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The Power of Words

  • Lucy Swedberg

essay of power of words

How language connects, differentiates, and enlightens us

Four new books investigate how language connects, differentiates, and enlightens us. Viorica Marian’s The Power of Language explores the benefits of multilingualism. People who are multilingual perform better on executive-functioning tasks, for instance, and draw more novel connections.

In A Myriad of Tongues, author Caleb Everett notes that more than 7,000 languages exist today. And while academics traditionally looked for commonalities among languages, recent research has focused on how languages diverge, and what those differences can teach us.

A third book, Magic Words, by Wharton professor Jonah Berger, examines how specific words can carry an oversize impact, making them more likely to change hearts and minds or drive change.

By contrast, Dan Lyons’s STFU reminds readers that sometimes saying nothing is the best approach. “All of us,” he writes, “stand to gain by speaking less, listening more, and communicating with intention.” His book offers advice on how to do that, whether online, at work, or at home.

About a year ago, a friend suggested that I enroll in an adult tap-dance class held at our town’s community center. The suggestion wasn’t as random as it might seem. For nearly two decades in my youth, I had loved tapping in classes and onstage. And when I laced up those black leather shoes after a nearly 20-year hiatus, I felt instantly at home.

  • LS Lucy Swedberg is an executive editor at Harvard Business Publishing, focused on education.

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Essay on The Power of Words

Students are often asked to write an essay on The Power of Words in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on The Power of Words

The power of words.

Words are more than just a means to communicate. They have the power to inspire, motivate, and change perspectives.

Words Inspire

Words can inspire us to achieve great things. They can encourage us to strive for success and never give up.

Words Motivate

Motivational words can help us to overcome challenges. They give us the strength to keep going when times are tough.

Words Change Perspectives

Words can change our views. They can help us see things from a different angle, opening our minds to new ideas and possibilities.

250 Words Essay on The Power of Words

The influence of verbal expressions.

Words, the foundation of human communication, are potent tools that shape our reality. They contain the power to inspire, motivate, and transform lives, as well as the capacity to demoralize, harm, and create discord.

Words as Catalysts of Change

Words can instigate revolutions and inspire social change. Historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi utilized the power of words to galvanize masses, leading to significant societal transformations. Equally, in literature, authors use words to challenge prevailing norms, stimulate thought, and foster empathy.

The Destructive Power of Words

Conversely, words can also be destructive. They can perpetuate stereotypes, incite hatred, and trigger conflict. Words used irresponsibly, without consideration for their potential impact, can cause irreversible damage.

Words in the Digital Age

In the digital age, the power of words is amplified. Social media platforms provide a global stage where words can spread rapidly, influencing millions within seconds. This underscores the need for responsible communication to prevent the spread of misinformation and hate speech.

In conclusion, the power of words is undeniable. They shape our perceptions, influence our actions, and define our society. As such, we must wield them responsibly, understanding that our words can either build bridges or erect barriers. The choice is ours.

500 Words Essay on The Power of Words

The essence of words.

Words, the basic building blocks of communication, are more than mere symbols or sounds. They carry immense power, shaping our thoughts, actions, and the world around us. They can build bridges or erect walls, heal wounds or inflict pain, inspire revolutions or maintain status quo.

The Constructive Power of Words

Words have the power to create. They are the vessel through which we express our thoughts, emotions, and ideas. In literature, authors use words to craft vivid imagery, compelling narratives, and profound insights, transporting readers into different worlds. In science and philosophy, words articulate complex theories and abstract concepts, advancing human understanding.

The Power of Words in Interpersonal Relationships

In interpersonal relationships, words can nurture bonds, express love, and foster understanding. A well-chosen word can mend a broken relationship, while a harsh one can irreparably damage it. Words have the power to validate someone’s feelings, making them feel seen, heard, and understood.

However, the power of words is not always positive. Words can also destroy. They can breed hatred, instigate violence, and perpetuate stereotypes. Hate speech, for instance, uses words to marginalize, intimidate, and dehumanize certain groups, leading to social division and conflict.

The Power of Words in Politics and Society

In politics, words can be a tool for manipulation. Politicians use rhetoric to sway public opinion, sometimes spreading misinformation to further their agendas. However, words can also promote social change. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech used powerful words to galvanize the civil rights movement.

The Responsibility that Comes with the Power of Words

Given the power of words, it is essential to use them responsibly. This means being mindful of the potential impact of our words on others, striving for accuracy and truthfulness in our communication, and using words to promote understanding, respect, and peace.

Conclusion: The Enduring Power of Words

In conclusion, words are not just passive carriers of meaning. They are active agents in shaping our reality. They have the power to create and destroy, to heal and hurt, to enlighten and deceive. As wielders of this power, we have a responsibility to use words wisely and ethically. The power of words is a testament to the power of human communication and the profound impact it can have on our individual lives and society at large.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

  • Essay on Power of Youth
  • Essay on Power of Unity
  • Essay on Power of Media

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Speaking, writing and reading are integral to everyday life, where language is the primary tool for expression and communication. Studying how people use language – what words and phrases they unconsciously choose and combine – can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do.

Linguistics scholars seek to determine what is unique and universal about the language we use, how it is acquired and the ways it changes over time. They consider language as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon.

“Understanding why and how languages differ tells about the range of what is human,” said Dan Jurafsky , the Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor in Humanities and chair of the Department of Linguistics in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford . “Discovering what’s universal about languages can help us understand the core of our humanity.”

The stories below represent some of the ways linguists have investigated many aspects of language, including its semantics and syntax, phonetics and phonology, and its social, psychological and computational aspects.

Understanding stereotypes

Stanford linguists and psychologists study how language is interpreted by people. Even the slightest differences in language use can correspond with biased beliefs of the speakers, according to research.

One study showed that a relatively harmless sentence, such as “girls are as good as boys at math,” can subtly perpetuate sexist stereotypes. Because of the statement’s grammatical structure, it implies that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls, the researchers said.

Language can play a big role in how we and others perceive the world, and linguists work to discover what words and phrases can influence us, unknowingly.

How well-meaning statements can spread stereotypes unintentionally

New Stanford research shows that sentences that frame one gender as the standard for the other can unintentionally perpetuate biases.

Algorithms reveal changes in stereotypes

New Stanford research shows that, over the past century, linguistic changes in gender and ethnic stereotypes correlated with major social movements and demographic changes in the U.S. Census data.

Exploring what an interruption is in conversation

Stanford doctoral candidate Katherine Hilton found that people perceive interruptions in conversation differently, and those perceptions differ depending on the listener’s own conversational style as well as gender.

Cops speak less respectfully to black community members

Professors Jennifer Eberhardt and Dan Jurafsky, along with other Stanford researchers, detected racial disparities in police officers’ speech after analyzing more than 100 hours of body camera footage from Oakland Police.

How other languages inform our own

People speak roughly 7,000 languages worldwide. Although there is a lot in common among languages, each one is unique, both in its structure and in the way it reflects the culture of the people who speak it.

Jurafsky said it’s important to study languages other than our own and how they develop over time because it can help scholars understand what lies at the foundation of humans’ unique way of communicating with one another.

“All this research can help us discover what it means to be human,” Jurafsky said.

Stanford PhD student documents indigenous language of Papua New Guinea

Fifth-year PhD student Kate Lindsey recently returned to the United States after a year of documenting an obscure language indigenous to the South Pacific nation.

Students explore Esperanto across Europe

In a research project spanning eight countries, two Stanford students search for Esperanto, a constructed language, against the backdrop of European populism.

Chris Manning: How computers are learning to understand language​

A computer scientist discusses the evolution of computational linguistics and where it’s headed next.

Stanford research explores novel perspectives on the evolution of Spanish

Using digital tools and literature to explore the evolution of the Spanish language, Stanford researcher Cuauhtémoc García-García reveals a new historical perspective on linguistic changes in Latin America and Spain.

Language as a lens into behavior

Linguists analyze how certain speech patterns correspond to particular behaviors, including how language can impact people’s buying decisions or influence their social media use.

For example, in one research paper, a group of Stanford researchers examined the differences in how Republicans and Democrats express themselves online to better understand how a polarization of beliefs can occur on social media.

“We live in a very polarized time,” Jurafsky said. “Understanding what different groups of people say and why is the first step in determining how we can help bring people together.”

Analyzing the tweets of Republicans and Democrats

New research by Dora Demszky and colleagues examined how Republicans and Democrats express themselves online in an attempt to understand how polarization of beliefs occurs on social media.

Examining bilingual behavior of children at Texas preschool

A Stanford senior studied a group of bilingual children at a Spanish immersion preschool in Texas to understand how they distinguished between their two languages.

Predicting sales of online products from advertising language

Stanford linguist Dan Jurafsky and colleagues have found that products in Japan sell better if their advertising includes polite language and words that invoke cultural traditions or authority.

Language can help the elderly cope with the challenges of aging, says Stanford professor

By examining conversations of elderly Japanese women, linguist Yoshiko Matsumoto uncovers language techniques that help people move past traumatic events and regain a sense of normalcy.

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Domestic Violence

The healing power of words, research reveals how the power of reading and writing can transform our lives..

Posted November 18, 2019 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma

Free Minds gift from Kelli Taylor

They meet in a small classroom in the Washington, D.C. jail— teenagers convicted of crimes, locked away from family and friends. For an hour and a half each week, these young men find a space of freedom in the Free Minds Book Club, as they discuss books and write about their lives.

The first Free Minds Book Club met in 2002. Since then, members have shared their poems and essays with their families and friends. Book Club members returning home from prison have become “Poet Ambassadors,” sharing their poems and stories with young people in their community, who respond with their own stories of gangs, domestic violence , and heartbreak, realizing that they are not alone. Written from the heart, the Poet Ambassadors' words express their struggles and hopes. Their writing has touched the hearts of at-risk youth in their community, helping prevent violence and heal troubled lives.

Last spring I met Book Club facilitator Kelli Taylor, who gave me a copy of their 2015 book of poems and essays, The Untold Story of the Real Me , illustrated with compelling photographs of the young writers. The book’s dedication reads: “We believe in the power of reading and writing to teach, build community, inspire individuals and change lives” (2015, p. ii).

Research has shown how the power of words can change our lives by labeling, writing, and reading.

  • Labeling. Neuroscience research has shown the powerful effect words have on our brains. For example, consciously recognizing and labeling our emotions (“sad,” “ anxious ,” “confused”), reduces amygdala activation (Lieberman, Eisenberger, Crockett, Pfeiffer, & Way, 2007: Vago & Silbersweig, 2012). By simply giving words to our emotions we move away from limbic reactivity (“the low road”) and activate those parts of the brain that deal with language and meaning: Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas in the left frontal and temporal lobes, becoming more mindful and self-aware.
  • Writing. Psychologist James Pennebaker has found that using words in self-disclosure can help traumatized people express their feelings, discover a deeper sense of meaning, and gain greater perspective on their lives (Pennebaker, 1990; 1997). His research has shown that writing about painful events can be as beneficial as therapy. It relieves the stress of unspoken pain and organizes our experience into a meaningful narrative, bringing greater perspective and understanding.

In one experiment, Pennebaker asked college students to write about a painful experience for fifteen minutes a day for four days. After writing about everything from dysfunctional families to domestic violence, drug addiction , rape, and attempted suicide , the students felt better, found the writing deeply meaningful, and experienced significant improvements in their health. Other studies have associated writing with lower blood pressure, lower pain and medication usse, reductions in depression , and increased immune function, bringing positive health effects to a variety of populations from medical students to the unemployed, crime victims, prisoners, and those suffering from chronic pain (Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser, 1988; Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999).

  • Reading. Not only writing but reading has a powerful effect on us. Research has shown that reading poetry and stories about people's lives can be therapeutic. UCLA neuroscientist Daniel Siegel has described how poetry can make us more mindful, enabling us to see ourselves and our world "in a new light" (Siegel, 2007, p. 161). Studies have also shown that reading stories can bring us greater empathy (Diikic, & Oatley, 2014).

Thus, by embracing the power of the written word, the young writers in the Free Minds Book Club have transformed their pain and resentment, discovering greater meaning, cultivating community, and reaching out to make a positive difference in their world.

How can you use the healing power of words in your life?

­­­­­________________________________

This post is for informational purposes and should not substitute for psychotherapy with a qualified professional.

Djikic, M., & Oatley, K. (2014). The art in fiction: From indirect communication to changes of the self. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 8, 498-505.

Free Minds Book Club. (2015). The untold story of the real me: Young voices from prison. Washington, D.C.: Shout Mouse Press.

Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18, 421-428.

Pennebaker, J. W. (1990). Opening up: The healing power of confiding in others. New York, NY: William Morrow; Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8 (3) , 162-166.

Pennebaker, J.W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 239-245.

Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J.D. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Cinical Psychology, 55, 1243-1254.

Siegel, D. J. (2007). The mindful brain: Reflection and attunement in the cultivation of well-being. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Vago, D. R. & Silbersweig, D. A. (2012). Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): A framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6. doi: 10.3389/fnhuum.2012.00296.

Diane E Dreher Ph.D.

Diane Dreher, Ph.D. , is an author, researcher, and positive psychology coach.

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The Irrefutable Power Of Words

You’ve experienced the power of words in a way you will never forget. Even now, the memory lingers.

How could a few small words have such a big impact on your life?

Words have power . And only when you experienced that power yourself — either as the giver or as the receiver — did you begin to understand it.

You can use the power of words to heal or comfort others. Or you can use it to tear them down. Your character shapes and is shaped by the way you use this power.

So, how can you make the most of it?

Examples of the Power of Spoken Words

Examples of the power of written words, why are words so powerful for humans, 1. speak the truth., 2. avoid exaggerations., 3. don’t use double standards., 4. don’t use your words to manipulate others., 5. be consistent in what you say., 6. speak mindfully., 7. use words to benefit others..

When was the last time you heard spoken words that changed your perspective on something or someone? Maybe the words felt like a sucker punch.

Or maybe they lit you up inside and inspired you to make a change.

Consider the following examples of spoken words:

  • Speeches and Lectures
  • Song Lyrics
  • Conversations (spoken)
  • Audiobooks or Podcasts
  • Movies or TV shows

Now, see if you can recall any memories of negative words for each of these samples.

Are there songs you find difficult to listen to because of the negative lyrics? Or have you been avoiding someone because of a recent negative outburst?

Maybe you’re thinking of negative words you’ve never heard but that felt, in your mind, as though they’d been spoken aloud – and directly to you.

Guess what’s next.

Written words also have power — for the one who writes them and for those who read them.

You’ve felt this power. And maybe you’ve wielded it yourself.

Maybe you even consider it your superpower. You’re not wrong to call it that.

Consider the following examples:

  • Journal entries
  • Articles / Blog Posts
  • Letters, Notes, and Emails
  • Stories and Poems
  • Awards / Commendations or Written Reprimands
  • Books and Book Reviews

Never underestimate the power of a thoughtful note — or a love poem — or a compelling story.

The right words draw you in and build connections. The wrong words destroy relationships or prevent them from ever being built.

This is why marketers pay well for effective copywriting .

If your words can connect with your target audience and persuade them that paying for a particular product or service will change their life for the better, you most definitely have a superpower.

Use it for good.

Humans are the only species on this planet that has the power of speech and of the written word (as far as we know).

But in spite of the creative potential this power gives us, we spend more time exploring its destructive potential.

And we sabotage our own health and happiness when we do.

According to functional MRI scans (fMRI ), just looking at a list of negative words (including the word “NO”) worsens anxiety and depression.

And dwelling on those words can actually damage key structures in the brain — including those responsible for memory, feelings, and emotions.

Vocalizing that negativity releases more stress hormones, not only in you but in those who hear you.

Even silent worrying (about money, relationships, work, etc.) stimulates the release of neurochemicals that make you and those around you feel worse.

Empaths are particularly sensitive to this, but everyone around you is affected to some degree. And you as the ruminator suffer the most.

So, how can you turn things around?

7 Tips for Making Your Written and Spoken Words Powerful

“Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.” — Gautama Buddha

Trust is built on honesty; people want to know they can depend on you to tell them the truth, even when it hurts to hear it (and even if it makes you look bad).

There are times when lying can save a life. But in most cases, with relationships, a reputation for lying will rob you of your power to connect with them.

Without truth behind them, your words lose their meaning and become empty noise.

Saying “You never….” or “You always…” to berate others ensures that your negative message about them (which is personal) will eclipse whatever message you’re trying to send.

Very few people are consistent enough to “always” leave the toilet seat up or to “never” take out the garbage. And they know that.

So, if you accuse them of a perfect record of thoughtlessness, their own disagreement with your memory will make it difficult to pick up on the underlying request.

Double standards are when you have different rules or different expectations of two or more different people of equal ability in the same situation.

For example, if your employer, Biff, tells one employee, Jack, that all he needs to do is X and Y but then he tells Sally she’ll have to X, Y, and Z — and in less time — to receive the same reward (or 79% of it), he’s using the power of words (and money) to impose a double standard.

And once he does and word gets around, Biff’s own words will create an atmosphere of injustice.

No one wants to work for an employer who devalues and exploits others.

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Marketing isn’t about using words to pressure or manipulate people into spending their money on whatever you’re selling.

Neither is it about competing with other marketers to see who can use their words more effectively to make customers feel things.

If the only reason you’re trying to build a connection is to get something from the other person, they’ll pick up on that.

And even if you do persuade them to buy something, it’ll leave skid marks in their memory.

They’ll remember you as someone who used the power of words to line your own pockets at their expense. And their regret is your loss.

Consistency is saying or doing the same thing regardless of the circumstances, as long as those words or actions still apply.

It is possible to overdo consistency. And none of us is perfect.

But when it comes to the power of words, you don’t want to give anyone the impression that your words and actions will change whenever you feel the slightest pressure to change them — regardless of the consequences.

If someone’s words change too easily, they’re the verbal equivalent of shifting sands. You can’t build anything on them that won’t fall apart.

Fickle words have no power.

A daily mindfulness practice trains you to be aware of your thoughts and feelings, without judging them.

So, you can acknowledge that someone’s words or actions have made you feel devalued or manipulated.

But you don’t have to avenge your ego by using words as defense weapons.

You retain your power when you take a step back and use your words to restore balance instead.

When you use the power of beautiful words to express empathy rather than anger or condescension, you put the good of the souls involved ahead of your own impulses. You might also enjoy these mindfulness journal prompts .

Karma demands that we pay for every unkind word we speak or write. Every time we use the power of words against another soul, we guarantee that, sooner or later, we’ll experience the same pain we’ve inflicted.

Think of that the next time you look back at a conversation and wish you’d used the comeback that came to mind a half-hour later.

Or, better yet, think of that when you’re about to say (or write) a scathing response to someone who has verbally attacked you.

Even if you succeed in turning their own words against them, you’ll eventually realize that the victory wasn’t worth the alienation you caused.

Use your power to build them up instead.

Will you take advantage of the power of words?

Asking questions instead of resting on statements is another way to benefit from the power of words.

Questions open your mind, while statements (assumptions, snap judgments, and fixed beliefs) close it.

If you pride yourself on keeping an open mind — about people, ideas, and situations — you should be using words to ask more questions rather than to utter statements no one is allowed to question.

The words you speak can either promote growth and connection or undermine it.

Take a moment today to think of the words you want to be remembered for. Before you speak, think of the words you’d want to say if they were your last.

May the words you choose bless everyone who hears (or reads) them today.

Do you know that words have immense power? Once you experience the power yourself — either as the giver or as the receiver — do you begin to comprehend the power of spoken and written words.

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The Big IDEAS: What is power?

The Sacred Spell of Words

Power is language.

essay of power of words

By N. Scott Momaday

Mr. Momaday is an author, poet and playwright.

This is the first essay in The Big Ideas, a special section of The Times’s philosophy series, The Stone , in which more than a dozen notable thinkers and writers — including Elena Ferrante, Cornel West, Yuval Harari, Gen. Wesley Clark and others — answer the question, “What is power?”

The term “power” is everywhere in our world. Thinking of it, the phrase “word inflation” comes to mind. Much of what we e​n​counter in print, on television and in advertising centers on the concept of power.

But what is that concept? What is power? The truth is that the word bears an impossible burden of interpretation. Definitions are myriad; the dictionary lists an unusual number of meanings. Surely power is what it is — that which enables us to influence, if not indeed determine, the course of our lives.

And it is a word.

Words are powerful. As a writer, my experience tells me that nothing is more powerful. Language, after all, is made of words.

Words are conceptual symbols; they have denotative and connotative properties. The word “power” denotes force, physical strength, resistance. But it connotes something more subtle: persuasion, suggestion, inspiration, security.

Consider the words of Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”:

Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war; That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial.

We might be hard pressed to find words more charged with power to incite, to inflame, to affect violence and destruction. But there are, of course, other expressions of power in words.

They can be especially personal. They can touch our sensibilities in different and individual ways, perhaps because they have different associations for us. The word ​“Holocaust” frightens me because survivors of the Nazi death camps have told me of their suffering. Notwithstanding, the word is intrinsically powerful and disturbing.

The word “child” delights me; the word “love” confounds me; the word “God” mystifies me. I have lived my life under the spell of words; they have empowered my mind.

Words are sacred. I believe they are more sacred to children than they are to most of us. When I was first able to make my way in language, my Native American father, a member of the Kiowa tribe, told me stories from the Kiowa oral tradition. They transported me. They fascinated and thrilled me. They nourished my imagination. They nourished my soul. Indeed, nothing has meant more to me in fashioning my view of the world. I came to understand that story is the engine of language, and that words are the marrow of language.

Several years ago I was on a stage with the Kenyan paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey in Chicago. We were speaking on the subject of origins, specifically the origin of humans. Mr. Leakey argued that we became human when we became bipedal, and his argument was convincing. But I begged to differ: Surely we became human when we acquired language, a point of view I continue to hold.

Language is what separates our species from all others. It is, as we understand the term, a human invention, a system of communication based upon sounds and symbols​ ​ — words, spoken and written. The late scientist and writer Lewis Thomas, in his book, ​​“The Fragile Species, ​”​ speculates on the origin of language. People were living in caves, he wrote, and one day two communities came together. There came about a critical mass of children. The children played all day long, and at the end of that day we had language.

It seems incredible that a child should take possession of language at the age of 2 or 3, and yet it happens in the normal course of events. It happens, I suspect, because children love to play with words, and they are not afraid of them. Only in time do they come to know the spectrum of power in words, that they can wound as well as elate, promote war as well as peace, express hate as well as love.

In my tenure as a professor of English and American literature, it has been my good fortune to teach courses in Native American oral tradition. There is a formula in that tradition that goes: “In the beginning was the word, and it was spoken​. ​”

It may be that the essential power of language is realized by word-of-mouth expression. The oral tradition is inestimably older than writing, and it requires that we take words more seriously. One must not waste words. He must speak responsibly, he must listen carefully, and he must remember what is said.

There is a Navajo formula to make an enemy peaceful. It goes:

Put your feet down with pollen. Put your hands down with pollen. Put your head down with pollen. Then your feet are pollen; Your hands are pollen; Your body is pollen; Your mind is pollen; Your voice is pollen. The trai​l​ is beautiful. Be still. Now that is power.

N. Scott Momaday is an author, poet and playwright. He is the 2019 recipient of the Ken Burns American Heritage Prize. His novel, “House Made of Dawn,” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969.

Now in print : “ Modern Ethics in 77 Arguments ,” and “ The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments ,” with essays from the series, edited by Peter Catapano and Simon Critchley, published by Liveright Books.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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essay of power of words

The power of words

Monica Angulo

Can you imagine a world without words?

It would be chaos.

Many times we take them for granted, just as a way of communicating what we want or need. And they actually do that, but at the same time they do something bigger.

Words are powerful. Whether you write or speak them, they do have an impact on you and the others. They express feelings and share knowledge. They can change someones mood completely and ignite a spark in them.

That´s why writing is an extraordinary experience. It´s not just jotting down symbols that form words, it’s a way of expressing what you feel or think. Hence why you should really think before speaking. Once the words are out, they never come back. If you want to expand motivation and peace, your words should reflect that, they should be positive. Otherwise, you would be doing the exact opposite.

Everyone should try writing at least once. It doesn´t matter the topic, or if you want to share it with others, but you should just sit down and take all those thoughts out your head. In that way, you´ll have less going on in your mind and they will probably make more sense to you once you see them.

If you want to test how powerful words are, try for a week saying positive phrases to yourself in front of the mirror, and you´ll soon see a change in your mood and the way you act.

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The Works of Edgar Allan Poe

By edgar allan poe, the power of words.

  • Year Published: 1903
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Source: Poe, E.A. (1903). The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition, Volume 4 . New York: P. F. Collier and Son.
  • Flesch–Kincaid Level: 8.2
  • Word Count: 1,439
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Keywords: creation, free will, human nature, impulse
  • ✎ Cite This

Poe, E. (1903). The Power of Words. The Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved May 15, 2024, from https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/147/the-works-of-edgar-allan-poe/5227/the-power-of-words/

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Power of Words." The Works of Edgar Allan Poe . Lit2Go Edition. 1903. Web. https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/147/the-works-of-edgar-allan-poe/5227/the-power-of-words/ >. May 15, 2024.

Edgar Allan Poe, "The Power of Words," The Works of Edgar Allan Poe , Lit2Go Edition, (1903), accessed May 15, 2024, https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/147/the-works-of-edgar-allan-poe/5227/the-power-of-words/ .

OINOS. Pardon, Agathos, the weakness of a spirit new-fledged with immortality!

AGATHOS. You have spoken nothing, my Oinos, for which pardon is to be demanded. Not even here is knowledge thing of intuition. For wisdom, ask of the angels freely, that it may be given!

OINOS. But in this existence, I dreamed that I should be at once cognizant of all things, and thus at once be happy in being cognizant of all.

AGATHOS. Ah, not in knowledge is happiness, but in the acquisition of knowledge! In for ever knowing, we are for ever blessed; but to know all were the curse of a fiend.

OINOS. But does not The Most High know all?

AGATHOS. That (since he is The Most Happy) must be still the one thing unknown even to Him.

OINOS. But, since we grow hourly in knowledge, must not at last all things be known?

AGATHOS. Look down into the abysmal distances!—attempt to force the gaze down the multitudinous vistas of the stars, as we sweep slowly through them thus—and thus—and thus! Even the spiritual vision, is it not at all points arrested by the continuous golden walls of the universe?—the walls of the myriads of the shining bodies that mere number has appeared to blend into unity?

OINOS. I clearly perceive that the infinity of matter is no dream.

AGATHOS. There are no dreams in Aidenn—but it is here whispered that, of this infinity of matter, the sole purpose is to afford infinite springs, at which the soul may allay the thirst to know, which is for ever unquenchable within it—since to quench it, would be to extinguish the soul's self. Question me then, my Oinos, freely and without fear. Come! we will leave to the left the loud harmony of the Pleiades, and swoop outward from the throne into the starry meadows beyond Orion, where, for pansies and violets, and heart's—ease, are the beds of the triplicate and triple—tinted suns.

OINOS. And now, Agathos, as we proceed, instruct me!—speak to me in the earth's familiar tones. I understand not what you hinted to me, just now, of the modes or of the method of what, during mortality, we were accustomed to call Creation. Do you mean to say that the Creator is not God?

AGATHOS. I mean to say that the Deity does not create.

OINOS. Explain.

AGATHOS. In the beginning only, he created. The seeming creatures which are now, throughout the universe, so perpetually springing into being, can only be considered as the mediate or indirect, not as the direct or immediate results of the Divine creative power.

OINOS. Among men, my Agathos, this idea would be considered heretical in the extreme.

AGATHOS. Among angels, my Oinos, it is seen to be simply true.

OINOS. I can comprehend you thus far—that certain operations of what we term Nature, or the natural laws, will, under certain conditions, give rise to that which has all the appearance of creation. Shortly before the final overthrow of the earth, there were, I well remember, many very successful experiments in what some philosophers were weak enough to denominate the creation of animalculae.

AGATHOS. The cases of which you speak were, in fact, instances of the secondary creation—and of the only species of creation which has ever been, since the first word spoke into existence the first law.

OINOS. Are not the starry worlds that, from the abyss of nonentity, burst hourly forth into the heavens—are not these stars, Agathos, the immediate handiwork of the King?

AGATHOS. Let me endeavor, my Oinos, to lead you, step by step, to the conception I intend. You are well aware that, as no thought can perish, so no act is without infinite result. We moved our hands, for example, when we were dwellers on the earth, and, in so doing, gave vibration to the atmosphere which engirdled it. This vibration was indefinitely extended, till it gave impulse to every particle of the earth's air, which thenceforward, and for ever, was actuated by the one movement of the hand. This fact the mathematicians of our globe well knew. They made the special effects, indeed, wrought in the fluid by special impulses, the subject of exact calculation—so that it became easy to determine in what precise period an impulse of given extent would engirdle the orb, and impress (for ever) every atom of the atmosphere circumambient. Retrograding, they found no difficulty, from a given effect, under given conditions, in determining the value of the original impulse. Now the mathematicians who saw that the results of any given impulse were absolutely endless—and who saw that a portion of these results were accurately traceable through the agency of algebraic analysis—who saw, too, the facility of the retrogradation—these men saw, at the same time, that this species of analysis itself, had within itself a capacity for indefinite progress—that there were no bounds conceivable to its advancement and applicability, except within the intellect of him who advanced or applied it. But at this point our mathematicians paused.

OINOS. And why, Agathos, should they have proceeded?

AGATHOS. Because there were some considerations of deep interest beyond. It was deducible from what they knew, that to a being of infinite understanding—one to whom the perfection of the algebraic analysis lay unfolded—there could be no difficulty in tracing every impulse given the air—and the ether through the air—to the remotest consequences at any even infinitely remote epoch of time. It is indeed demonstrable that every such impulse given the air, must, in the end, impress every individual thing that exists within the universe;—and the being of infinite understanding—the being whom we have imagined—might trace the remote undulations of the impulse—trace them upward and onward in their influences upon all particles of an matter—upward and onward for ever in their modifications of old forms—or, in other words, in their creation of new—until he found them reflected—unimpressive at last—back from the throne of the Godhead. And not only could such a thing do this, but at any epoch, should a given result be afforded him—should one of these numberless comets, for example, be presented to his inspection—he could have no difficulty in determining, by the analytic retrogradation, to what original impulse it was due. This power of retrogradation in its absolute fulness and perfection—this faculty of referring at all epochs, all effects to all causes—is of course the prerogative of the Deity alone—but in every variety of degree, short of the absolute perfection, is the power itself exercised by the whole host of the Angelic intelligences.

OINOS. But you speak merely of impulses upon the air.

AGATHOS. In speaking of the air, I referred only to the earth; but the general proposition has reference to impulses upon the ether—which, since it pervades, and alone pervades all space, is thus the great medium of creation.

OINOS. Then all motion, of whatever nature, creates?

AGATHOS. It must: but a true philosophy has long taught that the source of all motion is thought—and the source of all thought is—

OINOS. God.

AGATHOS. I have spoken to you, Oinos, as to a child of the fair Earth which lately perished—of impulses upon the atmosphere of the Earth.

OINOS. You did.

AGATHOS. And while I thus spoke, did there not cross your mind some thought of the physical power of words? Is not every word an impulse on the air?

OINOS. But why, Agathos, do you weep—and why, oh why do your wings droop as we hover above this fair star—which is the greenest and yet most terrible of all we have encountered in our flight? Its brilliant flowers look like a fairy dream—but its fierce volcanoes like the passions of a turbulent heart.

AGATHOS. They are!—they are! This wild star—it is now three centuries since, with clasped hands, and with streaming eyes, at the feet of my beloved—I spoke it—with a few passionate sentences—into birth. Its brilliant flowers are the dearest of all unfulfilled dreams, and its raging volcanoes are the passions of the most turbulent and unhallowed of hearts.

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The Power Of Words In "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

The Power Of Words In "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak essay

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Last Update: April 28, 2023 Navigation: Main Menu Poe's Works Poe's Tales Editorial Policies Searching Annotated Text

Edgar Allan Poe — “The Power of Words”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Sections:  Commentary Reading and Ref. Texts Hist. Texts Comp. and Study Texts Misc. Texts Bibliography

Commentary:

Characters:.

  • (narrator) - Under development.

Location - Under development.

Date - Under development.

Under development.

Reading and Reference Texts:

Reading copy:.

  • “The Power of Words” — reading copy

Historical Texts:

Manuscripts and authorized printings:.

  • Text-01 — “The Power of Words” — 1845 — (There are no known draft manuscripts or scratch notes reflecting the original effort of composition.)
  • Text-02a — “The Power of Words” — early 1845 — (Speculated faircopy manuscript Poe prepared for publication. Mabbott notes that, given the printing schedule for the magazine, the manuscript must have been in the hands of the publishers by about April 1845. This manuscript does not appear to have survived, but this version is presumably recorded in Text-02b.)
  • Text-02b — “ The Power of Words ” — June 1845 — Democratic Review — (Mabbott text A)  (This issue was apparently available by mid-May)
  • Text-03a — “The Power of Words” — June-October 1845 — (Speculated revised version, in a form of changes made to the pages printed in the Democratic Review . There are only a handful of substantive changes, and a few minor touches may also have been made in proof.)
  • Text-03b — “ The Power of Words ” — October 25, 1845 — Broadway Journal — (Mabbott text B) (For Griswold's 1850 reprinting of this text, see the entry below, under reprints.)
  • “ The Power of Words ” — 1850 — WORKS — Griswold reprints Text-04 (Mabbott text C — This is Mabbott's copy-text)
  • “ The Power of Words ” — 1874 — Works of Edgar A. Poe , edited by J. H. Ingram, vol. 2, pp. 189-193 (This collection was subsequently reprinted in various forms)
  • “The Power of Words” — 1888 — The Complete Poetical Works and Essays on Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe , ed. John H. Ingram, London and New York: Frederick Warne & Co. (pp. 126-130) (This tale is included as one of six “Prose Poems,” without further explanation.)

Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:

  • “ The Power of Words ” — 1894-1895 — The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 1: Tales , eds. E. C. Stedman and G. E. Woodberry, Chicago: Stone and Kimball (1:236-241)
  • “ The Power of Words ” — 1902 — The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 6: Tales V , ed. J. A. Harrison, New York: T. Y. Crowell (6:139-144, and 6:285-287)
  • “ The Power of Words ” — 1978 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 3: Tales & Sketches II , ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (3:1210-1217)
  • “The Power of Words” — 1984 — Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales , ed. Patrick F. Quinn (New York: Library of America), pp. 822-825

Comparative and Study Texts:

Instream comparative and study texts:.

  • “ The Power of Words ” — Comparative Text ( Democratic Review and BJ )
  • “ The Power of Words ” — Comparative Text ( BJ and WORKS )

Associated Material and Special Versions:

Miscellaneous texts and related items:.

  • “Puissance de la parole” — August 5, 1854 — Le Pays
  • “Puissance de la parole” — 1857 — Nouvelles histoires par Edgar Poe , Paris: Michel Lévy frères

Bibliography:

  • Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe , Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943.
  • Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches ), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978.
  • Wyllie, John Cooke, “A List of the Texts of Poe's Tales,” Humanistic Studies in Honor of John Calvin Metcalf , Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1941, pp. 322-338.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Book Report — The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: the Power of Words

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: The Power of Words

  • Categories: Book Report Literary Criticism

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Words: 778 |

Published: Mar 19, 2020

Words: 778 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Prompt examples for "the book thief" essay, "the book thief" essay example.

  • Character Development: Explore how the characters in "The Book Thief" are shaped and transformed by the power of words, including Liesel, Hans, and Max.
  • Literary Devices: Analyze the literary devices used by Markus Zusak to emphasize the significance of words in the narrative, such as metaphors, symbolism, and imagery.
  • Impact of Storytelling: Discuss the role of storytelling and literature within the novel, examining how it serves as a form of resistance, escape, and connection for the characters.
  • Moral and Ethical Questions: Examine the moral and ethical questions raised by the power of words in the story, including the themes of propaganda, censorship, and the responsibility of language.
  • Universal Themes: Reflect on the universal themes regarding the power of words, their ability to heal or harm, and the lasting impact of stories and literature on individuals and society.

Works Cited

  • BBC News. (2018, May 26). Abortion: All you need to know about the UK law. BBC News.
  • BBC News. (2019, May 15). Alabama abortion ban: Should men have a say in the debate? BBC News.
  • Catholics for Choice. (2019). Access to abortion.
  • National Abortion Federation. (2021). Facts about abortion: US abortion statistics. https://prochoice.org/abortion-facts/
  • Pros and Cons. (2021). Abortion. https://www.prosandcons.org/social-issues/abortion/
  • Sanghani, R. (2019, May 23). Are men really allowed to make decisions about abortion? BBC News.
  • Smith, M. (2020, March 4). Abortion roars back as 2020 issue. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/04/abortion-issue-returns-121905
  • The Guardian. (2019, May 16). Alabama abortion ban: Republican state senate passes most restrictive law in US. The Guardian.

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Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “The Power of Words” Complete English Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

The Power of Words

All over the world, words are the primary way people communicate with each other. It doesn’t matter where you live, what color you are, or what creed you follow; words convey your thoughts. There is no bigger medium of expression.

We use words to thank, to plead, to rejoice, to grieve, to instruct, to congratulate. It doesn’t matter if they are written or they are sung. You just can’t get away from words. From the time you are born and your mom whispers sweet nothings in your ears to the time that the priest reads the scriptures out to you at the end, you can’t get away from words. Yet we pay so little attention to them. We use them at random, sometimes our minds find it hard to keep pace with our tongues. Words have great power. The power to bring peace, the power to spread love , the power to give hope, the power to encourage, the power to guide, the power to comfort, the power to uplift, the power to heal. But they can also kill, they can make you feel small and insignificant, they can hurt you, they can humiliate you, they can rob you of your decency, steal your sleep and even make you sick. Then there are the words that humble you, elevate you, take you closer to God.

Never speak words that can rob another of his dignity and his pride. If you don’t have the words to encourage and elevate, best is to say nothing at all. A kind helping word of encouragement can make someone’s day so be ready with that word any time of the day. You never know whom you might be able to help with your good word of the day.

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Illustration of a missile made from words.

In the campus protests over the war in Gaza, language and rhetoric are—as they have always been when it comes to Israel and Palestine—weapons of mass destruction.

By Zadie Smith

A philosophy without a politics is common enough. Aesthetes, ethicists, novelists—all may be easily critiqued and found wanting on this basis. But there is also the danger of a politics without a philosophy. A politics unmoored, unprincipled, which holds as its most fundamental commitment its own perpetuation. A Realpolitik that believes itself too subtle—or too pragmatic—to deal with such ethical platitudes as thou shalt not kill. Or: rape is a crime, everywhere and always. But sometimes ethical philosophy reënters the arena, as is happening right now on college campuses all over America. I understand the ethics underpinning the protests to be based on two widely recognized principles:

There is an ethical duty to express solidarity with the weak in any situation that involves oppressive power.

If the machinery of oppressive power is to be trained on the weak, then there is a duty to stop the gears by any means necessary.

The first principle sometimes takes the “weak” to mean “whoever has the least power,” and sometimes “whoever suffers most,” but most often a combination of both. The second principle, meanwhile, may be used to defend revolutionary violence, although this interpretation has just as often been repudiated by pacifistic radicals, among whom two of the most famous are, of course, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr . In the pacifist’s interpretation, the body that we must place between the gears is not that of our enemy but our own. In doing this, we may pay the ultimate price with our actual bodies, in the non-metaphorical sense. More usually, the risk is to our livelihoods, our reputations, our futures. Before these most recent campus protests began, we had an example of this kind of action in the climate movement. For several years now, many people have been protesting the economic and political machinery that perpetuates climate change, by blocking roads, throwing paint, interrupting plays, and committing many other arrestable offenses that can appear ridiculous to skeptics (or, at the very least, performative), but which in truth represent a level of personal sacrifice unimaginable to many of us.

I experienced this not long ago while participating in an XR climate rally in London. When it came to the point in the proceedings where I was asked by my fellow-protesters whether I’d be willing to commit an arrestable offense—one that would likely lead to a conviction and thus make travelling to the United States difficult or even impossible—I’m ashamed to say that I declined that offer. Turns out, I could not give up my relationship with New York City for the future of the planet. I’d just about managed to stop buying plastic bottles (except when very thirsty) and was trying to fly less. But never to see New York again? What pitiful ethical creatures we are (I am)! Falling at the first hurdle! Anyone who finds themselves rolling their eyes at any young person willing to put their own future into jeopardy for an ethical principle should ask themselves where the limits of their own commitments lie—also whether they’ve bought a plastic bottle or booked a flight recently. A humbling inquiry.

It is difficult to look at the recent Columbia University protests in particular without being reminded of the campus protests of the nineteen-sixties and seventies, some of which happened on the very same lawns. At that time, a cynical political class was forced to observe the spectacle of its own privileged youth standing in solidarity with the weakest historical actors of the moment, a group that included, but was not restricted to, African Americans and the Vietnamese. By placing such people within their ethical zone of interest, young Americans risked both their own academic and personal futures and—in the infamous case of Kent State—their lives. I imagine that the students at Columbia—and protesters on other campuses—fully intend this echo, and, in their unequivocal demand for both a ceasefire and financial divestment from this terrible war, to a certain extent they have achieved it.

But, when I open newspapers and see students dismissing the idea that some of their fellow-students feel, at this particular moment, unsafe on campus, or arguing that such a feeling is simply not worth attending to, given the magnitude of what is occurring in Gaza, I find such sentiments cynical and unworthy of this movement. For it may well be—within the ethical zone of interest that is a campus, which was not so long ago defined as a safe space, delineated by the boundary of a generation’s ethical ideas— it may well be that a Jewish student walking past the tents, who finds herself referred to as a Zionist, and then is warned to keep her distance, is, in that moment, the weakest participant in the zone. If the concept of safety is foundational to these students’ ethical philosophy (as I take it to be), and, if the protests are committed to reinserting ethical principles into a cynical and corrupt politics, it is not right to divest from these same ethics at the very moment they come into conflict with other imperatives. The point of a foundational ethics is that it is not contingent but foundational. That is precisely its challenge to a corrupt politics.

Practicing our ethics in the real world involves a constant testing of them, a recognition that our zones of ethical interest have no fixed boundaries and may need to widen and shrink moment by moment as the situation demands. (Those brave students who—in supporting the ethical necessity of a ceasefire—find themselves at painful odds with family, friends, faith, or community have already made this calculation.) This flexibility can also have the positive long-term political effect of allowing us to comprehend that, although our duty to the weakest is permanent, the role of “the weakest” is not an existential matter independent of time and space but, rather, a contingent situation, continually subject to change. By contrast, there is a dangerous rigidity to be found in the idea that concern for the dreadful situation of the hostages is somehow in opposition to, or incompatible with, the demand for a ceasefire. Surely a ceasefire—as well as being an ethical necessity—is also in the immediate absolute interest of the hostages, a fact that cannot be erased by tearing their posters off walls.

Part of the significance of a student protest is the ways in which it gives young people the opportunity to insist upon an ethical principle while still being, comparatively speaking, a more rational force than the supposed adults in the room, against whose crazed magical thinking they have been forced to define themselves. The equality of all human life was never a self-evident truth in racially segregated America. There was no way to “win” in Vietnam. Hamas will not be “eliminated.” The more than seven million Jewish human beings who live in the gap between the river and the sea will not simply vanish because you think that they should. All of that is just rhetoric. Words. Cathartic to chant, perhaps, but essentially meaningless. A ceasefire, meanwhile, is both a potential reality and an ethical necessity. The monstrous and brutal mass murder of more than eleven hundred people, the majority of them civilians, dozens of them children, on October 7th, has been followed by the monstrous and brutal mass murder (at the time of writing) of a reported fourteen thousand five hundred children. And many more human beings besides, but it’s impossible not to notice that the sort of people who take at face value phrases like “surgical strikes” and “controlled military operation” sometimes need to look at and/or think about dead children specifically in order to refocus their minds on reality.

To send the police in to arrest young people peacefully insisting upon a ceasefire represents a moral injury to us all. To do it with violence is a scandal. How could they do less than protest, in this moment? They are putting their own bodies into the machine. They deserve our support and praise. As to which postwar political arrangement any of these students may favor, and on what basis they favor it—that is all an argument for the day after a ceasefire. One state, two states, river to the sea—in my view, their views have no real weight in this particular moment, or very little weight next to the significance of their collective action, which (if I understand it correctly) is focussed on stopping the flow of money that is funding bloody murder, and calling for a ceasefire, the political euphemism that we use to mark the end of bloody murder. After a ceasefire, the criminal events of the past seven months should be tried and judged, and the infinitely difficult business of creating just, humane, and habitable political structures in the region must begin anew. Right now: ceasefire. And, as we make this demand, we might remind ourselves that a ceasefire is not, primarily, a political demand. Primarily, it is an ethical one.

But it is in the nature of the political that we cannot even attend to such ethical imperatives unless we first know the political position of whoever is speaking. (“Where do you stand on Israel/Palestine?”) In these constructed narratives, there are always a series of shibboleths, that is, phrases that can’t be said, or, conversely, phrases that must be said. Once these words or phrases have been spoken ( river to the sea, existential threat, right to defend, one state, two states, Zionist, colonialist, imperialist, terrorist ) and one’s positionality established, then and only then will the ethics of the question be attended to (or absolutely ignored). The objection may be raised at this point that I am behaving like a novelist, expressing a philosophy without a politics, or making some rarefied point about language and rhetoric while people commit bloody murder. This would normally be my own view, but, in the case of Israel/Palestine, language and rhetoric are and always have been weapons of mass destruction.

It is in fact perhaps the most acute example in the world of the use of words to justify bloody murder, to flatten and erase unbelievably labyrinthine histories, and to deliver the atavistic pleasure of violent simplicity to the many people who seem to believe that merely by saying something they make it so. It is no doubt a great relief to say the word “Hamas” as if it purely and solely described a terrorist entity. A great relief to say “There is no such thing as the Palestinian people” as they stand in front of you. A great relief to say “Zionist colonialist state” and accept those three words as a full and unimpeachable definition of the state of Israel, not only under the disastrous leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu but at every stage of its long and complex history, and also to hear them as a perfectly sufficient description of every man, woman, and child who has ever lived in Israel or happened to find themselves born within it. It is perhaps because we know these simplifications to be impossible that we insist upon them so passionately. They are shibboleths; they describe a people, by defining them against other people—but the people being described are ourselves. The person who says “We must eliminate Hamas” says this not necessarily because she thinks this is a possible outcome on this earth but because this sentence is the shibboleth that marks her membership in the community that says that. The person who uses the word “Zionist” as if that word were an unchanged and unchangeable monolith, meaning exactly the same thing in 2024 and 1948 as it meant in 1890 or 1901 or 1920—that person does not so much bring definitive clarity to the entangled history of Jews and Palestinians as they successfully and soothingly draw a line to mark their own zone of interest and where it ends. And while we all talk, carefully curating our shibboleths, presenting them to others and waiting for them to reveal themselves as with us or against us—while we do all that, bloody murder.

And now here we are, almost at the end of this little stream of words. We’ve arrived at the point at which I must state clearly “where I stand on the issue,” that is, which particular political settlement should, in my own, personal view, occur on the other side of a ceasefire. This is the point wherein—by my stating of a position—you are at once liberated into the simple pleasure of placing me firmly on one side or the other, putting me over there with those who lisp or those who don’t, with the Ephraimites, or with the people of Gilead. Yes, this is the point at which I stake my rhetorical flag in that fantastical, linguistical, conceptual, unreal place—built with words—where rapes are minimized as needs be, and the definition of genocide quibbled over, where the killing of babies is denied, and the precision of drones glorified, where histories are reconsidered or rewritten or analogized or simply ignored, and “Jew” and “colonialist” are synonymous, and “Palestinian” and “terrorist” are synonymous, and language is your accomplice and alibi in all of it. Language euphemized, instrumentalized, and abused, put to work for your cause and only for your cause, so that it does exactly and only what you want it to do. Let me make it easy for you. Put me wherever you want: misguided socialist, toothless humanist, naïve novelist, useful idiot, apologist, denier, ally, contrarian, collaborator, traitor, inexcusable coward. It is my view that my personal views have no more weight than an ear of corn in this particular essay. The only thing that has any weight in this particular essay is the dead. ♦

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Letter: The power of words: Invoking antisemitism as a war tactic

We need to ask ourselves, who does this violence serve.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sam Silverman, a Jewish woman, holds up a sign in support of pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza during the latest Israel-Hamas war during a pro-Palestinian rally outside Provo City Library at Academy Square in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.

It is important we understand the words we use. “Antisemitism” is nonspecific because Arabs are Semites, too. Yet, since the Holocaust we have primarily equated this term with anti-Jewish oppression.

Israel supporters invoke the term to decry resistance to their ever-expanding borders. But I, a white Jewish person, have certainly never been singled out and oppressed for my Semite blood because my white privilege has a lot more cultural power. So to me, antisemitism is a moot point.

I have seen the word used to taint any sort of justified resistance as “unacceptable” because since WWII we can all agree that “antisemitism is evil,” even if what we are talking about is “Semite on Semite violence.” Similar to the term “terrorism,” without needing to understand any sort of context (like the classic, “it’s complicated”), we invoke these terms to dehumanize a desperate group of people and justify their annihilation.

Words are powerful, and the Americans that frame this as the Israel-Hamas war are equating a super military power with a small group of militants that do not represent an entire displaced people. Even talking about the Israel-Gaza war erases the rest of Palestine from the picture, taking for granted all of the dispossession that had taken place before Hamas was even created.

It’s too easy for the United States and Israel to just shout “antisemitic terrorists” and bomb Palestine into submission like they have done so many times already and in so many other regions, as well. We need to ask ourselves, who does this violence serve? Because from where I’m standing, this is not at all about the oppression our grandmothers faced in WWII, it’s about innocent people being forcibly displaced today.

Jake Trimble, Salt Lake City

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essay of power of words

A Lesson for Our Kids on the Power of Words

R aise your hand if you’ve ever heard the phrase: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I couldn’t tell you when I heard it for the first time or why, but it’s safe to say it stuck. As a kid growing up, I learned that words were just words. It was normalized to minimize hard feelings because they’d magically go away. Being angry, sad, or disappointed wasn’t a big deal — it was something I just had to “get over.” Now, as an adult raising my own kids, I know how untrue that phrase is. Words do matter, and they cause lasting impacts. While it took me several decades to fully understand this, I’m glad to report that they’re doing things differently these days. And there are ways for us to teach our kids about the power of their words.

The Power of Our Words

Recently, my oldest daughter shared one of her favorite lessons from her guidance counselors on the importance of words. The lesson discussed the impact of our words on the people around us. How one compliment can make someone’s day — or how a few mean words said in anger can be devastating.

The lesson discussed how powerful words can be, whether positive or negative. To illustrate the point in a concrete way, the counselor had the kids crumple up a piece of paper. Each crumple and contortion represented unkind words or bullying. Once they finished, she had them try to get the paper back to the way it was. Of course, no matter how much they smoothed it back out, it wasn’t the same.

She explained that, in a real-life scenario, smoothing the paper out might look like apologizing . But even when we say we’re sorry, when we hurt someone, it never fully erases the impact. Things don’t go back exactly to how they were. The same is true when those mean words get the better of us.

As parents, we want to teach our kids this lesson without the heartbreak, and it starts by leading with empathy . “You can build empathy by teaching the power of words,” says Matthew Schubert , a licensed professional counselor. “When your child understands how certain words make them feel, it helps them understand how their words affect others,” he adds.

Teaching our kiddos to walk in someone else’s shoes teaches them to pause and think about the impact and power of their words. It also helps them be a caring friend to those who have had difficult experiences with bullying . Even though they may not have been made fun of, they understand what it would feel like.

Leading With Empathy and Kindness

Being empathetic in every situation is easier said than done, even for an adult with more practice. It’s even more difficult as a kid, especially when tempers flare. So, how do we teach our kids to be kind and patient ?

Schubert recommends that parents start with the basics, like identifying emotions and effectively communicating. “Doing this helps people better understand what you are trying to say and how you’re feeling,” he says. Remember that kindness comes in all shapes and forms. Practicing kindness doesn’t have to include a grand gesture.

Small Ways To Practice Kindness

If you’re looking for ways to teach your kids to infuse a little more kindness in their day-to-day lives, consider practicing some of the following:

  • Give a compliment to a friend, a family member, or even a stranger.
  • Practice gratitude and let people know that you appreciate them.
  • Be willing to listen to other people’s problems.
  • Volunteer with local organizations or find different ways to help people out through acts of kindness .
  • Leave notes of encouragement and kind words for people you encounter.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it’s an excellent place to start if you’re looking for little ways to teach your kids kindness . You also can ask your child about ideas they have. How do they want to practice kindness? How have they received kindness in the past that was meaningful to them?

“Finding the right words and actions to express this is an empowering experience for your kids,” says Schubert. “Something I often hear from kids is that they feel unheard. They feel invisible in the realm of adults making all the rules for them and always telling them what to do,” he adds. When your kiddo gets actively involved in these activities, it feels less like something they have to do and more like something they want to do.

We Are Responsible for Our Words

The words we say are powerful and have lasting impacts. I don’t know why this particular lesson hit home so hard for my daughter, but I’m glad it did. Be it an example with crumpled paper, broken dishes, or toothpaste squeezed out of a tube, the lesson that speaks the loudest is this: You are responsible for your words.

Equally as important, it’s worth saying, again and again, that it’s no extra thing to choose to be kind. Compliment someone. Flash them a smile if they seem to be feeling down. You never know whose day you can turn around or how much of a difference you can make for one person with just a few kind words.

A Lesson for Our Kids on the Power of Words

The Power of Persuasion: how Gatorade’s Slogan Captures the Essence of Sports Culture

This essay about Gatorade’s iconic slogan “Is it in you?” explores how it transcends traditional marketing to embody the ethos of sports culture. Introduced in 1997, the slogan effectively positions Gatorade not just as a beverage, but as a symbol of the resilience, strength, and determination inherent in athletes. It challenges the consumer to reflect on their own inner qualities and aligns the drink with the pursuit of athletic excellence. The slogan’s rhetorical power lies in its simplicity and dual meaning, resonating both as a physical intake and a metaphor for internal qualities necessary for success. The essay also discusses how Gatorade leverages visual endorsements from renowned athletes to strengthen its brand identity, making the drink synonymous with peak performance and recovery. Through this slogan, Gatorade markets both a product and an ideal, emphasizing that it is essential for anyone striving to realize their potential in sports.

How it works

When Gatorade coined its famous slogan “Is it in you?” back in 1997, it wasn’t just introducing a new tagline—it was embedding itself into the cultural fabric of athletics. This slogan goes beyond a simple marketing phrase; it serves as a rallying cry that resonates with the ethos of athletes around the world, encapsulating the spirit of determination and endurance. This analysis examines how Gatorade’s slogan captures the essence of sports culture and contributes to its brand identity, transforming the way consumers perceive sports beverages.

Gatorade has consistently positioned itself not just as a product but as an integral part of the sports narrative. The development of the slogan “Is it in you?” was a strategic move to highlight the intrinsic connection between the drink and the athlete’s internal drive and perseverance. This question does not merely ask if Gatorade is physically inside the athlete, but rather, it calls into question the presence of the qualities that Gatorade embodies: resilience, strength, and the relentless pursuit of victory.

The success of this slogan can be attributed to its deeply motivational nature. It challenges athletes to reflect on their own inner strength and determination, aligning the product with the inner qualities that sports enthusiasts aspire to exhibit. By doing so, Gatorade transcends the typical consumer product categorization, becoming a symbol of athletic excellence and ambition. This slogan encourages athletes to push their limits, suggesting that consuming Gatorade is synonymous with nurturing the qualities that make great athletes.

Moreover, the rhetorical power of the slogan lies in its simplicity and its evocative appeal. The structure of the phrase “Is it in you?” is open-ended, prompting an internal dialogue. It’s a clever play on words—on one hand, it references the physical consumption of the beverage, and on the other, it metaphorically speaks to the ingredients of success that must come from within the athlete. This dual meaning not only enhances the memorability of the slogan but also reinforces the message that Gatorade is essential for anyone striving to unleash their potential in the realm of sports.

The emotional resonance of the slogan is amplified by its widespread use in advertising campaigns featuring renowned athletes. These figures are often seen reaching for a bottle of Gatorade during their most challenging moments, thereby visually associating the drink with peak performance and recovery. The presence of Gatorade in contexts of extreme exertion and triumph sends a powerful message that the brand is a key component in the quest for athletic success. It subtly suggests that the qualities that define greatness are indeed “in” the athletes who choose Gatorade, thereby making it a part of their essential gear.

In conclusion, Gatorade’s slogan “Is it in you?” effectively captures the essence of sports culture by aligning the brand with the core attributes of dedication and excellence in athletics. It’s more than a marketing tool; it’s a philosophical inquiry that challenges athletes to introspect and recognize their potential. By intertwining the product with the identity and aspirations of its consumers, Gatorade has not only marketed a beverage but has also sold an ideal. This slogan remains a testament to the powerful role that effective branding can play in not just shaping consumer behavior but in becoming a part of the consumer’s identity and lifestyle. Through clever wording and emotional engagement, Gatorade ensures that it is not just seen as fuel for the body, but also as inspiration for the spirit.

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    words to further a political agenda, perhaps to persuade young citizens to risk their lives by going to war. The way words are used can cause either the oppression of a people or their empowerment. Because words have such power to change the way people understand the world and relate to the world, we can use words to transform the world.

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    Its brilliant flowers look like a fairy dream—but its fierce volcanoes like the passions of a turbulent heart. AGATHOS. They are!—they are! This wild star—it is now three centuries since, with clasped hands, and with streaming eyes, at the feet of my beloved—I spoke it—with a few passionate sentences—into birth.

  18. Lakoff's Essay: The Power Of Words

    The power of language has a way to reduce the problems for people and make it easier on them to kill the enemy. Wartime language is used in a positive way to bring change for everyone. Lakoff says that this language is a beneficial tool for the soldiers, but can be misused. Wartime language helps the soldiers on and off duty, and even the ones ...

  19. The Power Of Words In "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

    Markus Zusak's award-winning novel, The Book Thief, is a narrative about an orphaned girl, Liesel Meminger, and her journey in war-torn Nazi Germany to discover the power of words. Though Liesel's struggle against Adolf Hitler's totalitarian regime, the reader is shown the unseen yet manipulative influence of language.

  20. Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore

    Reprints: "The Power of Words" — 1888 — The Complete Poetical Works and Essays on Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. John H. Ingram, London and New York: Frederick Warne & Co. (pp. 126-130) (This tale is included as one of six "Prose Poems," without further explanation.)

  21. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: The Power of Words

    Prompt Examples for "The Book Thief" Essay. Character Development: Explore how the characters in "The Book Thief" are shaped and transformed by the power of words, including Liesel, Hans, and Max. Literary Devices: Analyze the literary devices used by Markus Zusak to emphasize the significance of words in the narrative, such as metaphors, symbolism, and imagery.

  22. Essay, Paragraph or Speech on "The Power of Words ...

    The Power of Words . All over the world, words are the primary way people communicate with each other. It doesn't matter where you live, what color you are, or what creed you follow; words convey your thoughts. There is no bigger medium of expression. We use words to thank, to plead, to rejoice, to grieve, to instruct, to congratulate.

  23. Free Essay: The Power of Words

    The power of words brings a sense of relaxation and serenity to Liesel and words begin to form a deep bond between Liesel and Hans. Another example of the power of words is on page 105. Hans Jr. and Hans get into a major argument. Hans Jr. calls his father a coward which results in Hans Jr. storming out,…. 532 Words.

  24. Unveiling the Power of Storytelling: what a Narrative is

    Essay Example: Storytelling, an intrinsic human practice, transcends mere entertainment, embodying a profound method of communication that connects individuals, delineates cultures, and shapes our understanding of the world. ... The true power of storytelling lies in its ability to stir emotions and develop empathy. As audiences immerse ...

  25. Harnessing the Power of Critical Thinking in Daily Life

    This essay about critical thinking outlines its importance and practical applications in everyday life. It defines critical thinking as the art of analyzing and evaluating information to form reasoned conclusions, emphasizing the importance of questioning information, structuring thoughts, and self-reflection.

  26. War in Gaza, Shibboleths on Campus

    In the campus protests over the war in Gaza, language and rhetoric are—as they have always been when it comes to Israel and Palestine—weapons of mass destruction. By Zadie Smith. May 5, 2024 ...

  27. Letter: The power of words: Invoking antisemitism as a war tactic

    Words are powerful, and the Americans that frame this as the Israel-Hamas war are equating a super military power with a small group of militants that do not represent an entire displaced people ...

  28. Unlocking the Power of Persuasion: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

    Essay Example: Persuasion is an ancient art, refined through the centuries as a pivotal tool in the spheres of politics, education, and advertisement. ... illustrating the effective combination of these elements in practical scenarios to enhance communication and persuasive power. Category: Ethos. Date added: 2024/05/12. Words: 539. Download: 203.

  29. A Lesson for Our Kids on the Power of Words

    The Power of Our Words. Recently, my oldest daughter shared one of her favorite lessons from her guidance counselors on the importance of words. The lesson discussed the impact of our words on the ...

  30. The Power of Persuasion: How Gatorade's Slogan Captures the Essence of

    The slogan's rhetorical power lies in its simplicity and dual meaning, resonating both as a physical intake and a metaphor for internal qualities necessary for success. The essay also discusses how Gatorade leverages visual endorsements from renowned athletes to strengthen its brand identity, making the drink synonymous with peak performance ...