Critical Book Review (The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down) The United States is known as the most powerful nation on earth. Most people immigrating to America can significantly improve their standards of living, as well as pursue an education if they wish to do so. Even though the gap between the rich and poor has continued to periodically increase, the average American is seen as rich and very fortunate when compared to the average person living in central Africa or Latin America. Over a million people legally immigrate to the United States every year in search of a better life and opportunity.…
SUMMARY In the article The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, written by Anne Fadiman, starts off by talking about the Hmong cultures idea of birthing. Fadiman uses Lia Lee’s mother birthing experience of her thirteen kids to illustrate just how the culture viewed such a process. Lia’s mom, Foua, would typically have her children in her own home and without the attendance of a birthing attendant. Foua would vaginally deliver the baby without screaming or even moaning as she was afraid that it would prevent the birth of the child.…
After re-reading I understood the aspects of the Nacirema culture including Medicine men (doctors, psychiatrists, and pharmacists), a latipso (hospital), a shrine (bathroom), and the mouth-rite ritual (brushing teeth). Things like going to the dentist, taking prescription drugs when we are sick, and going to the bathroom in private all seem like appropriate, "normal" behavior. Other things, such as a cultural obsession with women 's breast size, we might be more critical of and yet we still accept as "normal" behavior. But how quickly our opinions are changed when the above mentioned practices are described in a slightly different way than we are familiar with and we are to believe that the society that practices them are not our…
Just imagine, living in the 19 century and having to hunt and gather your own food, plant and distribute food to neighbors for other food, trade things with other tribes, among other things. In this article, I will discuss the culture of the Hodenosaunee and how it relates to their society. The environment the Hodenosaunee lived in was located in “Northern New York State in North America called Mohawk Valley” (Murdock, 1934, p. 1). Mohawk Valley was a fertile territory that was between the Genesee River, Adirondack Mountains and some of Pennsylvania.…
The Tiwi and Yanomami are two different cultures that are settled in different places. The Tiwi are indigenous groups of Australia that lived on the Melville and Bathurst islands. The Yanomami are indigenous groups of Brazil and Venezuela that lived in the Amazon rainforest. Analyzing the relationship between the Tiwi and the Yanomami culture, we can have a brief understanding about the comparisons and contrasts of their religion and practices.…
Therefore, to preserve a sense of social relevance, many people would refuse to discuss their genealogies with them (Chagnon 1992: 7). This taboo of revealing kinship networks aligns with the definition provided by Levi-Strauss, where the Yanomamö society tries to contain their set of kinship customs from unwelcome outsiders and to breach the trust of the community would be considered breaking the social…
We all heard of the word “weddings”, but do not understand how important is wedding to other cultures. We live in a society call the “Melting Pot” which is mean very diversity, where there are so many races living together. Sometimes people blend in with other culture or change their traditions and values. Despite to the loss of identity, some culture still keeps their traditions or holiday, but add a little change to it. Today I will be examining the Hmong communities, on the things they do and something they slightly change over time.…
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the relationship between the Hmong culture and the American culture; in particular the differences in medicine. Medicine has been a difficult subject to understand and master; moreover it becomes almost impossible if the person was raised in an entirely different culture than that of western medicine. This book discusses what it was like from both sides; the Hmong and those of the western doctors what it is like to deal with each other when it involves a common interest. That common interest being Lia Lee, an epileptic Hmong child. Both of the parties cared for Lia Lee; however their cultural differences were enough to distract from the real goal.…
In chapter two of From Indians to Chicanos by James Diego Vigil focuses a lot on how the attributes of civilization were accustomed to their living in the Aztec period. There are three subtopics the chapter covers. The first one talks about the nobility they offered to society, the second subtopic that the book covers are their traditions on what they believed. The third subtopic the book focuses on is Racism. Throughout the book we see some issues that the society already begins to struggle.…
The Yanomami live in the tropical rain forest of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil in the Amazon River region. They are believed to have migrated from Asia across the Bering Straits, which thousands of years ago was a land bridge that connected Asia to North America. They slowly made their way down North America into South America. The Yanomami are probably some of the first immigrants to South America. It is thought they arrived in South America around 12,000 years ago.…
In Elizabeth Wong’s story, The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl, she reveals denial and shame towards her parent’s culture to illuminate the importance of having multiple cultures in a person’s life. Though reading this story one can discover her denial towards her Chinese culture was because she just wanted to integrate and be like the rest. The majority of children will be forced into ideas that are presented and taught by the parents. The parent is only passionate to keep the traditions that are passed down through generations. This is where high expectations are enforced by the family members which could lead to pressure.…
In the article “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” Miner successfully persuades the audience that American’s fixation and obsession with the body’s appearance and well-being is absurd by using pathos to help persuade the readers to think the same way. He is able to achieve this by allowing his readers to form a view of this “tribe” before they realize mid-way through the essay that this article about people with bizarre customs and rituals are actual modern-day American’s. The author is writing this essay to the general public. He is doing this to inform his readers of a culture called the Nacirema. These people partake in rituals that seem unfamiliar to modern-day humans.…
Emphasising the diverse and distinct cultural values of various nations around the globe, Thomas Balmes’ documentary, Babies, juxtaposes the early development of individuals against the influences and ideologies imparted by the society. Centered around four young infants- Ponijao of Opuwo, Namibia, Bayarjargal (Baya) of Bayanchandmani, Mongolia, Mari of Tokyo, Japan, and Hattie of San Francisco, America -in contrasting civilizations, the documentary records not only the psychological growth, however, equally the sociological interactions of the featured young individuals. Alongside illustrating various norms, values, beliefs and practises, the documentary not only captures the role of technological development in the global world, but also…
Growing up as a young woman in the Papago culture, she had to follow the rituals and always defended her culture by merely stating that “this is good” and “I like this”. Her culture continued into today’s era by the Papago people, but has also changed and developed. They also showed solitude by having wars, and hanging the scalp of men they kill inside their homes. The Papago Women give a great example to always be content with what you have and stay strong in your…
To understand Mwindo’s establishment as a quality leader one must understand Nyanga cultural values. Three cultural values surface throughout the Mwindo epic: kinship, forgiveness, and humility. Kinship’s importance appears in a multitude of ways. In Nyanga culture, one calls his or her cousins sister or brother to emphasis the closeness of the relationship between kin (pg. 45). When Iyangura refers to Mwindo as her child it is not because she is the biological mother but rather because aunts, uncles, and cousins are essentially considered as part of the nuclear family unit.…