Rites Of Passage Analysis

A lifetime is divided by many years, years into days, days into hours, and hours into minutes. But out of these minutes, some stand out the most making our most memorable of our memories. Whether you felt joy, anger, or sadness, it is the way that we felt at that second what makes us remember that moment and what made us change from who we were. It is an experience where you know you can’t go back. In the following passage, I will talk about my rite of passage.

In Conrad Philip Kottak’s “Rite of Passage” he mentions the three stages of a rite of passage. Anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep defines these stages as Separation, Margin, and Aggregation. Victor Turner, another anthropologist, focused on Margin, which he referred to as liminality. Not only can a rite of passage be an individual experience, but it can also be a communal experience which Turner called “communitas.” Many of us experience this “communitas” in different ways such as my Hispanic culture that experiences quinceneras. Quinceneras are a rite of passage for young girls’ transition from adolescence to womanhood. I for one never experienced this rite of passage.

Rites of passage, the journeys that dot the edges of our ultimate quest through life. They are the universal changes that can be as insignificant as a first kiss but with everlasting effects on our perspective on life. Stand By Me is a movie that was first released in 1986 from the studios of Director Robert Reiner. It details the story of four pre-adolescent teens, Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern who embark upon a quest to find the dead body of Ray Brower, a kid also around their age that had been missing from the town for weeks. These friends trek many miles with less than adequate food and nothing but their friendships holding them together. It is during this quest that, after setting out to find the body, finding it and then being

The last and final difference between “the Medicine bag” and the apaches girls rite of passageis that one is for the growth of girls and the other for boys. As said many time, the Apache celebrate the growth of girls and welcmoning them into woman hood.While in the Medicine bag, Gfrandpa clearly states the the bag is to be passed onto the oldest male in the famly, which makes sence ,maturity wise.

Between the two stories “The medicine Bag” and “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” there are plenty of similarities. The fact both Martin from “The Medicine Bag” and Dechina from “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” get medicine bags in the story is a similarity. Another similarity is that both Martin and Dechina become more mature. This is said because in “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” the narrator say, “It’s a grueling ordeal to prepare girls for the trials of womanhood.” and in “The medicine Bag” it shows how Martin becomes a man getting the medicine bag from his grandfather because receiving the medicine bag means he has to carry on an important tradition that was in his family for generations.

There are many similarities and differences between The Apache Girl Rite of Passage and The Medicine Bag. To begin, one similarity between these rites of passage are that both of the main characters are going through an important time in their life. For example, Martin is getting ready to receive the medicine bag, an important rite of passage for him and his lakota heritage. In contrast, Dachina is going through a event where she becomes a women. In addition, to both characters going through an important time in their life. There is another similarity, both of the events taking place are traditions. For instance, in the Medicine Bag, the person who has the medicine bag at the time is supposed to give it to the the next son in line. Another example, is that every girl in Dachina’s Apache tribe has to go through this rite of passage to become a women, so it's like a tradition.

Another reason that the medicine bag’s rite of passage is most significant to me because when his

As shown about these two stories indeed have similarities but with similarities come differences as well. One major difference is that In “The medicine Bag” there is a bias however Apache Girl does not have a bias. Apache Girl is told by a narrator, a narrator will not have a bias as he has no reason to. Contrary to that In ‘The Medicine Bag” It is told in first person by Martin and only shows Martin’s point of view which means there is a bias towards Martin and there is a limited perspective. However there is much more than just one difference. The two main characters have very different emotions while receiving their rites of passage. Martin is nervous about receiving the

The short story “The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve and the video Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage by National Geographic have many differences and similarities to introduce the reader to Native American rites of passage. The most significant difference is that the short story emphasizes the emotional struggle of Martin, while the video shows the physical struggle of Dachina Cochise. This can be shown in the short story when it states, “’Thank you, Grandpa.’ I said softly...Two weeks later, I stood alone on the lonely prairie of the reservation and put the sacred sage in my medicine bag.”(Sneve 78, 79) In contrast, the video shows, “These four days mean little sleep, scant food, and the need to set aside emotion. Throughout the ordeal, she must wear a face of stoic resolve.”(National Geographic) At this point in the short story, Martin successfully receives and inherits the medicine bag from his Grandpa and goes to the reservation to put the sacred sage in the medicine bag, signifying that he is the new bearer. As shown from the video quote, Dachina Cochise is starting her trials, but she has to go with little food or sleep and keep a straight face the whole time. This proves that the type of journey they go through makes a big difference in the purpose and meaning of the story. Martin starts as embarrassed about his culture and the medicine bag because he is afraid his friends will make fun of him. Throughout the story, it emphasizes his emotional growth and he

Some similarities and difference about the “ The medicine bag” and the video “ Apache girl’s rite of passage”. A few of the differences of the passage “ The medicine bag and the video “ Apache girl’s rite of passage” are it took exactly four days for DeChina to become a woman and it only took Martin about a day or so to become a man and to receive the

Martin is an average teen that lives with his parents and his younger sister Cheryl when his life is interrupted when his Lakota Grandpa comes to visit. Grandpa tells the story of his culture and life as an Indian, but Martin was afraid that his grandfather might not live up to the expectations he implemented into the minds of his friends. Sadly his grandfather was sick and tired, so he gave Martin the medicine bag as a passing gift to remember his family’s culture. In the end, Martin visited the Iowa sanctuary as a way to commemorate his grandfather and the medicine bag. The hardships of judging your family, culture and those around you are difficult to do unless experience, the description, and events experience by Martin explain these events and the meaning of the discovery changed him for the better. In the story, “The Medicine Bag”, the remarkable events during Grandpa’s visit enlightened Martin of the importance of family culture and the acceptance of others.

In stories, there is always a pattern that they all have in common. This certain pattern is known as the Hero’s Journey. There are varying descriptions of the Hero’s Journey steps but only the steps that are set by the teacher is used. These steps are the “The Call”, “Allies”, “Preparation”, “The Guardians of the Threshold”, “Crossing the Threshold”, “Road of Trials”, “Saving Experience”, “Transformation”, and ”Sharing the Gift”.This essay is explaining what the Hero’s Journey is in the book Whirligig by Paul Fleischman. The step that is coming up is the Call which is when the hero starts their journey.

“The medicine bag” and “the Apache Girl Preparedness for a coming -of-Age” have many similarities and differences. They also have some advantages and disadvantages.

Throughout history the term “rights of passage” has been used to describe the transition of a person into a new stage of their lives. Rites of passage are relevant in every day life all over the world. Most prominently though, Africa has a large population of people whose groups still practice traditional rites of passage to mark special life achievements. Basically, anything meaningful that happens within their tribe such as the birth of a child, the entrance into adulthood, marriage, death, and so on, are all celebrated with the completion of different customs. The celebration of rituals include dances, songs, and other formalities, however groups across the continent also use varying methods of initiation that most commonly include circumcision in both sexes. For decades, people have questioned whether or not this traditional initiation ritual is necessary and if it could possibly be harmful to young people within certain tribes that practice them. Much controversy surrounds the issue of following tradition even while performing procedures such as female mutilation. How are these rites of passage viewed as beneficial and how are they seen as destructive? What are some alternative rites of passage for these young initiates?

The two stories share a topic concerning women’s freedom. The texts are conveying the lack of freedom women had in those times. The theme that is used to argue for the topic is a women’s station in a marriage institution. The texts argued through different ways how a woman has no say or identity in a marriage. Both texts also conveyed a woman who was dealing with some sort of health issue. This gave a weak characteristic to the main character in each text. These points will be accompanied with detailed examples in order to back up my statements.