Of Mice And Men Essays (434 words) - English-language Films

Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men Many of you may think it was easy enough for George to pick up that Luger and shoot this man, Lennie, right in the back of the head. This, however, is not so. The internal conflict that George must have faced was no doubt greater than anything you can imagine. George, an angel of mercy to his good friend and confidant, Lennie Small, is not a murderer. He is quite the opposite. The care of Lennie had been placed into George's hands by a dying woman. George had promised that he would take care of Lennie, watch after him, make sure he was safe. Because the greatest danger to Lennie, George and this Aunt Clara must have known, was himself. His sheer strength and simple mindedness had gotten Lennie in trouble many times before, and then, suddenly, he had killed a woman. The blame can not be placed anywhere for this woman's death. Lennie had no idea what he had done, the only thing he knew was that George would be upset. George did not kill Lennie out of spite, not because his thoughtless, innocent, act had dashed George's hopes of having a small farm. George had to do this because the other choices were grim. Lennie could be hanged, bludgeoned and beaten by the group of ranch hands that were after him. Or, maybe worse, Lennie would have been ripped from George's side and been thrown into some horrid mental institution, a danger to himself, a danger to others. After all, if they had escaped that town there would be the next town, the next dead girl, and another gang to out run. Perhaps it is best if Lennie's last, simple thoughts were of George telling him of the land they would own and work together. George did not, after all, just go up to Lennie and shoot him, point blank in the back of the head. He painted a lovely picture for Lennie to gaze upon before Lennie died, of the vegetable garden they would plant and the rabbit hutch that Lennie would be in charge of. Also, had Lennie lived, he would have never understood why there would not be ranch, only that there would be no soft rabbits for him to tend. What George did was a duty to himself, to Lennie, to society, because they would have always been running from something to somewhere. George has suffered the most out of any of these parties involved. He has lost a good friend and companion, a rarity in these times. What he did was out of love, not malice, and he should not be prosecuted. George has to live with what he had to do. That should be enough punishment.

Definition and Examples of Back Slang

Definition and Examples of Back Slang Back slang is a form of slang in which words are spoken and/or spelled backward. According to  lexicographer Eric Partridge, back slang was popular with the costermongers (street-vendors) in Victorian London. The hallmark of their speech, Partridge said, is the frequency with which they turn words (normal or slangy) into back-slang . . .. The general rule is to spell a word backwards, and then, ideally, to employ the pronunciation approaching the closest to that often impossible arrangement of letters  (Slang Today and Yesterday, 1960). The costermongers themselves referred to back slang as kacab genals.Like rhyming slang, back slang started out as subterfuge, says MIchael Adams, but soon became language games you could play for fun (Slang: The Peoples Poetry, 2009). Examples and Observations If you really want to speak freely around those who shouldnt know your secrets, learn how to form back slang or center slang. When you are next in your local, order a top o reeb  instead of pot of beer, but hope that the bartender understands the slang, or you may be eighty-sixed for the whole kew week. Dont blame the bartender, though, who may not be the right nosper person for the bloomin emag bloomin game.(Michael Adams,  Slang: The Peoples Poetry. Oxford University Press, 2009) Arbitrary Spelling Conventions Back slang is a language constructed on lines- I venture to hint illogical lines- of its own. The initial idea is that all words are to be pronounced backwards; for instance, instead of saying no you say on, for bad man you say dab nam. But you have not proceeded far before you find that the initial idea breaks down. Penny, reversed, would be ynnep, the back slangster says yennup. Evig em a yennup, is his version of Give me a penny. . . . It would be impossible for an English tongue to pronounce many of our words backwards. How would you pronounce night or drink backwards, leaving the spelling as it is? not to speak of more difficult examples. The result is that the back slangster adopts not only an arbitrary spelling, but also an arbitrary pronunciation of his own. (Slang. All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal Conducted by Charles Dickens, November  25, 1893) The Language of Tradesmen and ChildrenBack-slang proper, sometimes employed by barrow-boys and hawkers, and indigenous to certain trades such as the greengrocers and the butchers, where it is spoken to ensure that the customer shall not understand what is being said (Evig reh emos delo garcs deneGive her some old scrag end) consists simply of saying each word backwards, and when this is impossible saying the name of the letter instead of its sound, usually the first or the last letter, thus: Uoy nac ees reh screckin ginwosh (You can see her knickers showing). An Enfield master reports that he found at least half a dozen boys who could talk it quickly.(Iona and Peter Opie, The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren. Oxford University Press, 1959) Secret Languages Secret languages . . . have an obvious appeal for those who have something to hide. One language used by African slaves, called TUT, was based on phonetics, and used to help teach children to read. Victorian market traders, meanwhile, are thought to have dreamed up back slang- in which a word is spoken backwards, giving us yob for boyin order to single out customers on whom to palm off shoddy goods. (Laura Barnett, Why We All Need Our Own Secret Slang. The Guardian [UK], June 9, 2009) A 19th-Century Report on Back Slang This back language, back slang, or kacab genals, as it is called by the costermongers themselves, is supposed to be regarded by the rising generation of street-sellers as a distinct and regular mode of intercommunication. People who hear this slang for the first time never refer words, by inverting them, to their originals; and the yanneps, esclops, and nammows, are looked upon as secret terms. Those who practice the slang soon obtain a considerable stock vocabulary, so that they converse rather from the memory than the understanding. Amongst the senior costermongers, and those who pride themselves on their proficiency in back slang, a conversation is  often sustained for a whole evening- that is, the chief words are in the back slang- especially if any flats are present whom they wish to astonish or confuse. . . The back slang has been in vogue for many years. It is . . . very easily acquired, and is principally used by the costermongers and others who practice it . . . for communicating the secrets of their street tradings, the cost of and profit on goods, and for keeping their natural enemies, the police, in the dark.(The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal, rev. ed.,  1874)