| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Counter-Dictionary

Page history last edited by John 16 years, 5 months ago

Taken from Dictionary.com::

mon·u·ment–noun

1. something erected in memory of a person, event, etc., as a building, pillar, or statue: the Washington Monument.

2. any building, megalith, etc., surviving from a past age, and regarded as of historical or archaeological importance.

3. any enduring evidence or notable example of something: a monument to human ingenuity.

4. an exemplar, model, or personification of some abstract quality, esp. when considered to be beyond question: a monument of middle-class respectability.

5. an area or a site of interest to the public for its historical significance, great natural beauty, etc., preserved and maintained by a government.

6. a written tribute to a person, esp. a posthumous one.

7. Surveying. an object, as a stone shaft, set in the ground to mark the boundaries of real estate or to mark a survey station.

8. a person considered as a heroic figure or of heroic proportions: He became a monument in his lifetime.

9. a. Obsolete. a tomb; sepulcher.

b. a statue.

 

–verb (used with object)

10. to build a monument or monuments to; commemorate: to monument the nation's war dead.

11. to build a monument on: to monument a famous site.

 

 

Here monument can be defined in its most basic form as a building erected in memoriam of people, an event, etc.

 

Bataille uses the anti-definition as a form of backing away from the basic definition and bringing in connotation and personal experiences through into making it something more and personal.

 

Using Bataille as an example, I can see a monument as not only a tribute, but as a symbol of power for those it belongs to, a symbol of fear for those against its creator, and a symbol of wealth to the rest of the world.

 

 

Egyptian pyramids are a good example, as you know you're getting close to Egypt when you see the towering pyramids from miles and miles away.

 

 

Another example is the Roman Colosseum. What better way to instill a sense of power than creating one of the greatest achievements of mankind to date. Not only does it show wealth and power, but when you create an arena where men and animals are slaughtered on a daily basis, you instill fear into your opposition, showing your strength as a nation.

 

But as I look at what all it can stand for, I miss the point of the exercise. What does this word mentally and emotionally mean to me?

 

The word monument was chosen by me within a ten second time period of when the exercise was announced. I am not sure as to why, but as I think more and more what to write, I begin to see some connections.

 

The biggest tie I have to monuments is their display of pure might. Each time a pair of eyes gaze upon it, they are wowed, no matter whether is amazement or fear. A monument is something that that country/state/city/province/etc.. can show off and be proud off. It's their pride and joy. I believe this ties into my generic wish to make a difference and make a name for myself. Focusing more we can see how my need to have that life's masterpiece (a blockbuster film?) ties directly into what a monument is. I'd like to leave a legacy behind, and that's exactly what a monument does. Our work is shown in its construction through its creation and its public demonstration.

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.