"Always"
Sometimes, authors really grasp for that repetitive phrase that is supposed to be an "ahh" moment. Or, sometimes they're not repetitive, but they become a phrase that people put in their forum avatars. These include things like, "Real or not real?" from The Hunger Games, or "I can steal anything" from The Queen's Thief, or "He is not a tame lion," from Chronicles of Narnia. Sometimes they are adorable, or funny or cute. Sometimes, they are just dumb. A lot of the time, they don't mean anything.
One of the ones that is dumb and doesn't mean anything is "Always." Unfortunately, this occurs in two major book series in the world today. And it is stupid in both of them. The first is Harry Potter. Dumbledore asks Snape if he's loved Lily all these years and he just [romantically] says "Always." And when Harry asks his parents to stay with him until he "dies," they respond, "Always." What does that even mean? I'm not sure. And it just seems cliche.
The other series is Hunger Games. Peeta and Katniss (and Gale and Katniss for that matter) have cute moments together. And even though I don't like Katniss, there are rapports between them that I find enjoyable. To be honest, my example earlier of "Real or not real?" I think snugly fits into the category of adorable, pithy, meaningful and creative repeated one-liners. But then, Suzanne Collins wanted to cash in on the "Always," that people find so cute. So, in Mockingjay, as Peeta what I (as a healthcare professional) would call a seizure, but fans call a hijack-attack, Katniss desperately says, I clench his hands to the point of pain. "Stay with me." And what does he respond? You got it, "Always." What does that even mean? And then it gets repeated over and over again.
Honestly, the repetitiveness of "Sam, I am," or "Goodnight, [insert animal]," means more than these things. I know that little kids like repetition (that's why we have Goodnight, Gorilla, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear and other repetitive kids books), so does it just stay something we have to keep in later life? I know that repetition is a rhetorical device, and that I would not be a self-respecting IB Diplomate if I didn't remember anaphora and epistrophe and all that good stuff. But really?
Today, while I weighing gauze and vials for the phlebotomists for sweat collection (apparently only medical lab scientists can weigh gauze--it's national regulation that phlebotomists aren't "competent," which doesn't make sense to me because they're very good at what they do, and I think that they are competent enough to handle an electronic analytical balance), one of them started to sing "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" which is the theme song of a Disney Channel preschool age cartoon. I laughed and said, "Have you been watching Disney Channel?" knowing that the phlebotomists use Disney Channel to distract kids while they're drawing their blood. I think that the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse repetition of "Come inside! Let's come inside!" is more original and has more meaning than "Always." And that's saying something.
One of the ones that is dumb and doesn't mean anything is "Always." Unfortunately, this occurs in two major book series in the world today. And it is stupid in both of them. The first is Harry Potter. Dumbledore asks Snape if he's loved Lily all these years and he just [romantically] says "Always." And when Harry asks his parents to stay with him until he "dies," they respond, "Always." What does that even mean? I'm not sure. And it just seems cliche.
The other series is Hunger Games. Peeta and Katniss (and Gale and Katniss for that matter) have cute moments together. And even though I don't like Katniss, there are rapports between them that I find enjoyable. To be honest, my example earlier of "Real or not real?" I think snugly fits into the category of adorable, pithy, meaningful and creative repeated one-liners. But then, Suzanne Collins wanted to cash in on the "Always," that people find so cute. So, in Mockingjay, as Peeta what I (as a healthcare professional) would call a seizure, but fans call a hijack-attack, Katniss desperately says, I clench his hands to the point of pain. "Stay with me." And what does he respond? You got it, "Always." What does that even mean? And then it gets repeated over and over again.
Honestly, the repetitiveness of "Sam, I am," or "Goodnight, [insert animal]," means more than these things. I know that little kids like repetition (that's why we have Goodnight, Gorilla, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear and other repetitive kids books), so does it just stay something we have to keep in later life? I know that repetition is a rhetorical device, and that I would not be a self-respecting IB Diplomate if I didn't remember anaphora and epistrophe and all that good stuff. But really?
Today, while I weighing gauze and vials for the phlebotomists for sweat collection (apparently only medical lab scientists can weigh gauze--it's national regulation that phlebotomists aren't "competent," which doesn't make sense to me because they're very good at what they do, and I think that they are competent enough to handle an electronic analytical balance), one of them started to sing "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" which is the theme song of a Disney Channel preschool age cartoon. I laughed and said, "Have you been watching Disney Channel?" knowing that the phlebotomists use Disney Channel to distract kids while they're drawing their blood. I think that the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse repetition of "Come inside! Let's come inside!" is more original and has more meaning than "Always." And that's saying something.
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