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Essay on nature and origin of superstition
Essay on nature and origin of superstition
A concluding essay on the topic of the effect of superstition
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Superstitions Ever wonder why people’s skin crawl when they cross a black cat? Or what about the reason people are so afraid of walking under a ladder? It is because some people are superstitious. In this paper we will define what “superstition” means. This paper will explain how some of the superstitions are developed and how people are affected by these beliefs. There are quite a few superstitions in America and they are very interesting. The article, “Closer Look at Superstitions," states a superstition is when a person believes that certain activities or events can cause good or bad things to happen (Justin, Ken, and Chris n.d.). So how did superstitions develop?
"The Surprising Origins of 9 Common Superstitions” explains that a very
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Some people experience fear at an extreme level, for example, they step on a crack on the sidewalk, because that means their mother’s back will crack. When people do an action such as throwing salt behind their left shoulder to ward off evil, they will feel safer in the world. Good superstitions will affect peoples’ life in a good way, because they feel safe. Bad superstitions will affect peoples’ life in a bad way, because they do not feel safe (Justin, Ken, and Chris n.d.). “The Impact of Superstition: Writing on the Wall,” mentioned people on Friday the 13th were behaving cautiously when making financial decisions. On other days, people were not behaving as cautiously. Most residential tower buildings built do not create a 13th floor in the United States. The residential tower buildings that have a 13th floor usually make discounts to attract people (Agarwal 2014). "Superstitions Bring Real Luck, Study Reveals,” revealed that superstitions can help improve performance. There was a study done with how an object superstition, which was a golf ball, could affect people. An object superstition is more known as a good luck charm. The results were most people who were told the ball was a good luck charm preformed better than those who were not told the ball was a good luck charm. Studies were shown that people have a more boost of confidence and have more confidence in their self when they believe. The reduction when taking an exam could also be reduced (Angelle 2010). Different ways of how superstitions can affect people were
In “We Aren’t Superstitious”, by Stephen Vincent Benet, the theme of accusation supports the superstitions for the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout the entire story, accusations are thrown left and right; Arguing on who is a witch and who isn’t. When Tituba arrived from the West Indies towards the beginning of the story, nobody could predict the mayhem she would unfold. The queer and interesting stories she told Elizabeth Parris later spread into the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Now, one doesn't know if this was part of her “evil voodoo-witch plan” or aimlessly come across, but it was catastrophic. The first individual to be accused of witchery was Sarah Good, who later was followed by Sarah Osborne. They were both accused of witchery because of their low social classes. Sarah Good was known as a whore and a beggar, while Sarah Osborne was married to a lower social class and was a horrible Christian. This accusation of the lower class portrays a lot of what happens today in the real world.
The superstition of witchcraft started with the teaching of the Bible. The Puritans believed that Satan was present and active. The Salem Witch Trials were driven by the superstition of general paranoia. The fear of witchcraft dove the Puritans to hysteria, causing the Puritans to hang their own citizens.
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.
Witchcraft started in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Superstition started when women were accused of acting strangely. These superstitions turned into trials, and later lead to mounds of hanged people. Most of the people accused were innocent, but the harsh judge rulings left them with nothing to live for. The only options for the tried, no matter if guilty or not, were to claim guilty, living the rest of their life in prison, or to plead not guilty and hang. Due to both consequences being equally as punishable, many people isolated themselves from society. Unfortunately, some people caused the uprising of the salem witch trials more than others did. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams single handedly attributed to the
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.
If we looked at the incantation bowl not as an aspect of religion (as it transcended them) but as a superstition, it may seem to the modern science goer a ridiculous one. However, when measured against today’s still prevalent black cats, ladders, and water dowsing we can hardly begin to pass judgment.
For example, the Boston marathon bombing and the Columbine shooting are events that led to the senseless killings of many. Due to the social pressure the assassins felt, innocent people were killed at random. Much like “The Lottery,” life is a gamble and each day proposes a new threat. There are humans in the world who are ruthless just like the villagers in the story. The villagers grew up familiar to this style of tradition, which controls the value placed on another’s life. The lifestyle we are accustomed to influences our beliefs just like the villager’s tradition influenced
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
In North Carolina, a state known for quirky local legends like the Brown Mountain Lights or the Beast of Bladenboro. In fact, in the western part of the state, and specifically in the Appalachians, superstition and old wife’s tales are so deeply ingrained into people that it is common place to believe in ghost and otherworldly beings. Every single town in North Carolina has at least one haunted place, or has had an inhabitant experience a ghostly encounter. These legends are a sense of pride and are most often told not around a campfire but through a dramatic play or most commonly, through song. Folk songs are widely popular in the smaller towns, and even with the rise in modern music every good ol’ country son or daughter has heard a song dealing with a local superstition. In Chatham
In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.
“The optimism bias stands guard. It’s in charge of keeping our minds at ease and our bodies healthy. It moves us forward, rather than to the nearest high-rise rooftop.”– Sharot. In this quotation, Sharot shares her belief that we have a tendency to overestimate positive events that will happen in our life, this is the optimism bias; and this tendency keeps us living. It is also a long-term effect and not a short term one. Researchers have long discussed the question of why we still have an unrealistic optimism even though reality throws events at us that could change our view and believes. They have found that indeed, people tend to be optimistic about themselves, they also accept an information that has positive implication for them more easily that one that has negative implication for them. But do we have evidence that people have an unrealistically optimistic view of themselves; in other words, do they never predict that something negative will
“Properly open mind is just the most enjoyable way to live” Ronald Geiger said in his article about skepticism. Skepticism is one of the first steps on the road to open, creative and critical thinking that young people should take in their lives. It is important for the people in adolescence period, like high school students, to learn how to think properly and be critical toward some of the aspects in society. The course in skepticism in high school will allow students to have positive effects on their intellectual level, ethical standings, physical conditions and psychological status. Skepticism should be included in high school curricular and be one of the requirements for graduation because of its tremendous amount beneficial factors in
Humans have evolved to be superstitious, for the reason of self preservation; if there was a rustling in a bush, it is safer to always assume a predator is there and run, than to assume one is not there and stay. While this behavior was unquestionably an advantage for our ancestors, it has done a great disservice to humans in modern society. An example of superstition doing a disservice to society is the Salem witch trials, where innocent people were accused of being witches, and hung. Arthur Miller wrote a play, The Crucible, about this time. In The Crucible, John Proctor blazons courage, which lead to his untimely death.
The babysitter's dead! There is a corpse wrapped in a carpet! There is blood all over the bathroom! Oh, wait… that is from Stephen King's it movie and novel about that dumb clown who is built off of fear. Speaking of clowns...there are MURDERING CLOWNS running around! These are all urban legends. An urban legend is a story or a legend based on some kind of truth, but the story is exaggerated and spread out from its original story. The urban legend has been used to make things interesting and scaring teenage girls right into the arms of a dreamy football player and you know how that works out. The geek takes over and wins, leaving the quarterback behind for the serial killer. On the other hand, all of these urban legends have fear in them. But