The greatness of individuals is an attribute that is extremely sensitive to the passage of time. Attributing greatness to a historical figure is an entirely subjective act. The victors and successors do not make the original attribution, but they are tasked with its maintenance and its acceptance. Throughout history, once great individuals become known as morally corrupt ones and debase one. Therefore, the greatness of individuals is not something cross-sectional. That is, greatness is not attributed at a single point in time and held true for eternity; it is constantly reevaluated by each passing generation and held up against the existing moral and cultural values of the time. It is often the case that our historical figures are found to have moral flaws that are incompatible with current values.
Thomas Jefferson is a great figure in American history. His statesmanship proved invaluable to directing the diplomatic and social directions of the United States. However, his greatness was much more easily accepted by his contemporaries than by his modern successors. Despite all of his achievements, he should also be regarded as a staunch advocate of the institution of slavery. His seminal work, Notes on the State of Virginia served to become a prime educational tool to masses of Virginia about the justification of American chattel slavery. Jefferson's contributions to slavery only became morally debase and challenged the greatness of his character hundreds of years ex post facto. As morals changed over time, society's view of greatness underwent great paradigm shifts. Regardless, Jefferson is regarded as a great figure throughout all of history, but the reasons for which his attributed greatness have changed dramatically.
Abraham Lincoln--former president and signer of the Emancipation Proclamation--is often credited with freeing the slaves. However, it should be noted that he had little care for the victims of American chattel slavery. He held a disjoint view--a public and a private opinion--of the issue. His indifference to the fate of enslaved populations certainly modifies how is greatness is viewed. Regardless of his motivations, his actions were aligned with maintaining the union of the United States and preventing its fracture.
Beyond the realm of government and statesmanship, there are countless examples of artists, scientists, and innovators who are recognized only after great social paradigm shifts. Ada Lovelace made enormous contributions to the field of computer science, but was only recognized after the development of feminism; her contemporaries did not see her as having much value. Her greatness only became attributed long after her time.
In conclusion, it is more conducive to look at how the greatness of individuals changes a function of time. If greatness is viewed as a cross-sectional attribute, we will become blind to historical cultural values and insights. It should be seen as an attribute that needs constant reevaluation.
- To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities. 79
- The following appeared in the summary of a study on headaches suffered by the residents of Mentia."Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, f 49
- The following is taken from a memo from the advertising director of the Super Screen Movie Production Company."According to a recent report from our marketing department, during the past year, fewer people attended Super Screen-produced movies than i 29
- "On Balmer Island, where mopeds serve as a popular form of transportation, the population increases to 100,000 during the summer months. To reduce the number of accidents involving mopeds and pedestrians, the town council of Balmer Island should limit the 55
- The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries. 75
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, however, if, look, so, therefore, in conclusion
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 26.0 19.5258426966 133% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 4.0 12.4196629213 32% => OK
Conjunction : 17.0 14.8657303371 114% => OK
Relative clauses : 8.0 11.3162921348 71% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 35.0 33.0505617978 106% => OK
Preposition: 62.0 58.6224719101 106% => OK
Nominalization: 14.0 12.9106741573 108% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2556.0 2235.4752809 114% => OK
No of words: 463.0 442.535393258 105% => OK
Chars per words: 5.52051835853 5.05705443957 109% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.63868890866 4.55969084622 102% => OK
Word Length SD: 3.23825739976 2.79657885939 116% => OK
Unique words: 243.0 215.323595506 113% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.524838012959 0.4932671777 106% => OK
syllable_count: 809.1 704.065955056 115% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.7 1.59117977528 107% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 16.0 6.24550561798 256% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 3.0 4.99550561798 60% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 3.10617977528 64% => OK
Conjunction: 4.0 1.77640449438 225% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 4.0 4.38483146067 91% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 26.0 20.2370786517 128% => OK
Sentence length: 17.0 23.0359550562 74% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short.
Sentence length SD: 40.3792853626 60.3974514979 67% => OK
Chars per sentence: 98.3076923077 118.986275619 83% => OK
Words per sentence: 17.8076923077 23.4991977007 76% => OK
Discourse Markers: 2.23076923077 5.21951772744 43% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 5.0 4.97078651685 101% => OK
Language errors: 0.0 7.80617977528 0% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 13.0 10.2758426966 127% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 5.13820224719 97% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 8.0 4.83258426966 166% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.175888683179 0.243740707755 72% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0539023527086 0.0831039109588 65% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0456644557768 0.0758088955206 60% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.102381684759 0.150359130593 68% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0429124784474 0.0667264976115 64% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 13.5 14.1392134831 95% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 45.76 48.8420337079 94% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.92365168539 111% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.1 12.1743820225 91% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 14.44 12.1639044944 119% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.12 8.38706741573 109% => OK
difficult_words: 136.0 100.480337079 135% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 10.5 11.8971910112 88% => OK
gunning_fog: 8.8 11.2143820225 78% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.7820224719 76% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Rates: 75.0 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 4.5 Out of 6
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.