So for my English 102 class, I was assigned an essay about symbolism. I worte mine about Kool-Aid, and turned it in. Everyone who i've shown it to said it was pretty good and i'm bored so i decided to cut it from microsoft word and paste it here.
George Gleason 9/15/08
English 102 Symbols essay
When one considers the deeper meaning of an object; what it represents if you will. They will come to the conclusion that everything in the world can represent different things to different people, whether in a metaphorical or a literal sense. One could very easily pick out any generic object and draw out some sort of deeper meaning. Some people would go as far as to say that Americas favorite powdered drink mix represents things like, the degradation of American nutrition, versatility, youth, laziness, and a lack of sanity. One of those people happens to be writing this essay and its about Kool-Aid, OH-YEAH!
When hearing of a students decision to devote his first real essay as a freshman in college to the symbolism of Kool-Aid in American culture, many questions may be running through the minds of his peers and professors. They might question whether he actually spent time considering and weighing the pros and cons of a wide range of potential topics, or if he looked on top of a dresser and saw a package of Kool-Aid singles, and promptly selected that as the topic of his essay. Unfortunately, the topic being discussed today is symbolism, and thus that question shall forever remain unanswered, being filed away among historys mysteries. Popular opinion lends credence to the belief that it may even replace some of the great conundrums of the past, How did the Dinosaurs die out? What came first the chicken or the egg? or even, Can god make a hotdog so big even he cant finish all of it?. However, I digress its time to discover what Kool-Aid truly means on level deeper than has ever been explored in the past.
A good starting place when considering what Kool-Aid represents beyond your typical sacchariferous beverage would be that it could be seen to represent the overall decline of nutritional standards in our American society.. Kool-Aids secret formula of sugar, flavor, dye and water, could very well have helped our American populous down the path of poor health. A few facts can lead one to put two and two together and figure out; Kool-Aid isnt good for you in any capacity. When one examines the nutritional informational of Kool-Aid, it can be seen that in an eight gram serving seven of the grams are composed of sugar, thats 87.5% if you dont feel like doing the math. The Kool-Aid box is also aware of its own shortcomings, admitting that it is not a significant source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, calcium, and Iron. Also, its been going around that Kool-Aid actually serves next to no legitimate purpose in providing mankind with those nutrients necessary to sustain life.
Now, listen to these words, Kool-Aid, I bet the first thing to come to your mind after the degradation of American Nutrition is laziness. Now one may assume that in order to brew the Kool-Aid, one must vigorously stir the powder with water, thus exercising and not being lazy. Well, nobodys right all the time. When a person goes to a store they could purchase a large container of premade juice. It tastes exquisite; unfortunately it is quite heavy and is a burden to carry. So that person will seek out an alternative to prevent future lactic acid buildup in their arms. Lo and Behold, is that a box of flavored sugar
to be added to my bland water. Yes, yes it is and I suppose that it is easier to carry for the lazy members of the proletariat.
Now when you hear someone say Kool-Aid represents a lack of sanity in our society, it is plausible that one may utter the phrase, someones been Drinking the Kool-Aid. Keep it up, that just serves to reinforce my statement that Kool-Aid represents a lack of sanity in our society. Let us examine the origins of the phrase, Drinking the Kool-Aid. On November 18th, 1978, a series of unfortunate events transpired, leading to the death of over 900 people. This event would come to be known as the Jonestown Massacre. Though the term massacre is misleading to a degree, as one could make the argument that what occurred that day was somewhat voluntary. In 1955, Indianapolis preacher Jim Jones formed the Peoples Temple. He based his organization on a bizarre combination of socialist and religious principles. After 10 years, the Peoples Temple began to promote their left-wing political agenda more so than ever before. Eight years later, after mounting pressure from the IRS and increasing quantities of negative press, Jim Jones urged his acolytes to accompany him to Jonestown, which was located on a plot of land located in Guyana. He convinced them that they could escape American capitalism and practice a more communal way of life. Everything started to go awry when congressmen Leo Ryan visited Jonestown with the intent to survey its residents. Congressman Ryan was reported to have been threatened; and then decided to cut his visit short and return with a few residents who wanted to leave. They would never make it home. Some of Jones guards fired on them as they boarded the plane. Ryan and four others were wounded fatally. Fortunately, a few of Jones former follower would return to the U.S. successfully. However upon learning of this Jones told his followers that the Peoples Temple would no longer be able to continue functioning. Jones then gave his followers a deadly concoction of purple drink mix, cyanide, sedatives, and tranquilizers. Although it has never been proven that Kool-Aid was the drink mix used in the Jonestown Massacre, there were reportedly pictures of purple Kool-Aid packages seen around the deadly drink. Thus, Kool-Aid has come to be associated with ones lack of sanity.
Thus far, only some of the negative things that Kool-Aid symbolizes have been discussed. Well heres something on a lighter note; Kool-Aid represents versatility. Upon first glance one would assume that Kool-Aid is a simple powdered drink mix. Not true. It also can be used to dye fabric and yarn, as well as hair. You just mix 2 to 4 packets of Kool-Aid with twice as much conditioner as youd normally use in order to make a pastry mix, apply, and let sit for about four hours. Now, it might not be ideal to go out and do that immediately because that was the abridged version of how to Kool-Aid dye your hair. The process is essentially the same for fabric and yarn; except only the grape and cherry flavors would work in that situation.
Each and every object in our environment has come to symbolize different things for every distinct individual in our world. Even objects as mundane as a simple package of flavored sugar can be symbolic of greater things. Ranging from the entertaining to the somber. Looking forward one can only wonder what sort of symbolisms may develop in their lives.
George Gleason 9/15/08
English 102 Symbols essay
When one considers the deeper meaning of an object; what it represents if you will. They will come to the conclusion that everything in the world can represent different things to different people, whether in a metaphorical or a literal sense. One could very easily pick out any generic object and draw out some sort of deeper meaning. Some people would go as far as to say that Americas favorite powdered drink mix represents things like, the degradation of American nutrition, versatility, youth, laziness, and a lack of sanity. One of those people happens to be writing this essay and its about Kool-Aid, OH-YEAH!
When hearing of a students decision to devote his first real essay as a freshman in college to the symbolism of Kool-Aid in American culture, many questions may be running through the minds of his peers and professors. They might question whether he actually spent time considering and weighing the pros and cons of a wide range of potential topics, or if he looked on top of a dresser and saw a package of Kool-Aid singles, and promptly selected that as the topic of his essay. Unfortunately, the topic being discussed today is symbolism, and thus that question shall forever remain unanswered, being filed away among historys mysteries. Popular opinion lends credence to the belief that it may even replace some of the great conundrums of the past, How did the Dinosaurs die out? What came first the chicken or the egg? or even, Can god make a hotdog so big even he cant finish all of it?. However, I digress its time to discover what Kool-Aid truly means on level deeper than has ever been explored in the past.
A good starting place when considering what Kool-Aid represents beyond your typical sacchariferous beverage would be that it could be seen to represent the overall decline of nutritional standards in our American society.. Kool-Aids secret formula of sugar, flavor, dye and water, could very well have helped our American populous down the path of poor health. A few facts can lead one to put two and two together and figure out; Kool-Aid isnt good for you in any capacity. When one examines the nutritional informational of Kool-Aid, it can be seen that in an eight gram serving seven of the grams are composed of sugar, thats 87.5% if you dont feel like doing the math. The Kool-Aid box is also aware of its own shortcomings, admitting that it is not a significant source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, calcium, and Iron. Also, its been going around that Kool-Aid actually serves next to no legitimate purpose in providing mankind with those nutrients necessary to sustain life.
Now, listen to these words, Kool-Aid, I bet the first thing to come to your mind after the degradation of American Nutrition is laziness. Now one may assume that in order to brew the Kool-Aid, one must vigorously stir the powder with water, thus exercising and not being lazy. Well, nobodys right all the time. When a person goes to a store they could purchase a large container of premade juice. It tastes exquisite; unfortunately it is quite heavy and is a burden to carry. So that person will seek out an alternative to prevent future lactic acid buildup in their arms. Lo and Behold, is that a box of flavored sugar
to be added to my bland water. Yes, yes it is and I suppose that it is easier to carry for the lazy members of the proletariat.
Now when you hear someone say Kool-Aid represents a lack of sanity in our society, it is plausible that one may utter the phrase, someones been Drinking the Kool-Aid. Keep it up, that just serves to reinforce my statement that Kool-Aid represents a lack of sanity in our society. Let us examine the origins of the phrase, Drinking the Kool-Aid. On November 18th, 1978, a series of unfortunate events transpired, leading to the death of over 900 people. This event would come to be known as the Jonestown Massacre. Though the term massacre is misleading to a degree, as one could make the argument that what occurred that day was somewhat voluntary. In 1955, Indianapolis preacher Jim Jones formed the Peoples Temple. He based his organization on a bizarre combination of socialist and religious principles. After 10 years, the Peoples Temple began to promote their left-wing political agenda more so than ever before. Eight years later, after mounting pressure from the IRS and increasing quantities of negative press, Jim Jones urged his acolytes to accompany him to Jonestown, which was located on a plot of land located in Guyana. He convinced them that they could escape American capitalism and practice a more communal way of life. Everything started to go awry when congressmen Leo Ryan visited Jonestown with the intent to survey its residents. Congressman Ryan was reported to have been threatened; and then decided to cut his visit short and return with a few residents who wanted to leave. They would never make it home. Some of Jones guards fired on them as they boarded the plane. Ryan and four others were wounded fatally. Fortunately, a few of Jones former follower would return to the U.S. successfully. However upon learning of this Jones told his followers that the Peoples Temple would no longer be able to continue functioning. Jones then gave his followers a deadly concoction of purple drink mix, cyanide, sedatives, and tranquilizers. Although it has never been proven that Kool-Aid was the drink mix used in the Jonestown Massacre, there were reportedly pictures of purple Kool-Aid packages seen around the deadly drink. Thus, Kool-Aid has come to be associated with ones lack of sanity.
Thus far, only some of the negative things that Kool-Aid symbolizes have been discussed. Well heres something on a lighter note; Kool-Aid represents versatility. Upon first glance one would assume that Kool-Aid is a simple powdered drink mix. Not true. It also can be used to dye fabric and yarn, as well as hair. You just mix 2 to 4 packets of Kool-Aid with twice as much conditioner as youd normally use in order to make a pastry mix, apply, and let sit for about four hours. Now, it might not be ideal to go out and do that immediately because that was the abridged version of how to Kool-Aid dye your hair. The process is essentially the same for fabric and yarn; except only the grape and cherry flavors would work in that situation.
Each and every object in our environment has come to symbolize different things for every distinct individual in our world. Even objects as mundane as a simple package of flavored sugar can be symbolic of greater things. Ranging from the entertaining to the somber. Looking forward one can only wonder what sort of symbolisms may develop in their lives.
