Rites Of Passage Analysis

A lifetime is divided by many years, years into days, days into hours, and hours into minutes. But out of these minutes, some stand out the most making our most memorable of our memories. Whether you felt joy, anger, or sadness, it is the way that we felt at that second what makes us remember that moment and what made us change from who we were. It is an experience where you know you can’t go back. In the following passage, I will talk about my rite of passage.

I never realized before this class that these changes in my life were rites of passage every time that I was getting older as a person.Rites of passage have been in my life ever since I was born until now because as a child I transitioned from a fetus to a fully born baby,every single birthday that I ever had and continue to have,and even in the future when I get married or even when I die.All of my rites of passage were celebrated with a form of celebration as every birthday was celebrated with a birthday party, my graduation for both middle school and high school as I went through the ceremonies and parties afterward,and for my religious moments when I would have a celebratory mass and a celebration with gifts after each of all my events.Rites

In my opinion, American society lacks defined rites of passage. Many cultures have distinct coming of age traditions where individuals are given more responsibilities and freedoms; however, American society does not have a specific tradition. Responsibilities and freedoms in America are given gradually throughout the life of an individual. For example, individuals are given the right to drive at 16, the right to vote at 18, and the right to drink at 21. Individuals in America are given their rights through small milestones; however, this system causes many problems in American society. Individuals often do not wait for these rites of passage and implement some freedoms before they are of age. I believe the lack of defined rites of passages

There are different rites of passage for every culture, whether it be the tradition of passing on a family heirloom or testing for another level of responsibility and/or maturity. In ¨The Medicine Bag¨ it Martin explains how his grandfather granted him the family heirloom, the medicine bag. Meanwhile in the video ¨Apache Girl´s Rite of Passage¨ Dachina tests herself so she can transition from childhood to womanhood.

Arguably the most important step within the African rites of passage is the transition ritual. This ritual symbolizes that the young men have

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.

Rites of passage, the journeys that dot the edges of our ultimate quest through life. They are the universal changes that can be as insignificant as a first kiss but with everlasting effects on our perspective on life. Stand By Me is a movie that was first released in 1986 from the studios of Director Robert Reiner. It details the story of four pre-adolescent teens, Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern who embark upon a quest to find the dead body of Ray Brower, a kid also around their age that had been missing from the town for weeks. These friends trek many miles with less than adequate food and nothing but their friendships holding them together. It is during this quest that, after setting out to find the body, finding it and then being

Initiation Rituals are nothing new to different parts of the world or in different tribes. Different places have different initiation rituals, some far outside the norm and others mild. But the main goal is typical to go from one old status to a liminal status, and then into a new status, like for example entering Manhood. For western society, physical changes to the body through the body like the beginning of menstruation or the addition of more body hair would be some of the many physical changes that take place and signal the start of the transition to adulthood in this culture. It is not like that for everyone else, in many tribes such as the Fulani people, the people involved are put through a series or just one thing that will officially

This ritual is most important for boys, even though they go through no educational or moral training everyone now treats them as adult men. They have more duties and who’s main goal is proving his worth of his wife-to-be. In the Hmong the girls dress up in their clothing that their mother has made. The Hmong also believe in Shamans, one who heals souls. Although the most powerful for the Nuer is the Deng, who is associated with illness.

Rituals around the world all teach valuable lessons that help initiates see the value and importance of life. Each culture has different rituals that provide experiences for their youth to learn these valuable lessons of life. Many coming of age rituals are intense procedures. The Amazon's Satere Mawé youth enter adulthood through the bullet-ant glove initiation, teaching courage and endurance, and the crocodile scaring ritual that the men from the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea participate in teaches them pain and accomplishment.

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

The main characters Toundi from Houseboy and Firdaus from Woman at Point Zero were unable to complete their rites of passage. It is evident from the begin of both novels that neither character would be reincorporated into society due to their incapability to “follow the rules” that were set for them as second-class citizens. In Firdaus’ case, women lived in a patriarchal society where women were supposed to be the submissive gender. However, she demonstrates the need for women to take charge of their lives and not live under the power of men. Toundi, on the other hand, attempts to encounter a life filled with advancement and improvements from the Whites, however soon realizes that the French have no intention of allowing Black people to

Watching the news is a rite of passage for any newly crowned adult. It’s a sign to you and everyone you know that you’re a grown up god dammit, you keep up with what’s going on in the world. Because of the news you can name like 75% of the presidential candidates, you’re aware of every tragedy going on overseas, and each day at work you get to ask someone if they heard about the *insert feel good story here* that you saw the previous night. The news is making you such a well-rounded and mature human being.

The poem Rite of Passage by Sharon Olds is a poem about a mother chaperoning her son’s birthday party. The boy and his friends are in first grade and of course they are behaving as first graders would. They say things like, “How old are you? Six. – I’m seven. –So?” (8) And “I can beat you up, / a seven says to a six” (13-14). The boys are behaving their age. The boys are competitive, irrational and youthful. However, the mother envisions her son and his friends as mature men. She first introduces them in the opening line as “guests” rather than peers or playmates. She describes them as “short men, me in first grade with smooth jaws and chins” (3-4).

Ng, C. (2010). Symbols of Affinity: Ceremonial Costumes in a Minangkabau Village. The Heritage Journal, 5, 26-55.