Elizabeth M. Stone Dr. Eve Davis Adv. Comm 2-3: 2010/11/01″The Holy Use of Gossip ” This work explores the use of gossip and the meaning behind it. Kathleen Norris uses the stories from the town to build a demeanor for her argument on gossip. As a writer, she finds that gossip can be positive and negative, depending on who uses the gossip and for what reason.
Gossip can provide comic relief for people under tension. It can strengthen communal bonds. Kathleen Norris finds that gossip is a helpful thing; it gives her material on which to write. She never once criticizes the people who she speaks about in the essay. Rather, she tells them, however bizarre or interesting they may seem to the reader. Without expressing her opinion, Norris is actually painting very small stories about people she knows and weaving them together to create a larger story built around the theme of gossip.
Norris tries to make her readers understand how gossip takes various forms; it could be bad or good, even therapeutic. Overall, she feels that it is good and yields much to help people express themselves. Gossip could be seen as a technique that people use to try and understand the situation they are speaking about. Norris adds that this is a morally instructive method used by many, even monks that live in deserts. Through gossip tales we can find, as mentioned before, great tales of heroism, tragedy, comedy, and even news in our current lives today. Works Cited Brereton, Jon C.
The Term Paper on Steps To Tyranny People Conscience Story
"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" - William Shakespeare. Is it true? Does the conscience actually regulate our behaviour and make us timid and humble as Shakespeare suggests? Does the conscience have the power to make cowards of us? Or would it not be able to prevent us from becoming tyrants? More importantly, does the conscience actually exist? The Oxford Dictionary defines ' ...
, Hartman, Joan E. , Peterson Linda H. The Norton Reader. 10 th ed. New York: W.
W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2000.