3 ms·
Like many words in English it does not have such a discrete meaning. A story or experience can have a "message" the same way it might have a "moral". In fact "
by r7000 16y ago
Like many words in English it does not have such a discrete meaning.
A story or experience can have a "message" the same way it might have a "moral". In fact "moral" is often defined as: the message conveyed by a story.
"Example" would have been a poorer word in its place.
- senthil_rajasek 16y ago"Babbage's message..." and "A message from Babbage's Life...". are not identical. The former is a personal article or note from Babbage. I got down voted for exactly what zeteo said...
- r7000 16y ago"A message from Babbage's Life..." is too long. A title can trade ambiguity for elegance if the essay is clear.
- senthil_rajasek 16y ago"Babbage's heart-warming message for the middle-aged" and "A message from Babbage's life for the middle-aged" to me both titles sound elegant but the former is misleading and the latter is correct. The title is not trading ambiguity, it is just misleading.
- zeteo 16y agoYes, a story can have a message, but "Babbage" is a person, not a story. "This story's message" has a different agent from "Jim's message". Jim is always the _author_ in the second meaning. "Babbage's message" made the title shorter, but also misleading. A complete title of "Babbage's heart-warming" would have made it even shorter, but I hope you're not advocating in favor of that!
- r7000 16y agoReflecting today I believe Jim's inspiring message to us is to live life to the fullest even if that requires participation in extreme sports. Jim did not write a letter. He was the "author" of the sentiment (according to the speaker) by the way he lived his life.