Clifford Geertz, Ralph Ellison and
There is deeper meaning behind the structure of societies rituals andcustoms. The works of the noted authors Clifford Geertz, Ralph Ellison andSusan Griffin explore the world beneath the words. They explore andinterpret three different cultures that are not alike in their practices, yetsimilar because of the underlying instincts that are inherent in all people.The essay "Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight" by Clifford Geertz,helps outsiders to better understand the Balinese society through theactions and rituals of it's people. In Ralph Ellison's essay "An Extravaganceof Laughter," there are many insights to help people better understand thefeelings of a young African-American in a freethinking society. In "OurSecret" by Susan Griffin, the author "explores (the) connections between...an individuals life and the lives of others (402)". Geertz, Ellison andGriffin look closely at the societal rituals and actions to help themdetermine the underlying meaning behind them. The authors explain thehidden agenda beneath the actions that are expressed within the essays inthree ways: the first are the instincts that lay beneath the surface, and showthe primal need for certain reactions in
The second is the waythat a culture demonstrates it's social positions, and how they are used. This is true with all societies that havea hierartical system. This would only occur when her mother had first stayed up allnight drinking. In this case there really isno hierarchy. The match is timed and presided over by theirpeers. Every facet of their lives is structuredin a way that they never have to worry about "what comes next". One of thegreatest examples of this in their culture is the importance they put on the ritualsinvolved in fighting the cocks. The cocks are handled in a specific way. When it comes right down to it, in many ways thesocieties treat class in much the same fashion. Griffins essay discussesthe ways that the officers, specifically Heinrich Himmler, use race, religion andhate to structure their society. Finally is the need for structure within the chaotic rituals of a society. In the second essay byEllison the narrator recounts an encounter with the police that he remembers. When Ellison is in theSouth he knows to keep his eyes downcast and his feeling inside him. In America it was known to all that the "whitepeople" did not mix with the "black people".
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Acceptance Essays
