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Definition Essay - The Evolved Definition of Community

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Definition Essay- The Evolved Definition of Community The definition provided in The American College Dictionary from 1964 says “a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.” I never really viewed community in this manner. Many of us think of the word “community” as a group of people who live near each other. We forget that a community is actually just a group of people with common interests or characteristics who often happen to live near each other. Communities can be bound by race, religion, economic standings, political standings, and most commonly, location. Frequently, communities fall into more than one of these categories. The definition of community has obviously changed over the years. If we look at …show more content…

In Charles Derber’s “The Good Man Fills His Own Stomach,” Derber refers to two very different communities. One is the Ik who lived in Uganda and were described as “unfortunate people expelled by an uncaring government.” The other, was an imaginary community from the Woody Allen movie Crimes and Misdemeanors. This community seemed to resemble a community from our present day upper class with only the best hotels, restaurants, and symphonic recordings. Although these two groups are very different, they each still follow the criterion of a community. Each are groups of people who have formed a sort of bond with each other because of a certain lifestyle, interests, or beliefs. When people use this word in present everyday conversation, their application of the definition is usually compatible with the first and third definitions of The American College Dictionary. The second definition, “the public,” is too general. A community is not only a public, but a public with a common interest. In my area, when the word community is used, the person is usually referring to the West Bloomfield community. Talking about symbols and signified, the West Bloomfield community originally started out as just the group of people who lived in the town of West Bloomfield. Now the people of the area have come to make “The West Bloomfield Community,” signify something entirely different. It currently means any group of people who are wealthy and Jewish no matter their locality.

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