ENGL 350: Property

From Keywords

Contents 1 Succinct Definition/Connotation List 2 Classical Definitions 3 Modern Usages 4 Social Implications and Uses 5 Related Words, Connotations, and Clusters

Succinct Definition/Connotation List

• 1. The characteristic of being owned
• 2. Specific attribute, characteristic or quality
  • 2a. Of a person
  • 2b. Of a thing, such as a stage: "prop"
• 3. Land, as in real estate

Classical Definitions

According to the Oxford English dictionary, Property has several meanings ranging from "The characteristic quality of a person or thing...usually with 'the' and 'of'." (This is the most common definition that most people are familiar with--in other words, a possession or the characteristic of being owned.) Property can also be a specific "attribute, characteristic, or quality. In earlier use sometimes: a distinctive, essential, or special quality; a peculiarity" of a person, thing, or divine being. It may also describe a plot of land or a building. Strangely, Property may also be correctly used as a verb; meaning "to exploit," "to take hold or possession of," or "to imbue with a property or quality."

• Properties, however, usually refers to only personal characteristics or attributes. It is also more likely to mean multiple real estate properties than a person's multiple possessions/objects--in which case, "possessions" is more likey to be used than "properties". According to Online Etymology Dictionary, hot property, meaning a "sensation, success" was coined in 1958.

Wikipedia entry on property

• A property is also the term given to objects that are used or handled by actors in the theater or on film, usually referred to as a "prop". This is a more specific usage that refers the idea of property as ownership, as the actor is the one who must use the prop. There is also a "property master", which is an interesting concept considering that it implies an ownership of the property "belonging" to another. The word can also be used as a slang term in regards to an object that is viewed as having commercial value. For example, an actor that is highly sought after can be deemed "hot property", referring to his skills and talents that are in demand. In addition to the entertainment industry, this term is also used for sports, often fueling the motives behind trading valuable players whose skills are considered "hot property".

• In Thomas Jefferson's book, Notes on the State of Virginia, he rarely actually says property, but he often implies it in the context of a country. In other words, he uses the definition mentioned above in that he describes an attribute of an area (in this case, Virginia)--a thing belonging to that place alone, for example, he states: "I have made an elk with round or cylindrical horns, an animal of America, and peculiar to it" (57). So, in essence, Jefferson says that the animal belongs to or is the property of America--without actually using those words.
  • Also, Thomas Jefferson was the governor of Virginia, so in a sense that colony was his "Property" because he was in control of that land and the people who lived there. He knew all about Virginia. He discussed in detail the lay of the land, including the rivers, mountains, and the latitude and longitude (Jefferson 5, 7). He also noted all of the animals that lived in Virginia, on his "Property." He knew the French and American names for each one, and how much they weighed in the colonies and Europe. For Example: Beaver is Castor in French. It weighs 18.5 pounds in Europe and 45 pounds in America (51).

• Although the actual term is rarely mentioned, Thomas Jefferson’s work Notes on the State of Virginia encompasses a lot of property. Within the first queries (chapters) even, “An Exact Description of the Limits and Boundaries of the State of Virginia” and “A Notice of its Rivers, Rivulets, and How Far They are Navigable” meticulously describes the borders and boundaries of the property (as land), belonging to the states of Virginia as well as the most precise measurements of the rivers and streams that flow within its borders. Not only does this provide information on the amount of property (as land) belonging to the State of Virginia, but also the physical properties of some of its distinguishing landmarks.

• Real estate is also an important form of property. Someone owns a plot of land and then has the rights to do nearly whatever he or she pleases with it. This definition also involves apartments, or rented property. In this case, the tenant has some rights to the property, but in the end must answer to a landlord. For example, Charlotte does not own any property, but when the landlord of the place she is renting comes to her and asks how she is going to pay her rent, she doesn't know what to do. "I'm come to see if as how you can pay your rent?" (102).
  • Conveyances of land must be registered in the court of the county wherein they lie, or in the general court, or they are void, as to creditors, and subsequent purchasers( Jefferson 141).

Modern Usages

• In addition to the conventional noun definitions which suggest that Property describes mostly physical items (e.g. land and other tangible possessions), modern usage applies property to less tangible things such as inventions, ideas, and the written word. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the term "Intellectual Property," refers to "creations of the mind," and includes all written or recorded materials, patents, copyrights, and documented ideas. (WIPO Website)

• In addition to the more modern uses of property”: have you ever noticed that when you want to change the personal settings on your computer (such as the screensaver, desktop picture, or color scheme) you do so by clicking on the link to properties. Thus, we have an example of the usage of property that is used in everyday living. Funny, our computers “own” these attributes and we own our computers!

Social Implications and Uses

Relating to Social Status

• In the past, owning property had a lot to do with your social status. Not everyone had the right to own property. Often women and minorities were not allowed to own property solely because of their lesser social status. A rich person would be far more likely to own property than a poor person because of affordability (Keywords 181). In this sense Property conveys an idea of exclusivity of class, and an inherent inequality between men. Jefferson clearly states on page 124 of his Notes on the State of Virginia that in order to have any impact on the community, a person must have property, especially real estate: "...composed of two members from each county, chosen annually by the citizens possessing an estate for life in 100 acres of uninhabited land, or 25 acres with a house on it, or in a house or lot in some town." So in order to vote for the people to represent the community, one must be a land owner--and even the amount of land is specified.

• • Franklin alludes to this in his telling of his first attempts to revolutionize the City Watch. He postulates that it is unreasonable for people who own little property to pay the same amount for protection from the Watch as those who own large amounts of it (refering to them as the "poor" and the "wealthy") (Franklin 103-104). Franklin's opinion is that due consideration should be paid to the difference between the classes of property ownership in . Further in this section, Franklin details the beginnings of Philadelphia's first volunteer fire-fighting company (Franklin 104-105). He mentions that the support for (and volunteers to) the newly formed fire-fighting companies involved "most of the inhabitants who were Men of Property." The phrasing (Men of Property as a concrete idea) suggests that there is a degree of recognized social separation between men who own property, and men who don't.

• • Benjamin Franklin discusses Property Tax in his autobiography. He explained that the amount of tax you would pay would have to do with how much your property cost. He went around to different clubs, trying to get other men interested in the idea, and get their support (Franklin 104). In this example, Franklin is alluding to value of land, and through that the social status surrounding the ownership of land. Since only the wealthy white men could afford to own land, the wealthier a man was, the more his property was worth and his taxes would increase accordingly.

• • When Benjamin Franklin decided that he wanted to marry Miss Read he was only eighteen. Her mother did not want them to get married because he didn't have his own business/property. She didn't want her daughter to marry someone who didn't have anything to offer in the way of money and property (Franklin 36). Franklin's self worth was tied up in his ability to provide for a future bride. At the time, a woman's social status was only as high as her husband's. Thus, Miss Read's mother wanted Franklin to be able to prove his status by providing an example of wealth and property.

People or Personal Attributes as Property

• Property was not always limited to material possessions, land, and other inanimate objects. Slaves were considered property and they were bought and sold as such. They were not free to leave on their own because they belonged to their owners (Keywords 182).

• If we look back into our nation’s history, we can see that the term “property” was used not only in reference to one owning material possessions, but in reference to owning other human beings. The traffic of slaves was prevalent in the time of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Those who owned slaves were typically upper-class, wealthy white men, appropriately deemed “men of Property”. Their status came not only because of their owning real estate property, but also because they owned human beings. According to “Keywords”, slavery is viewed as a “social death”. This is an appropriate term because a slave is not viewed as owning anything, including his or her physical attributes/properties. Terms that usually crop up when speaking about slavery as ownership are “servant” and “master”, both of which are used by Phillis Wheatley in her poetry describing the relationship between her and her owner, John Wheatley.
  • Slaves pass by descent and dower as lands do. Where the descent is from a parent, the heir is bound to pay an equal share of their value in money to each of his brothers and sisters (Jefferson 141).

• Another interesting example of how property can be used to say that one person is owned by another in the context of children. In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, there is a sort of family dispute going on and the opposing Mr. Heathcliff says to the servant about his child who has been living on the other side of the feud with the boy's uncle: "I feared I should have to come down and fetch my property myself. You've brought it, have you? Let us see what we can make of it" (226). Clearly Mr. Heathcliff is not the most friendly of men, referring to his child as property, but this example shows how a child can be seen to be the property of his or her parent in that he or she will likely be an heir to the parents' possessions and money and also in that the parents care for the child until he or she is an adult and can care for him or herself.

• The word “slavery” typically brings to mind the image of the African slave, brought to America against his or her will, but there are other ways in which human beings can be deemed “slaves”. The term “hot property”, as mentioned above, refers to an actor whose skills are highly sought after by companies or acting guilds. This implies a certain contractual slavery, with the agency “owning” the actor’s skills.

• The early twentieth century also saw the birth of the term “wage slave” in which a person in indebted to his employer, yet earns only enough money to break even with its immediate use. This implies that the company has power over the individual and thus owns his service.

• Another interesting usage of property in relation to people is one of Jefferson's usages: "The follow the articles stipulated by the governor and council, which relate merely to their own persons and property" (122). This phrase implies specifically a human's ownership of not only his possessions, but also his own body and attributes. Here, owning your own body and your material objects are equally as important. This leads to a contradiction with the situation of slaves, since they neither owned property in the material sense nor did they own the control of their own bodies.

• Intellectual property refers either to the owning of material goods in reference to knowledge (such as books) or the ownership of creative thoughts (like ideas or copyrighted materials). Jefferson had plenty of both types of of intellectual property. He was a well-read and studious man, as well as a well-known author. His intellectual property was obviously very important to him, as he was very intent on maintaining his credibility when faced with accusations, from Luther Martin, that his writing was false.
  • In The Narrative of Robert Adams, a similar notion of intellectual property is employed. The editor of the narrative, in a sense, owns Robert Adam's story of his time in enslavement. In its oral form, at least, the story is intangible, but once it is put down on paper, it becomes the property of the publisher and the editor--whoever will get monetary gain from it. The publishers say that they produced the narrative solely for Adam's benefit, but they spent so much time and effort attempting to either prove or disprove his story, that their motives should be questioned.

"On the 17th of June 1810, Robert Adams sailed from New York in the ship Charles, John Horton master, of 280 tons, Charles Stillwell owner; laden with flour, rice, and salted provisions, bound to Gibraltar"(Adams 26).

When the Moors captured Robert Adams and the rest of the crew they made them their property. "Soon after break of day they were surrounded by thirty or forty Moors, who were engaged in fishing on that coast, by whom Captain Horton and the ship's company were made prisoners" (28).

Since Robert Adams and the crew were now the property of the Moors, they could do whatever they wanted with them. " The Moors stripped all of them naked, and hid the clothes underground, as well as the articles which they had collected from the ship, or which had floated ashore"(29).

The Moors treatment of their "property" had disasterous results. "Being thus exposed to a scorching sun, their skins became dreadfully blistered and at night they were obliged to dig holes in the sand to sleep in, for the sake of coolness" (29).

• In certain situations, marriage can also turn the wife into the property of the husband in the same sense that a child belongs to its parent. With an especially domineering husband, the wife may be told what to do, where to go, and how to behave (not to mention all of her possessions and money belonging to her husband through marriage).

Related Words, Connotations, and Clusters

Cluster: Property, Religion, and Public

• On pages 103-105 of Franklin's Autobiography, there is a cluster of the words property, religion, and public. The word proprietary relates these three keywords to one another. The definition of proprietary according to The Dictionary of Etymologyis as follows: adj. About 1450 possessing worldly goods in excess of a cleric's needs; later, held in private ownership (1589); probably from earlier noun (1401) person interested in worldly goods to the distraction of devotion to God; later, property owner. Here, religion is clearly negatively influenced by the presence of property, or rather, too much interest in it. When being an upstanding citizen used to mean attending church regularly, this meant being appropriate, or proper (another word related to property)in public where one's fellow townspeople could see and judge the individual. The connotation of proprietary ranges from neutral (simply stating that a person has possessions) to negative. Often, people that are very wealthy and therefore have many possessions are selfish, egoistic, and consider themselves to be superior to people with less affluence. Page 147 in Franklin's book exemplifies this negative connotation with the Proprietaries' sneaky change of the taxation bill to, in effect, negate it since the whole point of it was to put everyone on equal ground so that everyone could benefit from the maintenance.
• In the postmodern fictional novel The Infernal Desire Machine of Dr. Hoffman, author Angela Carter describes language (spoke, conversational language) as publlic property. I found this to be such an interesting idea: that an abstract noun, like "language" can be used to further define a term like property.
• According to {http://etymonline.com/ Online Etymology Dictionary] a propreitor is an "owner, by royal grant, of an American colony". This term was coined in 1639. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, nowadays proprietor means 1. "One who has legal title to something; an owner. 2. One who owns or owns and manages a business or other such establishment."

Cluster: Property, Border, Colonial

• The term property is also closely linked with the cluster words boundary and border, at least in reference to property meaning “land” or “real estate”. All property must have a boundary where the owner of the property’s rights to the land end. Colonies have borders and the land inside those borders is property--whether that be public property owned by the government or private property such as more trivial personal possessions. This concept is also discussed on our other Wiki page on Colonial.
• In Hobomok, Mr. Conant makes reference to "all of King James' blunders with regard to his colonies". In this case, Conant is lamenting the discountenance of tobacco. Since colonies are a result of King James' British imperialism, they are his property. Hence, he controls the people who live there as royal subjects, and he controls the actions of said people. He even controls what the colonists plant in their gardens (except, of course, in case of "mere necessity"!).

Cluster: Property, Marriage

• When a man and a woman get married, there is a definite shift in property. Different time periods and cultures can allow for very different marital agreements involving property. For example, any possessions that the woman may have before the marriage may automatically become the man's property or the possessions, money, and real estate may be put into the same category and only in the case of divorce they may be split in half according to monetary value rather than item. In some cultures there is also a dowry that the family of the bride must pay the husband, or one family must supply a house or other living space for the couple.
• In addition, according to the laws of the State of Washington Bar Association, once a couple is married, they are no longer dependent on their parents in the monetary department. Therefore, the children are no longer the property of the parents anymore. While it seems a bit outdated to say that a wife is the property of her husband, the idea is implied in the this law.
  • The notion of the man owning the woman in marriage can be seen throughout literary history, particularly in earlier works. This idea of the woman as property can be seen in Hobomok. While the author is a woman and gives romantic voices to the men in the story, the female characters are still given limited say in the direction in which their lives take...unless, of course they are cast out of society, such as the character Mary experiences. She no longer wishes to be in the care of her father, so she gives herself over to Hobomok thus becoming his wife. Early literature seems to offer two options for young women: conform to societal norms and live as a devoted and obeying wife, or choose your own path and be cast out of society.
• In terms of border, the original colonies of the U.S. were made up of land taken from the Native Americans. The religious exiles, banished from England for their beliefs still felt that they had the right to take whatever property they wanted to colonize from the Natives because of their Christian backgrounds. So, this idea of "divine right" might be considered Christian Property.

Cluster: Property, Sentiment

• The word "proper" is related to the word "property", and by extension, the word sentiment. "Proper" implies that something is appropriate for a specific situation--similar to sensible, or something having sensibility (in the older sense of the term, meaning well-to-do). It can also mean that something is well-to-do or fancy. This word also relates to "propriety" as well as property. If something is appropriate for a situation, then in a sense, it is the property of that situation--similar to how a prop is an attribute (or property of) the theatrical scene.
  • The notion of morality also fits in this nuance of the definition of property or proper. This implies that not only is something appropriate, but it is expected and thought to be correct and good. If someone is proper, then not only are they "well-to-do," but it is assumed that they are good (religious, pious) people.

Cluster: Property, Naturalization

• Property and naturalization relate in an interesting way. Naturalization implies that something becomes part of something else--this brings the definition back to slavery in a way that has not been mentioned yet on our page. Africans were forced to come to America against their will by the Americans, but when they got here, they were expected to assimilate to a new culture while remaining separate from the "superior" whites. This especially played a part when the slaves began to have rights and were emancipated. Also, being a part (citizen) of a country implies that that person is a representative of that country. As the citizen is property of the country, the person also owns the relation to his country.