Rite of Passage Essay

Sharon Olds, born 1942, the author of the dark poem, Rite of Passage which is a poem describing a mother observing her first grade sons birthday party. Given the time Sharon Olds would have been growing up, she was born three years before the Holocaust ended, she got to witness first-hand the world repairing itself after the DISASTER , not just read about it, which for me personally adds a new level of disturbance to the text. She wrote in a way that is brutally honest and it talks about a topic that not everyone can stomach. It hit one of the key flaws of humans, we are constantly trying to one up each other, and lose our innocence and that in itself is tragic. In the poem it is children, ages six and seven.

This is a day every Latina has thought about since they were young. The day where you are a princess for the day, with your crown and a huge cupcake dress on that is 10 times bigger than you. A day you spend celebrating your 15th birthday with your family and friends. After this day you are no longer seem as a child but as a young adult. But is it worth it?

Marked as a celebration of the transition from childhood to womanhood, quinceaneras have been a long-standing tradition among Latin American families. Though “quinceanera” literally means “fifteen year old girl,” the term has become more closely associated with the celebration itself, oftentimes by non-latinx people. Among Latin American families and culture, the celebration is often referred to as “fiesta de quince años” (fifteen year party) or simply a “quinces.” To avoid any confusion, I use “quinceanera” to refer to the celebration, rather than the individual, for the remainder of this paper. Historically, fifteen was seen as the age when Latina girls were ready for marriage, and the quinceanera celebrated that transition. While modern quinceaneras have drifted away from this initial intent, and now reflect more of a celebratory coming of age narrative, the marriage and wedding-related symbolism is still apparent.

1 According to Google Dictionary phrase "rite of passage" means a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone's life, especially birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Sharon Olds gave her poems title "Rite of Passage" because in this poem she describes the state of adolescence and the rites of passage that lead to adulthood. Olds wrote about young boys waiting to be men. The spiker, who is the birthday boy's mother, describing the veiled adults in the children that arrive to her son’s party, "as the guests arrive at my son's party." The author wrote, "short men, men in a first grade," Olds chose "first grade" as a symbol of growing children because when child goes to first grade he or she becomes little independent from parents,

I was no longer considered a child on March 29, 2014 when I had celebrated my Quinceañera among family and friends.

A recent rite of passage I went through was graduating from nursing school and becoming a RN. To complete this rite of passage I had to complete all the pre-requisites for nursing school which took me 4 years. Then I did the nursing program which was 2 years. To celebrate finishing the nursing program I attended a pinning ceremony which is a ritual where the nursing graduates get a pin that represents the completion of the education required to sit for the nursing boards. This pinning ceremony was more important than walking at graduation. The majority of my classes did not attend the graduation ceremony but all attended the pinning. Once I took the nursing license test I got a card that says registered nurse. I was finally able to call myself

On my 15th birthday, I had become a young woman. I wasn’t seen as a little girl anymore. I was somebody different especially after realizing what I had learning during my party. This day is so important to me because I didn’t get the party my dreams of. The biggest day of a hispanic girl’s life is the day of your quinceanera. I couldn’t have the big moment of my life. I was so upset by the fact that I wouldn’t be walking to a big hall having the grand entrance seeing all my family clapping for me. I thought I couldn’t have that moment in my life, but I was wrong. I had gotten something special. I had gotten something that meant so much more to me then a big party. Something that affected my life in a good way. This experience taught me to be more grateful and be happy with what life brings me. I won’t ever

The main characters Toundi from Houseboy and Firdaus from Woman at Point Zero were unable to complete their rites of passage. It is evident from the begin of both novels that neither character would be reincorporated into society due to their incapability to “follow the rules” that were set for them as second-class citizens. In Firdaus’ case, women lived in a patriarchal society where women were supposed to be the submissive gender. However, she demonstrates the need for women to take charge of their lives and not live under the power of men. Toundi, on the other hand, attempts to encounter a life filled with advancement and improvements from the Whites, however soon realizes that the French have no intention of allowing Black people to

Across several different cultures, there are different ways in which people of a community recognize the emergence of a young girl into womanhood. In the United States the most common is the famous Sweet Sixteen which as in the name states: relates to being sixteen years old, getting a car, and having some sort of celebration to commemorate the birthday. Among others include the Quinceanera which is usually equated with Mexico and Bat Mitzvahs which is a Jewish girl’s rite of passage. Another rite of passage, called Kinaalda, is a puberty ceremony that holds the same importance and significance among the Navajo tribe as their creation story. Unlike American society, during the people’s lifetime there is not a time between child and adult. In the Navajo culture it seems that it is more plausible to say that the time between being a child and adult or as stated by Leighton and Kluckhohn (1947), “physical maturity and social maturity are more nearly coincidental.” Meaning unlike the American culture where the gap between childhood and adulthood is filled with an adolescence, and in the Navajo tribe this gap is not prolonged and instead this transition is commemorated by a four-night ceremony. This process begins at the Navajo girl’s first menstruation and is a way to announce to the whole community that she has become a woman. In earlier marriage customs, a year or so after the ceremony the girl would be considered ready for marriage; as a result, some felt that “a girl’s

A twelve year old boy holding an Airsoft, sitting on a swing in a park at 3:30 p.m. in broad daylight was shot not two seconds after officers arrived at the scene. He died the following day from injuries.

A rite of passage is defined as “a ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person's life indicative of a transition from one stage to another, as from adolescence to adulthood.” Each culture, religion, or different groups of people have a different take on their rites of passage. There’s baptisms, confirmations, quinceañeras, sweet 16s, rumspringa, cow jumping, land diving, sunrise ceremonies, and many more other examples. In Christian, Catholic and Lutheran religions it is common to see first communions. For my first communion, one of the phases was choosing my godparents. These rites of passage are universal and throughout all these years, usually celebrate a change in place, condition, social position, or age. In “Rites of Passage” by

Some cultures will have a “coming of age” party to celebrate becoming adult. A few of the more popular events that you may have attended unknowingly in the past are bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs, and Quinceañeras. In Jewish communities men and woman are considered adults on their thirteenth birthday, commonly known as a bar and bat mitzvah. Many families in Latin America or of Latin American descent will have a party most commonly referred to as a Quinceañera for their daughter’s fifteenth birthday to celebrate her

I specifically chose this topic because I believe it has a real true meaning as to why this tradition is very important to the Mexican culture and I also think it’s an interesting topic to learn more about. Basically it’s a tradition celebrating the girl’s fifteenth birthday, marking her passage to womanhood, giving thanks to God for blessings and presenting the young woman to the community. In the Mexican culture, the community honors the young woman for her maturity, but also her parents and family members as well as her padrinos or Godparents. Both of the young woman’s parents and Godparents play important roles throughout the ceremony. In former times, it meant that she was in active and an adult member of her community and was also ready to take full responsibilities and determined that she was ready for marriage. This tradition has taken on different meanings throughout the years, but still remains as the same meaning of womanhood, family, and community.

Imagine bungee jumping but with only jungle vines attached to your ankles, terrifying right? Well for the Bunlap tribe, this is their rite of passage called land diving. Young boys participate in this rite to prove their masculinity to their tribe. On the day of the jump, the mother holds the young boy’s favourite toy and after the successful jump by the boy (head first with vines attached to ankles), the mother throws away the toy and the boy is considered a man afterwards. This rite of passage is celebrated during a festival on Pentecost Island. Only men in this tribe participate in land diving and women provide support through dancing. Long ago, land diving was to bless the soil for a good yam harvest by skimming their head on the soil

An argument that I have with my friends and family is about having a quinceanera, Quinceanera getting a car or going on a trip to Hawaii or New York. A quinceanera Quinceanera is a celebration that most latino Latino people do when their daughters turn fifteen year old. It’s a transition from childhood to adulthood. It usually involves a mass, then followed by a party. A quinceanera Quinceanera is a tradition that almost all latino Latino people have. I would love to have a quinceanera Quinceanera out of the three options.