Thursday, April 23, 2009

Samuel Johnson's Arrogance


While I was reading Sameul Johnson's essays and he rendition of his own take on the dictionary, I noticed an arrogant demeanor that Johnson posesses. His outright love for England and his racist thought toward other countries, such as Scotland, are evident in his text. There is a fine line between having pride in your own country and outright arrogance. However, Samuel Johnson's racist behavior is funny to me. I am not saying that racism is funny at all. But how he degrades the Scots in his texts makes me laugh. For example, in his dictionary he compares the Scotish people with the likes of work horses. This can be seen in his dictionary on page 2755 in the text. "Oates. n. A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people." How funny is that?! I laughed hysterically when I read this. I used to live with a guy from Scotland and I sent him that line in an email. He also seems to have all his definitions revolve around "in England". "In England..." this, "In England...." that! His arrogance and view that the world revolves around England is a true representation of his character!

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