Superstitions are a fascinating and thrilling part of life. Various people believe that superstitions are ignorant and foolish, but my family knows for a fact that they are genuine beliefs. How do we know this? My family, the Winchester’s, and myself, Alice, have recently endured countless hardships that were caused by the simple mistake of not knocking on wood when bad luck was looming in the air.
It was a chilly Friday afternoon when our once perfect life in Kansas came crashing down to the ground. In our twenty-five million dollar mansion lived my mother, Ethel, and my sister, Meredith. Following the birth of my sister, Meredith, my father was shortly killed in a horrific accident. I faintly remember the chaos of grief and funeral services,
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My father would always say, “In order to ward off the Devil, one will need to knock on a piece of wood when they sense or smell evil coming.” Scoffing at what they thought to be a ridiculous idea, my father decided to go on a long drive to release an enormous amount of negativity that was encompassing his once positive mind. Before he started the car, I ran to the blue chevron and asked him, “Daddy, why are you not knocking on wood before you leave?” My Daddy responded, “Honey, objects and people are highly capable of shattering your hopes and dreams in an instant. Sadly the local children have made my heart grow sourly bitter. My love for …show more content…
Through the thick and the sin, our luck always stuck by our sides. Sadly after the car accident, our family luck began to rapidly diminish. Our family mansion was claimed by the bank and was sold as a fore closure. Being fired by her job, Ethel, my mother, could not provide for my sister and I any longer. For months we lived on the street with no shelter, food, water, or blankets. Recalling my dad saying, “Being beggars on the street is a pathetic way to solve your personal problems of poverty.” I was discouraged to think that Daddy would be disappointed in my mom, Meredith, and I. Consumed by drugs and alcohol, my mother began to worship these addictions and they became a replacement to her for her own children. While Meredith and I were dumpster diving one morning for breakfast foods, we discovered our mother’s mangled body with her throat slit. We screamed a blood curdling scream and the police quickly arrived. The police asked us numerous of questions and said it was time to find our father and live with him. We exclaimed to the officer, “Our father was killed in a car accident and now we are orphans.” All of our other relatives live in another foreign land or we do not even know that they exist. My parents both despised their families and said that they did not want to raise my sister and I in the toxicity of the relationship that it would bring. Since we did not have any family to stay with, we were immediately put
Many cultures ascribe to some kind of superstition, magic, or faith. Merriam-Webster defines superstition as “a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation” ("Superstition”). This definition makes superstition sound like it belongs in a lower developed country that lacks the ability to have scientific knowledge. However, magic and superstition are alive and well in developed countries, such as the United States. Sports are rife with superstitions. Many players use “ritual, taboos, and fetishes to manage the anxiety generated by unpredictable events that challenge human control” (Gmelch 266). Superstitions are entirely psychological; a way to create a reason for an event that has occurred. In his article “Baseball Magic,” George Gmelch examines the rituals, taboos, and fetishes of American baseball and how they compare to the magic of the Trobriand Islanders.
Does anyone ever remember the first time someone said the silly childhood saying” Knock on wood.” Or even felt the infamous scare of when a black cat crosses their path because it was said to cause bad luck? These things are cultural superstitions that are normally used when trying to define why the most outlandish things happen to someone during their day. Some superstitions are used as to bring good luck and even protection, for example a young child may keep their blanket to keep the monsters at bay and to bring them comfort when they feel scared or even a Catholic wearing a cross necklace. Some may not agree with a religious figure being related to superstition, but in reality what is the difference between a cross necklace and a stuffed animal? Not much, when reading and comparing Margret Meads “New Superstitions for Old” and Langston Hughes “Salvation” there have been many similarities when between superstitions to the belief in God but one conclusion has been made when comparing both texts:
An example of this would be the fortune telling hairball and the rattlesnake skin. Jim also states during the first few chapters that his body hair is a sign of his future wealth. The signs have no correlation to their meanings and seem ludicrous and silly to those reading about them. Another moment where superstitions became important would be after Jim and Huck Finn 's separation in the fog. When Huck Finn lies to Jim about their separation being a dream Jim begins to tell Huck his interpretation of the dream as a warning. It shows that to the superstitious, signs and meanings can be applied to everything and anything. Later on in the book, while helping Jim to escape, Tom and Huck Finn lie to Nat about odd occurrences caused by their plans. Because Nat is superstitious he is quick to blame witches and believes Tom and Huck Finn 's lies. This allows Tom 's overly complicated plans to take off without a
The first aspect of superstition impacting our lives we’ll explore is the idea of superstitions causing us to spend money. According to the financial firm Forbes, “Superstition is a billion dollar industry. Every year, Americans spend a substantial amount of their disposable income on superstitious items such as 4 leaf
What if we lived in a world where a small piece of paper was considered the Angel of Death? Where your neighbors would turn on you in an instance because a small black box “prophesized” them to? When true human nature is shown before you are cast into the blackness of death? Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a short story in which villagers gather once a year with a black box to perform a lottery that decides just that. The head male of each family must draw till someone has the black dot that decides which family will draw next. The “winner” in that family is then stoned to death by everyone in the village, including their own family. The story has multiple hidden messages that are hard to distinguish from the text. Each message shows a side of human nature that most people believe they do not have. By using literary analysis, Shirley Jackson’s messages become
Urban legends are the supernatural folklore of our modern society. From one generation to the next, they orally travel throughout the world, constantly changing from one region to the next. Although cultural variations exist, the core of all these urban legends remains the same, to unveil the universally known individual and societal fears. “The Graveyard Wager” is a timeless urban legend told again and again, and the one of which I will explore more in depth.
... child no matter what. I feel like this story has helped me to be open-minded to the various situations that people may face and to not make assumptions. I also feel somewhat prepared for the situations that I may face in the field of social work as I continue to unpack my baggage.
Goodall, Janet. "Superstition And Human Agency." Implicit Religion 13.3 (2010): 307-318. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
As long as one can remember, paranormal beliefs have always existed in human society. They are living in every man’s childhood and in every corner of human’s life. From the burning belief about Santa Claus’s gifts under a Christmas’s tree in the morning to a scary game about Bloody Mary and her coming back from the dead, it seems that people cannot help but draw themselves to these stories. Even when these beliefs fade, there would be a new one that eventually shows up. No matter how much science has progressed, the belief in paranormal phenomena still remains in society. Eventually, the question about paranormal phenomena seems pale in comparison to the human’s undying belief about such things. It is really hard to pinpoint an exact cause for human’s belief in the paranormal for only one cause is not enough; however, it is sure that psychological, sociological, and biological factors play an enormous role that contributes to this belief.
In the days of Jesus through the mid 1900’s, people had many different superstitions, or beliefs, about life. People believed if they were to do certain things, they would have good luck. Like Indians used to do a dance, called the “Indian rain dance”, when they wanted it to rain so it would help their crops or even their heritage. It was a dance people still believe in today, but those people don’t know that the reason they said it worked was because the Indians didn’t quit dancing until it rained. There are many superstitions in today’s time as well. I know that in the game of baseball many different players have different superstitions. Just like David Wells, when he used to pitch for the New York Yankees, believed if he listened to Metallica before every game he pitched he would have a good game. But regardless if David Wells listened to Metallica or not, he would still pitch the same if he didn’t listen to them. All I am saying is that Shirley Jackson, when she wrote The Lottery, in 1948, was trying to show everyone about the different superstitions, or beliefs, each culture, town, or village had and how bad they were. Even the kids in the village got ready for the lottery, it didn’t faze them, and all they knew was that it was just an event that happened every year. After all, villages, tribes, or cultures have many different traditions they all tend to put their full trust in.
There were many superstitions that had to do with newborn children and their care. If a newborn was laid on its left side then it will become clumsy as it grows up. If a child is called a dummy or a worm then he/she will not grow properly.
Ono, K. (1987). Superstitious behavior in humans. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 47(3), 261-271.
Dossey, D.E. 1992. Holiday folklore, phobias, and fun: mythical origins, scientific treatments, and superstitious "cures”. Asheville: Outcomes Unlimited Press. Quoted in Roach, J. 2004.
Superstition is a belief that is not based on reasoning or scientific thinking and that explains the causes of events in ways that are connected to magic. In other words, is a blind belief that one believes without any reasons, experiences, nor scientifically. Every people around the world believe in one or the other superstition. Superstitions date back from Ancient Egypt and it is basically created by religions and legends. Primitive people were so obsessed with god that they try satisfying the gods with offerings, prayers, sacrifices, etc. Thus, it is fear which gave rise to superstition.
Superstitions, what are they and where did they come from? Are they true are they false or is there some sort of reasoning behind them? Or are they simply just a whole lot of mumbo jumbo. I mean ….. awww man (meeoow) there goes a black cat man talk about bad luck it just took off with any luck that I had, (gosh darn – click fingers well lets see if its true…Mrs Maslen whadda ya reckon am I gonna get an A for this or what? C’mon c’mon you can tell me. Damn you cat (shake fist meeooow). Where did that superstition come from? For heavens sake how pathetic is it! Anyways for most people these are simply old wives tales and silly misconstrued stories, happenings and events. But for others these are real, they believe every word of these.