Emergence

Emergence

Laurie Freeman

University of Phoenix

PHL 215

Candice Shehorn

June 23, 04

Abstract

From a metaphorical description of Rodney and his colony, we travel through some of the concepts that language contains to allow a person to think and share their thoughts. We will see how language can endow a person's life or restrict their thinking. Language improperly used can also twist reality, blurring the line between truth and falsehoods.

Emergence

As the sun sets, Rodney emerges from deep underneath the forest floor. Slipping through the shadows his colony follows him. Dim reminders of an ancient past, cockroaches are like owning a living fossil. Madagascar roaches are very similar to prehistoric cockroaches that lived on earth during the Carboniferous period, 250 million years ago. They have survived the major mass extinctions on earth. A lethal dose of radiation for a human is 8oo rems. "Ð'...The lethal dose for the German cockroach is between 90,000 and 105,000 rems." (Robinson, 1996, pg 176) That is equivalent to a thermonuclear explosion. Cockroaches have been around for a long time and will probably be around long after we are only a memory in the vast expanse of the universe.

Roaches are very interesting and easy to keep. There are many kinds of roaches, less than one percent of known roach species are household pests. Cockroaches have a very well developed social structure and do not do well alone. Males are territorial and will fight constantly. Their battles rage on until one of them surrenders and crawls under the forest blanket. Females rarely ever fight amongst themselves. Mother roaches watch over their babies, letting the young nymphs hide beneath the cover of their waving antennae.

Cockroaches are not disease-ridden insects. They have less filth on their feet than you have on your shoes. In fact, roaches spend most of their time preening and cleaning themselves. When properly taken care of they are totally odor free and very docile. They can be taught to sit quietly on your hand but they can be timid and try to run when introduced to new people and they are great escape artists. . Each roach has its own personality. Sometimes they seem to stare at you with expressionless black eyes that reach into the depths of your mind.

They are clean and very personable pets. Embraced by ancient rhythms of a world long gone, roaches are not the fearsome pest that most people imagine them to be. I hope that I have dispelled some of your fears about roaches.

Emergence of Language

If it were not for the diversity of vocabulary, Rodney would just have "come up through the bark on the floor." Without well-developed language skills, a person is limited