Jordan Duckworth
College Prep English
Definition Essay
October 19, 2016
The Beauty of Beginnings
A wedding day, the Roman Empire, and a favorite song--what could these possibly have in common? They all have a beginning, a dawn. Whether it means the early rays of sunlight, that slice through the darkness of the night to bring a new day, the start of a new civilization, or even that moment when a person finally recalls information they thought they had forgotten. The word dawn has many meanings ranging from the morning, a civilization, or remembering information, all of which can bring a great deal of detail and emotion with them making it one of the most powerful words in the english language.
Morning. For some a dreaded time where they would rather go back to bed. To others it can signal the start of a brand new day. But no one can deny the beauty of the first light breaking through the night. That light? That's called dawn. A dawn not only is a beautiful sight, but it has amazing meanings that can be extremely deep. Cultures all over the world have their own beliefs about the morning. The greek and roman mythologies even had their own gods for dawn. The sole purpose of these gods were to help mortals transition from the night into the day.
Civilizations. Many civilizations have existed but at some time ended due to various reasons. Whether they are around anymore or not, they had a beginning and while some may not have the most interesting beginnings, they are important all the same. The dawn of a civilization is one of the most important and dangerous point for that civilization. They are still young and may not have many citizens which puts them at risk, the ones that do survive worked hard to do so, this helps to contribute to the deep meaning of the word “dawn.”
Realization. It could be as simple as remembering “y=mx+b” or it could be that moment when a new doctor remembers how to give a chest tube and saves a patient’s life. When this happens it's said that the information has dawned on you. Many other cultures have words that mean remembering certain feelings or ideals but the word “dawn” can mean remembering any information, big or little. It can have such a simple meaning while still being an incredibly moving word. Like mentioned above many cultures believed the simple act of realizing or remembering certain information a person had forgot was actually the act of a god showing favor to a mortal.
Dawn has many meanings used in many contexts and one cannot deny the power and depth of the word no matter the context or meaning. Without dawn, dusk would have no counterpart. Without dawn we would not have beautiful sunrises. Without dawn great civilizations would not begin. Without dawn we would not have a word powerful enough to represent gods across all cultures. When viewing a sunrise, thinking about any civilization, or even realizing something, think about the word “dawn” and how each one of these things are completely different and amazing in their own right, but can all be described with one word.
College Prep English
Definition Essay
October 19, 2016
The Beauty of Beginnings
A wedding day, the Roman Empire, and a favorite song--what could these possibly have in common? They all have a beginning, a dawn. Whether it means the early rays of sunlight, that slice through the darkness of the night to bring a new day, the start of a new civilization, or even that moment when a person finally recalls information they thought they had forgotten. The word dawn has many meanings ranging from the morning, a civilization, or remembering information, all of which can bring a great deal of detail and emotion with them making it one of the most powerful words in the english language.
Morning. For some a dreaded time where they would rather go back to bed. To others it can signal the start of a brand new day. But no one can deny the beauty of the first light breaking through the night. That light? That's called dawn. A dawn not only is a beautiful sight, but it has amazing meanings that can be extremely deep. Cultures all over the world have their own beliefs about the morning. The greek and roman mythologies even had their own gods for dawn. The sole purpose of these gods were to help mortals transition from the night into the day.
Civilizations. Many civilizations have existed but at some time ended due to various reasons. Whether they are around anymore or not, they had a beginning and while some may not have the most interesting beginnings, they are important all the same. The dawn of a civilization is one of the most important and dangerous point for that civilization. They are still young and may not have many citizens which puts them at risk, the ones that do survive worked hard to do so, this helps to contribute to the deep meaning of the word “dawn.”
Realization. It could be as simple as remembering “y=mx+b” or it could be that moment when a new doctor remembers how to give a chest tube and saves a patient’s life. When this happens it's said that the information has dawned on you. Many other cultures have words that mean remembering certain feelings or ideals but the word “dawn” can mean remembering any information, big or little. It can have such a simple meaning while still being an incredibly moving word. Like mentioned above many cultures believed the simple act of realizing or remembering certain information a person had forgot was actually the act of a god showing favor to a mortal.
Dawn has many meanings used in many contexts and one cannot deny the power and depth of the word no matter the context or meaning. Without dawn, dusk would have no counterpart. Without dawn we would not have beautiful sunrises. Without dawn great civilizations would not begin. Without dawn we would not have a word powerful enough to represent gods across all cultures. When viewing a sunrise, thinking about any civilization, or even realizing something, think about the word “dawn” and how each one of these things are completely different and amazing in their own right, but can all be described with one word.