...to another. Cultural traditions are expressions of a certain group’s views, they are techniques of preserving one’s identity and they help people in that group mark significant occurrences or life transitions. These traditions usually display response and care based on gender, age, life stage, and social class. While many traditions promote unity, happiness and fellowship, others weaken the trait of social cohesion and the psychological health and integrity of certain individuals. Just because tradition have been present for a while, it does not mean it is always right. Some traditions...
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...“The Lottery” and its Outdated Traditions The story, “The Lottery” has many themes to it, all dealing with the corrupted practices of society. The story was written by Shirley Jackson in the year 1948. During this time, there was a lot of corruption and practices that were unjust. The themes that occur in this story are; people not rejecting outdated traditions and ideas, the evil ways of ordinary people, sacrifices for community sins and conformity. Jackson brings these practices to light and exposes them for what they really are. “The Lottery” is about a small town in which a lottery is held on every June 27th. It is a tradition that has been taking place for a many decades. The lottery is not the type of lottery held today, however, it is a lottery to ultimately sacrifice someone’s life. Shirley Jackson wrote this story to shock her audience. She wanted to show a tradition that is highly corrupted taking place in a small and what seems to be, a normal town. The word, “tradition” means inherited or established customs or actions, In the story, some townsmen are talking about other towns getting rid of their lottery. The Old Man Warner says, “Nothing but trouble in that, pack of young fools.”(Jackson) He is referring to the other villages that have abolished this tradition. He also states that it is the seventy-seventh time he has attended the lottery, as if to say it has been around for a long time and will continue to be around. The people of this village are committing...
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...On what grounds have conservatives supported tradition and continuity? “A state without the means of some change is without the means of conservatism.” This is the idea, quoted from Burke, that conservatism is not opposed to change, only radical reform. Conservatism developed out of the desire to avoid revolutions such as the one in France and was a reaction to the growing pace of political, social and economic change. The term “conservatism” comes from the word “conserve” which was derived from the Latin “conservare”; to keep and guard. A prominent core theme in conservative ideology is that of tradition, continuity and preservation. These underpinning concepts refer to the ideas, practices and institutions that have been inherited from an earlier period. However, as UK conservatism has been based rather heavily on the ideas of Edmund Burke, there is a general willingness to ‘change in order to conserve’ rather than a blind resistance to change itself. One way in which the majority of conservatives support tradition is through the maintenance of the aforementioned institutions and practices which have been ‘tried and tested’ over a long period of time. This, in a way, almost reflects Darwinism and ‘natural selection’, in the belief that the institutions that have in fact survived thus far have done so because they have been found of value and to function sufficiently. Therefore it is considered that they ought to be preserved for the benefit of the current living society...
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...African Oral Tradition Oral tradition is considered a valuable method among the African societies in which they conveyed their culture, history, stories, folktales and religion beliefs from generation to another; in attempt to constantly fight eradication. It serves as a linkage between the past and the present, and it is the storyteller role to transmit images and ideas from the past in order to form a conception of the present upon the receiver. Djanet Sears play “The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God” is one of the most prominent African oral tradition works. Music is a significant oral tradition tool and African societies love music, furthermore, they are deeply attached to it. The chorus in Sears’ play is the main role to project the oral tradition technique; it links Rainy to her African descendants. Throughout the play the chorus represent the spirits of Rainey’s community whom she rely on to feel safe, and to give purpose to her life for the reason that, Rainey was suffering from losing her daughter, going through divorce and a dying father agony. The chorus was presented as ancestors singing African hymns and chants till the end of the play; through this, Sears asserts the connection between the black diasporic movement in Canada and their African ancestors, the issue of displacement and she demand a space where women are allowed freedom to live a productive lives that include a connection to a community of men and women working together to support each...
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...My Spirituality and The Christian Tradition Though I cannot say I am a Christian, I can say that some Christian traditions and values have stuck with me throughout the years out of respect and habit. I still attend church and do prayer before eating when I am invited by some of the more religious members of my family. Holidays such as Christmas or Easter are still celebrated and still contain some religious flavoring depending on who I am celebrating with. Outside of holidays and dinners with devout friends and family, everything I do generally is secular. I now realize that I pretty much only partake in religious occasions when I feel it is necessitated to appease the more devout in my family and sphere of contacts. I cannot directly correlate my own spirituality with the Christian Tradition as I am not exactly a believer. I think of myself as more of a skeptic on the whole thing even though I was brought up as a Baptist. As stated before, I do celebrate Christian holidays but in a more secular family-orientated light. Some Christian values I do try to keep as they generally are in line with what I believe in such as "turning the other cheek" and unconditional love even when such relations are strained. I see them as more guidelines than a set rules as it is impossible to stay on the straight and narrow throughout life as things change so one most bend with the times but not so much as to forget the shape one once was. Outside of those few things I just try to be a good...
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...Traditions represent the Actual Identity of particular society, while getting rid of them is supposed to be a sign of modernity. Traditions, quite often, keep us United, but modernity, usually, takes us apart from each other. A tradition implies an established method or practice; belief or custom, passed on to us by our ancestors. Much of what we do today has its roots in the past. Usual rituals, like the practice of throwing rice over the shoulder and a bride kicking a container of rice before entering her new house after marriage, have their origin in our traditions and are, in no way related to any logic or religion. Modernism is in total contras with the ideas or methods of the traditional ones. Old, it is said, is gold and should be preserved carefully. But it is also an unavoidable fact that old is to be given up for good to enter the New Era. We cannot go on sticking to our past customs traditions and roots simply because they have come by inheritance. The world has to move on. Hence the presence of the conflict between the traditional and the modern. What must not be forgotten, however, is that in spite of our desire to be modern, we must maintain a proper balance between the two? Too much observance of traditions and customs is contrary change. We start believing that there is nothing wrong with them. There is a lot in our ancient customs, still practiced today, that is not only meaningless, but even evidently harmful the modern society. Take for example, the practice...
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...Conservatives support Pragmatism over principle’ Discuss. Pragmatism essentially believes in a more practical behavior or form of policy, as opposed to an ideological principle. Conservatives traditionally favour pragmatism because it emphasizes the impact of applied ideas that have been tested over time- highlighting the importance of tradition (one major traditional conservative value. One-nation conservatives agree with the foundations of pragmatic ideas. Whereas the New Right was heavily ideological- arguably, the application of Neo-liberal ideas with an emphasis on free-market economics (i.e.: heavy privatization in the Thatcher period) shows a radical change into applying newer principles. Traditional conservatives place a higher emphasis on pragmatic ideas- as these ideas have been tested over time (a conservative would argue that they work; they are product of years of continuity) thus humans are incapable and essentially limited in radically making theories themselves. Their ideas may be based upon the idea of tradition; which aligns itself with the Darwinian belief that only the fittest policies have survived over the years- and have created what Chesterton called the ‘democracy of the dead’ which is much more reputable than todays ‘arrogant oligarchy’. Pragmatic ideas are preferred because they have continuously growing over centuries whereas principle would ensure instability- for example: the sudden abolition of the monarchy would heavily affect the public;...
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...the empire were not allowed to deny or disagree with the emperor, or else they would suffer the same fate as every one else. However with time people revolted and revolution came after decades breaking this tradition of monarchy, and making every individual free with their rights. Now every individual is said to be a free human who has natural rights. But even in these modernized societies after all that human race has experienced, and has been through the fallacy of appeal to tradition still exists. Appeal to tradition is the fallacy that a standpoint, situation or action is right, proper, and correct simply because it has “always” been that way, because people have “always” thought that way, or because it continues to serve one particular group very well. It is the notion that if an idea has been around for a while than it should be followed and is true. This fallacy is one of the major reasons that have been recognized for the oppression of women all around the world. This is particularly the matter in less developed and modernized societies. The women of these societies are oppressed as they are not supported by their families for education, instead they are against it. They do not think it is necessary for a women to be educated, because according to the tradition women are obliged to support their families and raise children. Basically there duty is to perform well...
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... 1 Traditional Barriers Tradition during the time period of my story(The Lottery) consisted of the men and there son o sixteen having more authority than the women. During this time the village was stuck on tradition ways that ultimately held them back and separated them from other villages. There were se traditional beliefs that was practiced. The men who were consider head of house was only all pick from the lottery box, they only believed in using the same lottery box, and the lottery whic sacrifice would be held every year at the same time and place. One way to prove they were stuck on tradition would be the value the black box held to the Even though the black box grew shabier as each year passed, it was no longer black, splintere and faded but they refused to use another even after it was mention by the younger people in th But at the advise of the older men in the village they broke down the box and rebuilded it us original wood. The first settlers of the village built the box by wood when they first decided to lottery and because of that change was not an options. The first settlers would put wood chip box for the village people to pick, but as the village grew so would the number of wood chips. got to the point where the wood chips would not fit and only for that reason the elders agreed to paper but not without a debate on how they feel it would change tradition. Mr. Summers strong on the traditions and no matter how old and bad the...
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...Values A value is a belief, a mission, or an idea that is speaking. Whether we are intentionally alert of them or not, every individual has a basic set of personal values. Values can range from the everyday, such as the belief in hard work and punctuality, to the more emotional, such as self-trust, concern for others, and agreement of purpose. Most of us learned our values - or morals, if you prefer - at home, at mosque or, at school. But, where are our children learning their values? Maybe from parents, teachers and religious leaders, but society has changed. Too often young people today are most influenced by what they see and hear on television or on the street. Personal Values When we examine the lives of famous people, we often see how personal values lead them, pushing them to the top of their fields. For example, one actor was motivated by his commitment to social justice, which led to important acting roles related to that value that made him world famous. Likewise, a well-known business CEO was motivated by the personal value that technology should be easy to use, which caused his company to issue a technology revolution. Whatever one's values, when we take them to heart and implement them in the smallest details of our lives, great accomplishment and success are sure to follow. MORAL VALUES Moral values, such as honesty, responsibility, justice, are originally inborn values which Allâh planted in the hearts of mankind; then He sent His messengers with a system...
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...to be redefined all together. Interesting to me, was the theme of tradition versus modernization. This was central to Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, and it is shown in the development of the characters, in the symbols and motifs, and even in the use of light and sound. I would like to further explore this theme and the implications. The characters develop through conflict resolution, and each conflict presented shows some spectrum of tradition versus modernization. Let's begin with the conflict between Senior Master Chef Chu (Chu) and his middle daughter Jia-Chien (Chien). Chu is traditional in his ways -he prepares food traditionally, he was matched with his wife traditionally, he was faithful and committed to his wife, and even after her death, he is incredibly slow to remarry,he provides and cares for his family, he values family tradition, and he does not talk about his feelings. Chien is a representation of modernization -she is a powerful woman in the workplace who seemingly does not place high esteem on family values. She is not committed to any one man, even though she longs to be wanted and desired. She wants to break away from her family and she displays this through her actions, as she buys an apartment with her life savings and when that doesn't work out, she decides to take a promotion in Germany. She announces her decision at the table during Sunday dinner. Chien does not value the family tradition of Sunday dinners. She is also slow to talk about her feelings. The...
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...description date In immigrant families, family traditions and the struggle for one’s independence re-shape the parent-child relationship. People who grow up in a country that is foreign to them often break family tradition as they grow to have different goals and standards than that of their parents. By breaking tradition and seeking their own goals, people form their own identity. Children who have immigrant parents will always have different goals and traditions than their parents? Maxine Hong Kingston, a Chinese-American, breaks her traditional mold by publishing a story that her mother told Maxine never to speak about to anyone, especially not her father. In No Name Woman quotes not italics Maxine’s mother opens the story by warning her “[y]ou must not tell anyone,” mother said, “what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born” (29). In Maxine’s family, the tradition her mother wants her to follow is that of not speaking about a tragedy that happened on the father’s side of the family. As demented as it is to tell a daughter what she just did, it is more traditionally important to her mother that Maxine not break the silence and speak on this matter, however, Maxine has questions of her own regarding this story that have never been answered; she decides to break tradition and publishes a paper on what she thought has happened...
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...Everyone has traditions either they or their family participate in. A tradition is something people actively celebrate or partake in. Traditions are passed down from generation to generation, traditions are then carried on into future generations. The purpose of a tradition is to share a special connection with those around you. Exodus and Oedipus Rex are both important to the Hebrews and the Greeks because it shows how important their faith is. In both stories the people are being punished by their gods, which resulted in plagues. Exodus and Oedipus Rex serve as traditional stories for the Hebrews and the Greeks by showing how faith is a tradition to the people. The Hebrews were the first people to be monotheistic. Exodus is important to the Hebrews because it tells the story of how they were liberated from the reign of the Pharaoh. In Exodus a new tradition is created which still takes place today, which is Passover. In Exodus 12:3-12:13 it states “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is...
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...“Tradition does not mean to look after the ash, but to keep the flame alive.” This profound thought by Jean Jaures defines the ingredient that in life many traditions may have the existence of being poked on, laughed at, and disrespected or discriminated, describing the ash of tradition. On the contrary, when you keep the flame alive, you open up a new portal to incoming heights where personality is developed and actions can be effected. In the devastating memoir Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, Melba (the main character) is chosen as one of the nine colored teenagers to integrate Little Rock, Arkansas Central High School. She is taunted, threatened, attacked, and injured but through it all, she was a warrior, stayed strong, and stood by her side. However, traditions such as making new easter clothing, giving during Thanksgiving, and the fact that her kind isn’t born expecting segregation impact her personality and decisions. First, every year, Melba’s family has the tradition of choosing fabric from Grandma India’s trunk to make their unique Easter clothing, as her trunk is filled with treasures. The experience of constructing a dress for Easter, this year even a grown up dress that symbolizes Melba’s difficult passage from a high-school girl to an adult warrior for justice and is a reward for her work, helps her to...
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...the gums, shrinking of the jaws, losing friends and lovers. Traditions that are practiced within certain communities are everyday normal daily activities but to those outside of the community within, see them to be strange or abnormal, but in reality, they actually share a lot in common with each other. People of Kroy Wen have their own traditions and ways of life that they are accustomed to just like the people of Nacirema. Horace Miner with the influence of Professor Linton explores into the world of the very secretive Nacirema people. They are seen living in between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui, Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles and are believed to be originally from the East. The Nacirema people are known to possess great self-discipline and it is without a doubt that they all share the same patriotism towards their community in keeping their world private to any strangers that may come wandering around their homes. In American tradition, one would be sitting back with their mouths wide open alongside a metallic tray holding shiny sterilized instruments waiting for the dentist to fix his/her toothache. In Nacirema, the patient would instead move a bundle of hog hairs in combination with certain magical powders in their mouth in a series of highly formalized gestures, and would seek out a “holy-mouth-man” for their impressive set of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The tradition of paying for services however is both practiced in both the...
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