Weight of the Words on My Shoulders The spoken English language contains many words with double meanings. In fact, it seems like almost every word can have a different meaning given the right emphasis and context of the surrounding sentence. This is a lesson that Gloria Naylor learns in her story “Meanings of a Word”. In this story a young, third grade age Gloria makes a comment on a young white boy’s score on a math test. This child then calls her the “N” word, leaving Gloria confused yet knowing it was not an appropriate word. After recalling how she questioned both her teacher and her mother of the meaning of this word, she reflects on how she must have heard family members say this word before. Words can have a lot of different meanings,
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“I remember the first time I heard the word nigger. In my third-grade class, our math tests were being passed down the rows, and as I handed the papers to a little boy in back of me, I remarked that once again he had received a much lower mark than I did. He snatched up his test from me and spit out that word. Had he called me a nymphomaniac or a necrophiliac I couldn’t have been more puzzled. I didn’t know what a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldn’t have called me.” Page …show more content…
She learned a word that she assumed she had never heard before. However, in retrospect she felt that her young memory wasn’t accurate. “Thinking back, I realize that this could not have been the first time the word was used in my presence.” Page 249. She then goes on to talk about the different ways that the n word could be used, without the negative context. Tone of voice can greatly affect the message a person is trying to convey. It is extremely easy to snap at people when you are feeling frustrated or annoyed, however a person is still responsible for their own actions. The tone of a person’s voice can change a word that is generally used in a humorous or even affectionate way into a hateful
“I remember the first time I heard the word nigger. In my third-grade class, our math tests were being passed down the rows, and as I handed the papers to a little boy in back of me, I remarked that once again he had received a much lower mark than I did. He snatched up his test from me and spit out that word. Had he called me a nymphomaniac or a necrophiliac I couldn’t have been more puzzled. I didn’t know what a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldn’t have called me.” Page …show more content…
She learned a word that she assumed she had never heard before. However, in retrospect she felt that her young memory wasn’t accurate. “Thinking back, I realize that this could not have been the first time the word was used in my presence.” Page 249. She then goes on to talk about the different ways that the n word could be used, without the negative context. Tone of voice can greatly affect the message a person is trying to convey. It is extremely easy to snap at people when you are feeling frustrated or annoyed, however a person is still responsible for their own actions. The tone of a person’s voice can change a word that is generally used in a humorous or even affectionate way into a hateful