11 - scintillating

Scintillating

Original Source:

"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]." Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014. <http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html>.

Definition*:

1. animated; vivacious; effervescent.

2. witty; brilliantly clever.

*All definitions are from the source found in THIS post.

Second Source:

"Dream is not a revelation. If a dream affords the dreamer some light on himself, it is not the person with closed eyes who makes the discovery but the person with open eyes lucid enough to fit his thoughts together. Dream - a scintillating mirage surrounded by shadows - is essentially poetry."

"QuotesOnDreamsAndAspirations." QuotesOnDreamsAndAspirations. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. <http://www.skatingaheadofthecurve.com/QuotesOnDreamsAndAspirations.html>.

Commentary:
My first thought on the word scintillating were that it sounded cool and that it may have something to do with fire. However, the word does not necessarily relate to fire. In the original source, King has a hope, a dream that the "radiant stars of love and brotherhood" will shine upon the United States with their beauty and eradicate the fear that exists due to racial injustice. The author of the quote in the second source describes dreams as mirages that provide insight to those that know how to put his or her thoughts together.