Preview

Margaret Mead New Superstitions For Old Summary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
657 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Margaret Mead New Superstitions For Old Summary
The essay, “New Superstitions for Old” was written by author, Margret Mead (1901-1979).The essay was published in “A Way of Seeing”(1970).She earned her bachelor’s degree at Barnard College in New York City. First an American cultural anthropologist followed by a professor at Columbia University, Mead produced several major studies such as “Coming of Age in Samoa”, and “Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies.”
Many literary elements are present in this essay but the main purpose seems to be expressive. Throughout the essay Mead expresses thoughts that bring about her values and beliefs that superstition plays a pivotal role in our lives. In one passage, Mead writes, ”….transitional objects that help people pass through the areas
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Analysis
    • 1100 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Analysis

    This report is based on the book Thunder Rides a Black Horse written by Claire R. Farrer. This book is written in context of an indian group called the Mescalero Apache Indians. Their reservation and ceremonial grounds are based in the south-central part of New Mexico. The author is very familiar with this tribe as she claims to be like family with some of the members. She writes this book based on her visit to join in on one of their big traditions. It is called the puberty ceremonials. These ceremonies are where the young girls of the tribe are traditionally accepted as women into their society. The Mescalero Apache Indians still use a lot of their old traditions and still believe in their old myths. Bernard, who was a dear friend of the author told many stories revolving the the ancient ways of the Mescalero Apache tribe. As in their creation, their ways of live, and even their traditions.…

    • 1100 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ray Bradbury's 'The Pedestrian'
    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ray Bradbury's 'The Pedestrian'

    Mead is in many ways Bradbury’s only true representation of humanity left in the year 2053 A.D., through describing him as have a “shadow of a hawk” (26), which relates him to a wild free spirited bird. Mead is also seen as humanity because he is associated with light, which is symbolic for soul, Meads house beams “loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness” (29). While the loss of humanity is displayed in the “lone” “metallic voice” that the robotic cop car has and in the descriptions of the towns’ people being “gray phantoms” that live in “tomblike buildings” in a “graveyard” of a town showing how the life of the town dies with the…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing The Pedestrian And The Flying Machine
    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Comparing The Pedestrian And The Flying Machine

    It shows the reader only Mr. Meads thoughts and feeling and no one else's. In the quote “ Everything went on in the tomblike houses at night now, he thought, continuing his fancy.” This shows his thoughts towards the houses in the neighborhood which was it was dark and there were no lights on. Moreover, in “The Flying Machine,” the narrative point of view it's third person objective. This is in view of the fact that the narrator knows more than one character by is limited to only sharing external information and not feeling. In the quote “The Emperor, the servant, and the flier paused within the garden. The quote shows how the narrator is just telling us what is going on but not anybody's feeling or thoughts on the situation.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Comparing Draper's Letter To His Father
    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Comparing Draper's Letter To His Father

    1908 The negro and Latin races will probably always be inclined to superstition." {ZWT Apr 1 1908 99}…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dangers Of Blindly Following Tradition In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Dangers Of Blindly Following Tradition In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    Firstly, the theme of the dangers of following tradition is conveyed through literary devices, such as metaphor, auditory imagery and irony. Dellacroix, perhaps the most obvious example of the deadening effect that tradition has on the hearts and minds. Her name means off the cross which is a metaphor, that persuades…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Vampire Academy By Richelle Mead
    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Vampire Academy By Richelle Mead

    Mead is also able to successfully create a suspenseful atmosphere throughout the entirety of the book, similar to what I did by keeping the suspense alive using imagery and figurative language. One example of a suspenseful atmosphere is magnified through her use of the…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Night Flying Woman Analysis
    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Night Flying Woman Analysis

    In the mid-nineteenth century a girl named Ni-bo-wi-se-gwe (Oona) was born in pitch darkness in the middle of the day when the sun and moon crossed paths. The book Night Flying Woman by Ignatia Broker is biography of Broker’s great-great-grandmother, Oona. It describes Oona’s life through what Broker has learned from her grandparents when they passed down the stories. In the book, one of the main themes is passing traditions on. I chose this theme because in the book, passing traditions on is major part of the characters’ culture. Passing traditions on is a practice that is important to many cultures and it effectively connects generations of people through experiences and stories.…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF NURSING
    • 5717 Words
    • 23 Pages

    HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF NURSING

    Nursing in the prehistoric period was delineated by health practices that were strongly guided by beliefs of magic, religion, and superstition.…

    • 5717 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Joy Luck Club
    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Joy Luck Club

    June’s story dealt with the concepts of superstition and cultural differences. The beginning of the chapter, June is describing a necklace given to her by her mother. The pendant was, “too large, too green, too garishly ornate” (pg. 197. June). Her mother Suyuan entitled it the “life importance” for her daughter, but because June did not appreciate it, the reader can identify the cultural differences between the two, as well as the importance of material items. After the death of Suyuan, June begins to realize that the “life importance” is actually a testimony of love from her mother.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Iroquois Myth
    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Iroquois Myth

    The Iroquois myth, “The World on the Turtle’s Back,” is a piece that has been passed down from one generation to the next since 1800. It introduces a story of the world; good and bad, male and female roles, a great god, the solar system, growth, etc. This text not only challenges stereotypical views of gender roles, but it also introduces a different perspective on superiority. As the male population is classically seen as dominant, fearless, and powerful souls; while the female population is seen to be gentle, nurturing, loving souls, this piece smoothly diffuses those ideas.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sociology Chapter 7 Summary
    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sociology Chapter 7 Summary

    Sigmund Freud’s theory of the unconscious development is incorporated to an individual’s emotional experiences, and is linked with necessary ‘drives’ that influence our personality; Id, Ego and Superego. Along with the Oedipus complex, these needs work together to acclimatize to the idea of society in everyday life. Herbet Mead and Watson are compared as they both perceived the potential of the environment to form an individual’s actions. Mead believed in ‘The self’, practiced only through social experience, and ‘The I and the Me’.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Sex and Temperament
    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Sex and Temperament

    Cited: Mead, Margaret. 1935. Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies. New York: Dell. 3-322.…

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mead Essay
    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mead Essay

    Have you ever been more admired at a person who lives far from you than a person who is close to you? I tend to agree with Margaret Mead’s analysis in several ways .The three different ideas why I agree with her analysis are when a person lives far away, people believe in different ways, and I won’t care as much. Those are my reasons why I agree with her analysis.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Personal Narrative: Ignorance In Literature
    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Personal Narrative: Ignorance In Literature

    As a child, I remember laying on my twin-sized bed. On one side, all my stuffed animals lined up by size and importance, then me and my mother on the other. Each night, smelling like strawberry shampoo, I would line up my cotton menagerie, wiggle under the covers, and rest my head on my pillow, as my mother told me fantastic myths and legends whilst braiding my damp hair. I drifted off to sleep on the ebb and flow of my mother’s intonation. To a childhood me, the power of story was merely a way to fall asleep, to be carried off to another realm on the words of my mother. This ritual continued into elementary school, but abruptly stopped. As small hands and effervescent voices began to experience books that lacked hues and put my glasses to…

    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Are Gender Roles Natural?
    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Are Gender Roles Natural?

    In ‘Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies’, Margaret Mead describes three New Guinea tribes: The Arapesh, The Mundugumor and the Tchambuli. Among the Arapesh, the ideal male adult has a gentle, passive and cherishing nature and resembles the feminine type in our culture. In relationship between the sexes, including the sexual, the Arapesh recognize no temperamental differences between the men and the women. The main work of both adult men and women is child bearing and rearing-they call sexual intercourse ‘work’ as the objective is to get the woman pregnant. The verb ‘to give birth’ is used for both of the sexes. Mead observes that if one comments on a middle aged man as good looking, the people answer ‘Good looking? Yes. But you should have seen him before he gave birth to all those children!’…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics