In the popular children’s television show Phineas and Ferb, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, the primary antagonist declares that he is “ruthless. [He] has no ruths” (19:40). His declaration articulates an interesting linguistic idiosyncrasy; ruthless currently only operate in various forms of itself (i.e. “ruthlessness,” “ruthlessly). As many words do, this facet of the word ruthless illuminates various types of change in the English language over time. To be completely understood, the word “ruthless” must be looked at, and then it must be examined in its constituent parts—“ruth-“ and “-less.” I will also look at the name Ruth as a variant on the root word “ruth.” This word demonstrates various aspects of compounding and the movement of Christianity …show more content…
3 reo(w)ðe, reoþe; 3 reouþe, -ðe, -de, 4-5 reouþ, -th; . 2-5 rouþe, 4-5 routhe, 5, 7 routh (5 rought); 2 rowðe, 4-5 rowthe, 5 rowith; 4 rau-, rawþe, 4-5 raw-, 5 rauthe, roth; . 4-5 ruþe, 4-6 ruthe; 4 ruþ, 5- ruth, 6-7 rueth. [Early ME; reuðe, rewðe, etc., f. rewen rue v.1 Cf. OE. hreow rue sb.1, and for the ending, ONor. hryggð. ] (“ruth”). As seen above, the word “ruth” has undergone minimal phonological variations which include minor vowel shifts and the dropping of an aspirated consonant.. As this entry also suggests, the spellings/variations of “rewen” and “hreow” suggest a close relationship to the word “rue,” which means “Sorrow, distress; repentance; regret” or “Pity [and] compassion.” “Rue,” and its variants, first appears in texts with religious connotations (Aelfred’s “Preface” to his translation of Gregory’s Pastoral Care) and Beowulf . Given the context of the first uses of the word “ruth” and “rue,” another possible origin for the word “ruth” in the English language could stem from a biblical and Hebrew word. According to Wilkinson, the Hebrew woman’s name “Ruth” is a contraction of the word “reuth” (qtd. Zondervan). The name “Ruth” is generally associated with companionship and virtuousness. Although in meaning it seems somewhat removed from the sense of “ruth” meaning
* This chapter was written in Italics because it was written from a different point of view which was Ruth’s perspective who talks about her past as a child.
To be entirely honest, I’m really tired for some reason and thus too lazy to get quotes. So instead, I will paraphrase. Ruth grows up with her orthodox Jewish family, and her father specifically abuses her and molests her, which is pretty screwed up. He’s also a racist and hates black people, which probably gave Ruth an inclination to trust them, if only to spite her
Ruth has an intriguing personality. She is very loving towards her family. She will do all in her power to improve the lifestyle of her family. When it appears that the deal for the house in Clybourne Park will fall through, she promises to dedicate all of her time to make the investment work. “Lena-I’ll work… I’ll work 20 hours a day in all the kitchens
Throughout the novel, it is Old Mrs. Hall who represents (with a cold bitter insistence) the traditional representations of the wife and mother. While Ruth’s marriage was in no way a radical departure from tradition, it does not seem to have been based (entirely) on an old paradigm that was rapidly becoming antiquated in the wake of modernity. To
Ruth led a life broken in two. Her later life consists of the large family she creates with the two men she marries, and her awkwardness of living between two racial cultures. She kept her earlier life a secret from her children, for she did not wish to revisit her past by explaining her precedent years. Once he uncovered Ruth 's earlier life, James could define his identity by the truth of Ruth 's pain, through the relations she left behind and then by the experiences James endured within the family she created. As her son, James could not truly understand himself until he uncovered the truth within the halves of his mother 's life, thus completing the mold of his own
Ruth was a source of knowledge that James trusted growing up. James, being a mixed child, is confused about what skin color God would have, so he asks his mother,”
Throughout the whole novel, Ruth is a tough and brave woman, yet she has a big
The name Ruchel Dwarja Zylska is significant because during this time, Ruth didn't fit in with others. Since she had a Jewish name, she was an outcast which leads up to the first name change. As a young girl, Ruth didn't really understand the aspects of life. In The Color of Water it states, “In school the kids called me “Christ killer” and “Jew baby”. The name stuck with me for a long time” (pg. 31). Clearly, this was a
Between the roles of the two woman, it is apparent that Ruth’s role is more favorable in the eyes of characters
In the bible The Book of Ruth follows the story of the widowed Naomi and her two widowed daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. Throughout the story, the three experience life during biblical times. Although the time frame of this particular passage of the bible is widely debated amongst scholars, most believe that it took place during the Period of the Judges. Through reading about these ordinary people, one can tell that their everyday life was generally uneventful. People often worked in fields to provide for their families and for generations to come. The women of the Book of Ruth lived simple lives, placing high value on loyalty to the family, the continuation of family lines, and marriage.
The Book of Ruth Ruth is a story about loyalty, love, and faith. The simple love story
In the Color of Water, Ruth Mcbride has an important significance, because her complex past is what propels the book. Without her, the book would not be nearly as interesting. James Mcbride, Ruth’s son and author of the book, portrays Ruth as a secretive, un maternal like, and spiritual woman. Ever since James was a child, he remembers his mother never mentioning her past or her racial identity. James notes:”She had a complete distrust authority and an insistence on complete privacy which seemed to make her and my family odder .... Matters involving race and identity she ignored (9) Ruth keeps her past hidden away from her children, so that she doesn’t have to relive painful memories or inquire her past. In doing so, Ruth also doesn’t label
Ruth was emotionally abandoned she wanted someone to return the love she had been giving out. The mere idea of her having to go the rest of her life in that state frightened her. If she was emotionally supported by her husband she would have been happier. This shows that her mental state shows abandonment of women.
Reba’s aunt, Ruth Foster, has a name that is also associated with a character in the Bible, also named Ruth. In the Bible, after her husband died, Ruth faithfully stays with her mother-in-law, refusing to leave. One of Ruth’s most notable quotes from the Bible is as follows: “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” (Ruth 1:16-17). In this quote, the reader can see that Ruth is willing to stay by her mother-in-law’s side no matter what, even claiming that she would even die with her. Naomi, her mother-in-law, is a constant reminder of Ruth’s husband, and she refuses to leave her because Naomi is the only reminder she has of her late husband. In Song of Solomon, after
The world is filled with many different words, some harder to define than other. One of these difficult words is considered by many to be evil. The definition of the word evil depends entirely upon the reader or writers perspective upon the word. The most innocent and simple ways that of would define evil is by simply saying that evil is the exact opposite of good, but what is good? In order to understand the true meaning of evil, we must first be able to describe what good is, what has goodness produced, and what has evil truly defied.