Rite Of Passage In The Body By Gordie Lachance

Throughout life a person experiences many obstacles, challenges, and hardships; sometimes faced alone, left fearful, and at times confused. In the novel Walking Home by Eric Walters, Muchoki is forced to live through the trauma of seeing his father burned and beaten to death, while also witnessing his mother’s decease from malaria. Muchoki is an exemplary individual who has shown great perseverance in the face of adversity. Regardless of the fact that he was losing the closest people he had in his life, he found the strength to continue onwards towards the future rather

The course of action an individual pursues is due to one’s motivation, weather that may be personal influences, or influences from others in the community. The motivation one finds helps them to jumpstart their chosen course of action, and guide them through the journey. In Margaret Laurence’s short story “Horses of the Night” Chris, demonstrates how his motivation conducts him through his excursion of life. The varying sources help to influence and guide him through these decisions and impact hid course of action. Chris’ motivation is revealed through his need of escapism, hints of pathetic fallacy, and how his family situation affects him and helps develop his chosen actions.

In Conrad Philip Kottak’s “Rite of Passage” he mentions the three stages of a rite of passage. Anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep defines these stages as Separation, Margin, and Aggregation. Victor Turner, another anthropologist, focused on Margin, which he referred to as liminality. Not only can a rite of passage be an individual experience, but it can also be a communal experience which Turner called “communitas.” Many of us experience this “communitas” in different ways such as my Hispanic culture that experiences quinceneras. Quinceneras are a rite of passage for young girls’ transition from adolescence to womanhood. I for one never experienced this rite of passage.

When disaster strikes, two responses exist: lose hope, or find an inner strength to rise above. “Werner” is an essay where the author, Jo Ann Beard, presents the idea of rediscovering yourself, rebuilding a life after loss, and rising above adversity. Werner, Beard’s main character, finds that the only way to truly move on after a tragedy is to take a leap into what is unfamiliar. After a fire burns down everything Werner has, he is forced to grow and become a new man, leaving his old life behind. Throughout the essay, Beard illustrates a man who faces challenges to his sense of self, and who sequentially must change and become someone new to find who he is again. Beard’s use of the third person, candid diction, and conflict resolution compose an elaborate work that focuses on the concept of becoming a new and better person after a traumatic event.

The paths taken in each person’s lifetime can associate with any factor or situation that one may come across. For example, one could come across a path that stands for tradition and the effect of traditional beliefs on a society like the one represented in “Dead Man’s Path.” Another example could be a path that stands for the power of love and the effect of unselfishness that makes one continue with life like the one represented in “A Worn Path.” An additional example could be a path that stands for overcoming doubts of beliefs as these may uphold or tear one apart like the path represented in “Young Goodman Brown.” No path is easier than another and they all hold a spectacular significance in each person’s life. Therefore, in this independent

Society often fail to understand and see the mental pain that individuals carry throughout their lives. Some people bear its burden, while others suffer greatly because of it, to the point of choosing self-destruction. The narrators from “The Gargoyle” (Davidson) and “Walk to Morning” (Boyden) both experience this pain that ultimately sets them on a course to a deep pit. They survive their near-deaths and later encounter unique life-changing people. As a result, they become better individuals.

It is easy to get caught up in one’s own world when life picks up the pace and everything seems hectic; along the way decisions are made unconsciously to let go of people who were once held dear. It is easy to be torn between what appears to be important and what is trivial. Amidst the mess that is life, various things contend for one’s attention, and what really matters might not be so clear. In “The Last Rung on the Ladder” the guilt that consumes the narrator over his sister’s suicide becomes an essential part of his identity even as he tries to adjust to her loss. In “Sanctuary” Jim Hammer is in the very first stages of realizing he is guilty of his friend’s death, and the responsibility has not yet taken its toll on him. The history and experiences of one’s identity affect the way an individual reacts to guilt, if one has never understood the impact that relationships have upon past and present selves then it is difficult to fully digest the impact of his/her actions.

A physical journey brings inner growth and development from the experiences a person encounters from a physical transition from one place to another. All physical journeys include obstacles and hardships however they also involve emotional and spiritual journeys along the way. Peter Skrzynecki’s poems “Postcard” and “Crossing The Red Sea” are both examples of an emotional journey within a physical journey. A feature article ‘A Desert Odyssey’ reported by Sue Williams and Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ also involve emotional journeys within a physical journey.

Culture teaches that men must dispense of ridiculous emotions and remain firm, following expected duties. O’Brien develops this theme of the transition from youth to manhood in his short story, “The Things They Carried.” Through the protagonist Jimmy Cross, metaphors of weight, and futile ideas of freedom, O’Brien reveals how society expects young men in transition to adulthood to let go of impractical idealism and dwell instead on the cruel reality of the world.

Among those writers was S.E. Hinton, who’s realistic fiction novel, “The Outsiders,” seized the truth of the 1950’s. Demonstrating my effects drove the plot as the protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis, grappled the harsh reality of being apart from both society and his own gang (shmoop.com). Hinton strived to prove how greasers of the time suffered the agony of my existence. Cold, punitive, and desperate were the lives they lived, as outsiders exiled from society. Despite the odds and my attendance in the novel’s theme, the characters conquered the situation and weren’t weakened by pain, but used it to grow and learn. Most victims fall to weakness in bleak moments, but the survivors and fighters utilize the experience to their advantage, to grow stronger. Defeat is common while I am present, but a route of escape from the dark can be discovered by real people with the aid that literature

In Richard Wagamese’ novel, Medicine Walk, he narrates the journey of a distanced father and son who are searching for an understanding, love and forgiveness. Wagamese portrays this by using clever humour, authentic dialogue, and outstanding storytelling skills. Medicine Walk clearly illustrates the story of a father’s redemption through storytelling and of a son finding connections to the world through his family’s past. The novel brings us along a journey into the past recounting Eldon’s life story, Franklin’s journey towards acceptance, and the connection they form together which was never expected. Reclaiming the absence of personal history affected them and changed the way they live. By doing so, they learned to see themselves in the history

Originally developed by anthropologist Arnold van Gennep in the early 20th century in his book Rites de Passage, the term liminality refers to the concept in which participants are in the threshold stage of disorientation and suspension from the previous social norm that they were used to. When an individual goes through a rite of passage—also coined by van Gennep—he is cut off from his “old life” and is born again into a new person. However, before he can fully become a new person and finish his rite of passage, he is suspended in a liminal stage that bridges the old self with the newly acknowledged self. In other words, he is in a stage of disorientation and amorphous identity. Found throughout all

Each event in one's life whether important, meaningless, joyful or sickening has an impact on that person's character. Harrowing & tragic events occur often as it was for Edgar Allen Poe which left a vast impact on his character. This author's stories focus on his wretched life and obstacles placed in the forms of stories. His unfortunate events turned into eerie, emblematic tales such as “The Raven”, “The Black Cat”, “The cask of amontillado” & more which all have twisted plot lines such as horror, sadness, revenge etc.

Everyone’s lives and personalities are shaped by their experiences, by their childhood, by genetics, by so many things that psychologists are still trying to figure it out. Worldviews are shaped by these things too; no two people have the same worldview and each is as unique as a fingerprint. Some people see the world through rose colored glasses, nothing bad happens when peering through those lenses, some see the world through darkened and foggy lenses, some with blinders, and some through a telescopic lens. Others have seen the world at its worst, these men and women have seen death, violence beyond belief, and unimaginable cruelty. However, worldviews can be shared -though not fully- for a few precious hours. Words written from one point of view can allow a person to slip into another mind, another place, and even another time or space. Words written on a page can allow strangers to share experiences and see through another man or woman’s lens. Writers who experience much can share much. Tim O’Brien is one such author whose experiences have shaped his writing and allowed him to share images, thoughts, and feelings of the Vietnam war with his readers from the up close and personal view of a Vietnam war veteran. Tim O’Brien can write a “true war story” because on some level he is every one of his characters. Each character is born through thought and emotion, each represents something even if there is no moral to their tales. Each has a piece of personality,

Experiences encompassed in times of struggle can lead to a new transformative perspective of one’s relationship with self and the world. William Shakespeare’s last play “The Tempest” (1610), canvasses loss catalysing rediscovering the importance of life resulting in a greater understanding of how our flaws compromise our humanity. Prospero, the usurped Duke of Milan, shows this to be true, moving from a mindset focused on vengeance to a profound discovery of self. Similarly, in “Man’s Search for Meaning” (1946), fulfillment with discovering how we choose to cope and find meaning/purpose in life through unrelenting struggle is illustrated. The three-part non-fiction told by psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl, depicts his ordeal inside of concentration camps during the Second World War, elaborating on finding true meaning in life even under the most horrific circumstances. Frankl shares his process of discovery demonstrating his ability to overcome the most overwhelming experience leading to doorway of meaning, purpose and happiness.