preview

Balinese Cockfight Summary

Better Essays
Open Document

Reading Report #2
Clifford Geertz, “Deep Play: Notes on a Balinese Cockfight” *Answers to Reading Report question are intended to guide your explorations for your essay. Each answer should be a paragraph length (about 5-6 sentences).

1. How is this essay constructed? Describe the parts of the piece (and how many, etc.) Provide brief descriptions of the work that each part is doing and how it goes about doing it.

“Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” is divided into eight or nine sections, each with their own distinct style and message. The first section is titled “The Raid” and is told in the style of a narrative. In it, Geertz reflects on his time in Bali with his wife in April of 1958. He reflects on the way the Balinese people treated him; during his first week or so in Bali, Geertz and his wife were treated as though they didn’t exist. After witnessing a cockfight and running away just like the Balinese people who also attended, however, Geertz and his wife were treated as though they were Balinese themselves, and were completely accepted into Balinese society. In the second section, “Of Cocks and Men”, Geertz reflects on different aspects of Balinese culture and how Balinese men, despite cockfighting being illegal, strongly identify with it and even use the term to refer to different types of men and their personalities. Additionally, Geertz points out that besides cockfighting, the Balinese are strongly against doing anything that resembles an animal,

Get Access
Related
Get Access