Stress
"The alarm was often answered-it seemed-by other burglar alarms, in other houses, that had been triggered by pet cats or nibbling mice. The alarms called to one another across the gardens in shrills and bleats and wails that everyone soon became accustomed to, so that the din roused the inhabitants of the suburb no more than the croak of frogs and musical grating of cicadas' legs."(254)In only two sentences Nadine Gordimer was able to relay to her audience the relevance of the story. This passage states the danger of focusing on the wrong things. By breaking the passage down into segments and looking at each one individually instead of as a whole, we are able to find more detail about the effects of misdirected focus. "The alarm was often answered-it seemed-by other burglar alarms, in other houses". This first segment starts us off in a general direction. The people no longer responded to the alarms, therefore, it was partially their own fault that the burglaries continued. Obviously their focus was off track. If they were in true danger they would contin
"[Called] across the gardens in shrills and bleats and wails". The alarms did not just call to each other but did it in a very disturbing way. It is as though they are crying out. The adjectives the author chooses boldly show us that beauty (peacefulness, serenity) was being destroyed. They were sacrificing the "good" life for a false sense of security. This misdirected focus can cause harm to the entire family and beyond. The parents have good intentions but because they are misdirected they miss out on the child's life. The quality time all children need may become secondary to the parent's work. The work becomes such a routine and purpose in our life that it no longer disrupts our life, only changes it. The point is, the longer we remain focused on the less important things, the more important they will become. "The alarms called to one another". This symbolizes the chain-reaction effect of the neighborhood. As one house would take a new precaution all the other houses followed. It was as if the focus was redirected to a competition or "keeping up with the Jones'". "[Wails] tha
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jones' Called, Nadine Gordimer, , wails soon accustomed, din roused inhabitants, shrills bleats wails, roused inhabitants suburb, din roused, gardens shrills bleats, false sense, alarms triggered, inhabitants suburb, roused inhabitants, croak frogs, soon accustomed, suburb croak, wails soon, bleats wails,
Approximate Word count = 748
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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