Emily Enright Short Story Period 1 March 3rd, 2014 Initiation for the Short Reader’s Initiation isn’t just an urban myth or a fib to tell misbehaving little kids. Initiation is the act of starting something new and it comes in many different forms and experiences. Some people go through initiation at college when they want to join a sorority or fraternities so they pledge themselves to challenges and tasks that show off their best abilities. Other go through initiation when it’s time to make the correct decision in tough decisions. In each of the short stories we’ve read in class this past week, A&P, Initiation and Taking a Life, each character undergoes a challenge in which they all rise above and make the better decision for the situation each are in. In one of the stories, the main character Millicent participates in challenges and embarrassing task just so she can be accepted into Lansing High School elite social sorority. Millicent is just trying to fit in to the normal hierarchy of the high school by accepting the invitation for the social group. “Millicent had waited a long time for acceptance, longer than most” (Plath 3). It seem evident that Millicent has always envied the cool more popular girls because she was never accepted by them, and receiving the invitation means that she was finally good enough to even be considered. Through the story, you see Millicent struggling to balance being true to herself and being popular. In the end, she realizes that it is more important to be true who she really was than for her conform to other standards. “ The other victory would be much harder, but she knew it was what she wanted. It was not that she was being noble or anything. It was just that she had leanred there were wa... ... middle of paper ... ...inute I saw them at the airport, where I would then explode with funny stories and details. I think it was my initiation into becoming my own person and being independent, what my parents have been training me for. In many cases of initiation, it is important that the protagonist takes a step back and examine themselves and their decisions. Each of the character’s throughout each of the short stories all think about things, whether it be the way they are treated, or the way others are treated or the way others feel. Each of the characters finds new truths about life in their own way. Not only do the characters go through changes and make decisions to affect their future, we go through it with them. From the character’s we read on paper and the people we see on movie screens, we all go through life at our own pace and evolve into new people with our own approval.
The narrative begins in the unassuming, yet ardent voice that carries the reader throughout his life story. He makes his plan...
Overall, in “The Step Not Taken” by D’Angelo, the protagonist progresses through the three stages of the monomyth, which lead to his understanding of the importance of sympathy and compassion in modern society. Specifically, the three stages that the hero goes through are: separation, struggle or initiation, and return and reintegration. Hence, this monomyth cycle leads the protagonist to his epiphany, which has a lasting impact on him. His epiphany is that helping others in their time of need is the moral thing to do. Once the narrator realizes this, it shapes his identity for the future. He recognizes that next time, he must take action to help someone in need. Thus, this epiphany is significant because it depicts that compassion and sympathy remain important in today’s world.
...el, The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson accentuates the fact that society’s expectations of a character causes negative impacts upon their lives through the creation of a struggle to achieve his goal. Ian is an impeccable example of this because he is prone to adolescent tendencies due to youth. Ian struggles to achieve his goals due to the following expectations: to leave Struan, for a superior opportunity to become successful; to strive for a medical career, since he excels at the trade already; and to … Society is too abrupt in its assumptions of an individual, these assumptions often catch one unprepared, spreading chaos and confusion through one’s mind. It would be substantially more beneficial if society did not place expectations at all.
In order to understand the significance of Hartmann von Aue's development of relationships in Iwein, it's important to first understand the nature of a typical initiation story. Initiation stories almost always deal with the development of a single character; through the course of the story the single character is developed and matured. The meeting with the man of the wilderness and the female temptress may both involve other characters, but in both situations the relationship is used to develop the initiation story. In Iwein, Hartmann uses the growing maturity being developed through the initiation story as a forum for the relationships of the characters; indeed, the focal point of Iwein is less the initiation of the main character than the effect his initiation has on his ...
From the outset of the story there is an overwhelming sense of hope that has enveloped the entire community and school with the upcoming graduation. The communitie's involvement strengthens the authors excitement in her rite of passage. Everyone is preparing for the ceremony and seeking to see how it will affect the lives of those involved. "Only a small percentage would be continuing on to college" (835) and others were just excited for the "glorious release" (834) from school. She felt like she was on top of the world, after all, "the graduating classes themselves were the nobility" (834). It is obvious how much pride she takes in her community by the way she describes her class as "an extended family." (834). The author's school was not the most impressive school compared to the white schools in the area but that could not damper the spirit that was filling the air. Parents who were buying or making new outfits for their graduates made everyone including the author the center of attention. Her "momma launched out on [hers]," (835) and she was swollen with pride that she was going to be a walking mod...
In 2009 Chimamanda Adichie gave a TED talk about the ‘danger of a single story’. A single story meaning, one thought or one example of a person becoming what we think about all people that fit that description, a stereotype if you will. In today’s America, I believe that we have all felt the wave of stereotypical views at some point or another. Adichie gives many relatable examples throughout her life of how she has been affected by the single story. Her story brings about an issue that all humans, from every inch of the earth, have come to understand on some level. A young child reading only foreign books, a domestic helper that she only perceived as poor. Her college roommates single story about Africans and her own formation of a single
In the beginning of both of the pieces of literature, the main character(s) have not had the experience that will shape their values yet. Rather, as time moves forward in the stories, the
...es and relationships that can have a deleterious affect on one’s self image and self esteem. The second stage is the transition rites category. In this stage individuals are feeling left in limbo, having have moved on from their previous role but have not yet been incorporated into their new one. Individuals in this state often experience anger, depression and denial. Individuals who are unable to accept their new status can languish in a period of liminality. The final subcategory of status passage is the rite of incorporation. At this stage the individual has accepted the new status and is reasonably comfortable with the new lifestyle. This final subcategory can be hard to reach for some, but essential for all to reach in order to achieve acceptance of their inevitable situation, and to obtain a degree of personal comfort in their new role.
The first major step is a call to adventure. In this step, there’s something in the hero’s life that requires them to do something or go somewhere and take some type of action. Second, the hero must enter the unknown. This step sends the hero into a new world, entering something unfamiliar to the hero. By entering unfamiliar territory, whether it’s a place, an event never experiences, there are challenges and temptations the hero must face. With every new world comes new challenges. Dealing with new people or being alone.
...and prior to incorporation into society” (6) takes place. In the rites of passage from childhood to adulthood, this phase holds the time of instruction and growth. At this point the initiation rituals take place if this is a culture of ceremonial change. Young women, after being separated when the first menstrual cycle starts, will be taught during this time away from the rest of the community how to be a woman. The responsibilities she will have and be expected to carry out through her adult life will be explained and she will receive instruction from the older women in the group who have gone through this transition in their lives already. Young men will be shown the way of the elders and also be instructed in how he should act and live as a man. Physical rituals and ceremonies take place during the isolation of the initiate. The piercing of one’s skin with
To be a teenaged girl means many things in this modern society. There are numerous expectations set for the average sixteen year old female: she must be pretty, popular, thin, preferably intelligent, but not too intelligent, and she must subjugate her will to the group. This world has a tendency to shun females who are too independent, who seek too much power, and who attempt to break from the stereotypical female mold. I have personally experienced this spurning, especially from my peers. There exists a dichotomy somewhere in my own soul, a rift between that which I am expected to be and who I really am. Harry Haller, in Hermann Hesse's novel Steppenwolf, experienced a similar predicament. He was torn between the life of a socially acceptable, "decent" man, and the primal, lupine nature of the Steppenwolf. I find myself caught between wanting to be a socially acceptable, "popular" girl, and being the independent, intellectual, and strong person that I actually am. There are a number of parallels between Haller and I, each further proving that the dichotomy of the Steppenwolf and the division within myself, the teenaged girl, are of the same essence.
The first step of the transition journey is called endings (Hall, 2008). This stage is called endings as
Joseph Campbell is well known for writing The Hero with a Thousand Faces outlining the stages of a hero’s journey. Ever since then, the hero’s journey became famous as it is used in many works of literature (Bancks). A literature work that represents the hero’s journey is Lord of the Flies. In Lord of the Flies, the protagonist Ralph presents himself a brave hero that undergoes the hero’s journey to return home. Ralph is on a plane which landed on an isolated island after a plane accident where the pilot is unconscious and most likely dead. Along with the other children who boarded the plane, they must survive and find a way to get home. According to Campbell, the three main phases of a hero’s journey is departure, initiation and return, separated into many stages (Siegelman). The departure stage is where the hero exits his comfort zone and enters into the world of the unknown. The initiation phase is where the hero is tested to prove his character and the return is when the hero returns home with a boon for the benefit of his people (Ubelhor). Lord of the Flies qualifies to be an example of the hero’s journey because the protagonist Ralph goes through the “departure, initiation and return” process of the hero expedition in order to show that he is a hero through his courage, intelligence and leadership.
When you are born people are there to take care of you, love you, and guide you through life. As you grow up and life changes, you must take charge of your own life and not become so dependent on others. Throughout the course of life a person will encounter many changes, whether good or bad. In 'A&P';, 'The Secret Lion';, and 'A Rose for Emily';, the main characters in the stories are Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily who face changes during their lives. All of these characters are in need of change. Because of their need for change, their lives will become much better. They are filled with wonder and awe about the world around them. No matter what type of person, everyone will encounter changes. It is part of the natural process. A person is encouraged to make these changes for the good. Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily all encounter changes in their lives that fulfill their need to become something different.
Joseph Campbell was a well known mythology teacher who spent his whole life trying to understand the different types of stories that are told. To Campbell “all humans are involved in a struggle to accomplish the adventure of the hero in their own lives.” He made a list of stages that every hero goes through, and sums it up to three sections: separation (the departure), the initiation, and the return.