a dove, several thoughts can erupt in the
mind about its significance. Companies, such as Coca-Cola, have a symbol and slogan
for their product. When one sees the Coca-Cola circle logo, they will become thirsty and
want the product. Also, the well known phrase ‘Coca-Cola: The Real Thing’ may pop
into their head. The warning sign entitled ‘A Story That’s Too Good’ is stock full of
stories with percentages (symbols of success) that are too good to be true. When
someone hears that a product has a high percentage of success, one will think that it can
help them too. By adding the, sometimes, false percentage, it causes consumers to
believe in the product. The Origins of a National Gun Culture written by Michael A.
Bellesiles made many false claims about past gun ownership just to prove his point.
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Bellesiles falsified numbers, statistics, and percentages, and claimed a ten year study on
the material to sound more credible. These perfect symbols struck readers, but in the end,
all of these claims were false.
Advertisements promising unbelievable products are usually not believable.
According to William Lutz, author of “Weasel Words: The Art of Saying Nothing at All”
unfinished words are common in advertisements to give consumers the impression that
their product lasts longer or is stronger. In an advertisement for Duracell batteries, the
speaker announced that the battery can last up to twice as long. Unfortunately, the
consumer believes it as a better product than the others because it can last up to twice as
long, but the advertisement never states what this battery is compared to. “The
Superlatives Swindle” and “The Dangling Comparative” are other ways to express and
use unfinished words to sway one’s listeners.
Politicians have a huge influence on the way we live our lives. They create and
edit laws, as well as take money from us. In a reelection speech given by President Bush
in 2003, he stated that John Kerry had voted for tax increases in the past and would raise
taxes higher if he were to be elected. Unfortunately, these claims were made by going
through wormholes and twisting the truth. By using a dangling comparative in the claim
and stating a bad thing about his opponent, he promoted himself for president. In
“Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, President Bush used a lot of
words to get around the truth. He was not concise or direct, which helped him to win the
election. If the bridesmaid was aware of her bad breath, she would be able to pop in a
mint. Like the bridesmaid, as voters we should actively listen to what is really being
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said. We should investigate the meanings behind the words given, and figure where the
information is gotten from.
Speech laws and codes could act to prevent many of these swindles and verbal
high jinks used by politicians. Because speech codes cause a disadvantage to the
majority of society, however, they are not going to be reinforced or have support. In
1984, speech codes were taken to the extreme and reinforced to the point where they
abolished individual thought and words. Like in 1984, if speech codes were set in place,
politicians may have trouble talking around topics and may not be able to use glittering
generalities.
1984’s suppressed language is very much transferred to politics. Unfortunately,
many people don’t think for themselves because others will for them. When a
government official believes in gay marriage and abortion and you decide to vote for
them, you have accepted all of their values. In essence, you have paralleled your
thoughts to theirs. 1984 only has one politician, Big Brother. Therefore, in the book
everyone’s views were parallel to Big Brother’s because he held the power. President
Barack Obama is a confident leader and is ready for change. However, because of his
quick slogans and the commonly used “Yes we can!” many U.S. citizens jumped on the
bandwagon and were not aware what political views they were reflecting.
All the warning signs of trickery are used by politicians and in advertisements.
Having the knowledge to watch out for such shams can help any person to buy wisely
and listen closely to what others say.
Being aware of one’s bad breath is a problem that can be cleared up with a mintflavored tic tac. Unfortunately, deceitful language used in advertisements and politics
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can be harder to diagnose and can easily brainwash the recipients. Watching out for
glittering generalities, dangling comparatives, superlative swindles, things too good to be
true, etc. can help one to think freely and form their own opinions about a product or
political issue.