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Essays on superstition
Essays on superstition
Discussion and analysis of Superstition
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Superstitions - Prabhleen R. Language-8A-Ms.Critton Expository Essay According to German researcher in 2010, the more strongly people believed in their good luck charms, the more confident they were. How many people believe in this? Surprisingly 25% of Americans believed in good luck charms and other superstitions in 2015. Superstitions can be interesting when the basics are known such as the definition, what superstitions are popular in different countries and how they started and some funny superstitions. Knowing about superstitions could come in handy and useful at times. To know about what types of superstitions there are, and what superstitions are popular in different countries and how they started, first knowing about the definition …show more content…
In simpler words, a superstition is any blindly accepted belief or notion. Superstitions can be believed in for different reasons such as religious beliefs, false interpretations of natural events or people develop personal superstition. A superstition based off of religious beliefs can include, for example, a Christian may believe at a time of trouble or distress may open the Bible at a random time to a random page and read the first text that catches his or her eye. A religion for someone could be a superstition for someone else. A superstition based off of a false interpretation is if one’s right hand is itchy money will be found. One person's right hand must have been itchy and right after that, they found some money. This must have happened more than twice and they told someone and it happened to them. After that, it could have happened to someone else and it became a superstition. Personal superstitions normally apply to one person. A personal superstition can be something small such as having a lucky pencil that one needs to have to write every test with to get an “A” to something bigger such as a pair of lucky sock that one can never wash or the team will lose the baseball game. Something could be a superstition to one person, but religion to another. Who knew that there are different types …show more content…
One German superstition is that if one cheers with water they are actually wishing death upon the people they are “cheersing” with. In India of stepping over someone if they are sleeping or laying down means, they will never grow taller. Pirates believed that having a piercing on the ear and wearing an earring made of a precious metal, such as gold or silver, will improve eyesight. If an acorn is carried all the time the carrier will have a long life. Sitting on luggage before traveling brings good luck and a safe journey in Russian culture. These superstitions make no sense, but there is probably a story behind them from long ago. Once the definition and different types of superstitions are known it’s fun to know superstitions from different countries and funny superstitions. Superstitions can be grouped into 3 categories. There are different superstitions in each country. Finally, superstitions can be very silly. There are so many superstitions around the world, and new ones are being made. The stories behind superstitions can be wild and without superstitions, there would be almost nothing to be afraid
Legal Case Brief: Bland v. Roberts (4th Cir. 2013). Olivia Johnson JOUR/SPCH 3060 April 1, 2014. Bland v. Roberts, No. 12-1671, Order & Opinion (4th Cir., Sept. 18, 2013), available at:http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/121671.pdf (last visited Apr. 4, 2014). Nature of the Case: First Amendment lawsuit on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Newport News, seeking compensation for lost front/back pay or reinstatement of former positions. Facts: Sheriff B.J. Roberts ran for reelection against opponent, Jim Adams, in 2009.
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.
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.
Soldiers in the Vietnam War had to carry all of their belongings on their bodies with them over great distances of walking, earning Vietnam soldiers the nickname ‘Grunts’. Thus, they tried to limit their already grueling load as much as possible. In Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, he creates a detailed outline of the items carried by soldiers in the Vietnam War, which were “largely determined by necessity” (2). While most were out of necessity, the soldiers in the text also had many things that were strictly for personal reasons. The soldiers were already weighed down tremendously by their gear and weapons that were necessities, yet they chose to carry around the extra weight of seemingly useless objects. Some people carried objects
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
Puerto Rico has many similar superstitions as the United States, as well some that are not as common. Some of the superstitions that are shared with the United States include black cats and walking under ladders bringing bad luck. Another similar one is that the number 13 can bring bad luck as well. Most high rise buildings in Puerto Rico do not have a thirteenth floor. The floor numbers jump from twelve to fourteen. Also, Tuesday the 13th is the equivalent of the United States Friday the 13th, however many in Puerto Rico view both days as a day full of bad luck. Some other interesting superstitions begin on New Years. These superstitions begin with throwing a bucket of water out the front door at midnight. To many in Puerto Rico, this symbolizes throwing out the all of the bad events of the previous year and emptying out the past year for a fresh new year.
Superstition Mountain has been the source of tales and stories about the lost gold for a very long time. The origin of the name Superstition Mountain emanates from the early farmers, who lived in Salt River valley. These farmers cultivated and cut hay for the military throughout the late eras of 1860’s at Fort McDowell. They constantly paid attention to stories about the Pima Indians and how they dreaded the “superstitious” mountain. As a result, the farmers thought the Pimas were superstitious about the mountain, thus the name Superstition Mountain.
in an article by Josh Linkner he discusses the down sides of tradition " If I asked if you were serving sushi for your next Thanksgiving dinner, you 'd give me a puzzled look and think to yourself, "who is this idiot?" Like millions of others, you 'll likely enjoy turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all the other traditional trimmings." (Linkner, the Down Side of Tradition). Linkner point out some traditions that some follow that might not make sense, but they still follow them. Taking Halloween as an example, most people know this holiday as a day to play dress up and go out in public to collect candy from the neighbors, yet the story behind Halloween isn 't known by many people are aware of and continue to ignore it. this relates back to the lottery and how the towns people have gotten so use to the traditional ritual that they don 't even know when an where it started in the first
This said, superstition was still there in cultures but as a more positive variation instead of an idea that was dark and held malicious intent. The people of that time had more hope rather than fear. This is also when the first variation of a type of Tooth Fairy was made. To start, in most Latin countries, they believe in a rat named Ratoncito Perez who comes in at night and takes the fallen baby tooth and leaves a small gift for the children when they wake up (123Dentist). The story behind Ratoncito Perez is that since they are mice, the eat nuts from a local shop, but all the elder mice can’t chew because their teeth are too weak and old, practically falling out. Ratoncito then goes out every night and collects teeth small enough to replace the elder mice’s teeth; Ratoncito collects baby teeth. In return for taking the tooth, he leaves a small gift. This is also where we see the first type of exchange for a tooth. So as you can see, the tradition of the tooth has travelled from Northern Europe to Spain and other Latin countries. The Tooth Fairy Myth is very famous and that is why so many countries hold onto these traditions and and stories. For example, there is even a small museum that is completely dedicated to Ratoncito. Ratoncito is considered strongly “worshipped” (123Dentist).
Macbeth: Superstitions & nbsp; & nbsp; The tragedy of Macbeth was written by Shakespeare in 1606 and produced in 1610. Macbeth is the most concentrated of Shakespeare's tragedies. The action gushes forward with great speed from the beginning to the end. The main characters in the play are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who are very noble, but their evil. ambition ultimately causes their downfall and death.
“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
However, just because an event seems to influence another, as stated above, the first does not necessarily cause the second to occur. Usually, these events happen out mere coincidence and are not related to each other in any way. In some cases the false cause fallacy is convincing because it is usually is hard to determine whether or not the two events are causally related. Unless, however, a person is an expert in both events taking place, and even then, there can be doubt. In addition, the fallacy relates to many superstitious sayings that exist today. In fact, many of society’s superstitions derive from use of the false cause fallacy. For decades people always hear about the person who broke the mirror and were struck with seven years of bad luck, or the bad luck th...
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.
Time wise there are two distinct areas, the war and post war eras. During the war, Frau stayed with a Viennese family who appeared quite superstitious; not too uncommon for a family in the war whose life could depend on weather they went out that day. The two main geographical locations, Latin America and France, are both superstition-bred countries. The initial setting of Cuba can also relate to superstition through the Spaniards view of the island as one of death during its discovery.
In Austria people leave out bread water in a lighted lamp on the table before going to sleep. They believe that it brings back the dead