The Moon is Down essays

The Moon is Down essays Set in contemporary time The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck portrays a story of the struggles of war. The book was published in 1942, which was the time when American was just rearming for World War II. Norway, Denmark, Holland, and France were all occupied. The country in this book that is under occupation is Norway. In this story the town is anonymous though peace loving and small such as Norway. A stronger country invades them, which is supposed to represent Germany. It takes place during the winter mainly at the Mayors palace. The storys setting in such a small place allows the reader to get an intimate look at the strategies and thoughts of the conquered and the conquerors during wartime. This book served as war propaganda and possession of the book resulted in death. This simple story gave those who were under the occupation of the Leader or Hitler, great hope of surviving. The purpose of The Moon is Down is to make a mockery of war and how pointless it is. Also Ste inbeck wanted to show that in the end the free individuals prevail because they are stronger in the long run than a totalitarian power. Throughout the book there are many metaphors for good and evil. The title comes from a scene in Macbeth when Banquo asks his son How goes the night boy? And Fleance replies The moon is down; I have not heard the clock. This line in the play represents evil descending on the kingdom. Though it is nighttime, there is no moon, meaning no light meaning only darkness, meaning evil with no hope of goodness. The townspeople in the story represent good and the invaders represent evil. Another symbol of evil is cold. Many times throughout the story Mayor Orden mentions the falling of snow. In this case snow represents cold weather, like the coldness of the German invaders controlling every aspect of the small towns lives. Doctor Winter says, there&...

Cognates of Cognition

Cognates of Cognition Cognates of Cognition Cognates of Cognition By Mark Nichol Cognition is the use of mental processes such as learning, remembering, thinking, and understanding. It stems from the Latin verb cognoscere, meaning â€Å"become acquainted with.† Not every word with the letter string â€Å"c-o-g† is related, but quite a few are. Details about cognition’s cognates follow. But first, a look at the construction of the words. The syllable cog isn’t the basis of terms related to knowing and thinking; cognoscere consists of co- and gnoscere; that word means â€Å"come to know.† Know itself is cognate with gnoscere and the Greek verb gignÃ… skein- the basis of gnome, best known as the name of a subterranean dwarflike creature in folklore but also a synonym for maxim, and gnosis, a word referring to spiritual knowledge that is also the root of prognosis (literally, â€Å"foreknowledge†) and diagnosis, meaning â€Å"identification† or â€Å"analysis.† Cognate itself is not cognate with cognition: It means â€Å"related,† and stems from the Latin word nasci, meaning â€Å"to be born,† and is cognate with nascent (and native). Nor is cognomen, which means â€Å"nickname† or â€Å"additional name† and derives from the Latin noun nomen, meaning â€Å"name.† Interestingly, cogent, meaning â€Å"necessary† or â€Å"urgent,† and especially its cognate cogitation, which means â€Å"intent thought,† are also unrelated to cognition; they derive respectively from the Latin verb agere, meaning â€Å"drive,† and its frequentative (repeated or recurrent) form agitare, which is also the origin of agitate. Another word with a distinct etymology is cog, referring to a tooth on a wheel in a gear mechanism and probably borrowed from a Scandinavian language. Words in the cognoscere family in English include recognition (literally, â€Å"knowing again†) and precognition (literally, â€Å"knowing before†); the latter was the unusual ability of the Precogs in Steven Spielberg’s film Minority Report and the Philip K. Dick short story on which it is (loosely) based. Two other words that are related- unexpectedly so- are reconnaissance (â€Å"military survey†) and that word’s verb form, reconnoiter, both adopted from French but ultimately stemming from recognoscere, the Latin origin of recognize. Other relatives are cognizance (â€Å"awareness,† â€Å"acknowledgment,† or â€Å"responsibility†) and recognizance, derived from an earlier sense of reconnaissance (â€Å"acknowledgment†) and used in legal contexts in phrases such as â€Å"released on his own recognizance† to indicate that someone recognizes his obligation to appear in court at a later date. Connoisseur (â€Å"expert†), from French, and its Italian cousin cognoscente (which in English developed a separate sense of â€Å"someone in the know†) are also related, as are incognito (â€Å"unknown,† from Italian and referring to being in disguise or anonymous or using a false name) and â€Å"terra incognita† (literally, â€Å"unknown land†), taken directly from Latin. 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of Humor3 Types of Headings10 Terms for the Common People