During the mid-20th century, two European academic thinkers (Claude Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes) focused on the theory that when we focus upon a word, we do not focus on its meaning or surroundings, but in fact the understanding of the opposite of the word; therefore known as the binary opposite. They acknowledged that ‘words merely act as symbols for societies ideas’ as well as opposing words having relationships. For example, the word ‘coward’ can only be recognised by words that act as a difference, such as the word ‘hero’. From this, we can understand how society and our culture associates with certain words, therefore obliterating their meanings. Popular binary opposites included good/evil, youth/age as well as masculinity/femininity. Usually one of these words are more valued than the other, therefore one being negative.
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