The concept of culture spurs many individuals to study, understand, and obtain knowledge of certain customs, values, standards, and rituals that create another perspective to empathetically grasp, and each relatable truth, discovered by its researcher, can establish foundational, inalienable traits to argument the researcher’s identity. Each human is elected to be a researcher of culture with or without the knowledge of the research, but ironically, identity is not a firm state of being; it is continually shaped and molded after each new experience. The Amish society is not the exception from the foundational consistencies of culture and identity, and furthermore, this society, akin to other cultural entities, has created an interesting form of identity exploration from a rite of passage known as Rumspringa. Consequently, Rumspringa relies on thin layers of accountability with many standards, which inevitably, induces negative consequences to an adolescent’s search for personal identity affirmations.
Identity is fragilely within a constant spectrum of change and development, yet the Amish culture has chosen to be oblivious to harmful manipulations between parental authorities and the adolescents within their budding youth. Adolescence is a period of overwhelming expansion, physically and mentally, and instruction, with clear foundations of moderation, can ultimately equip a troubled teenager with the proper tools to unlock facets of untapped potential. The Amish culture limits this search for identity, and adversely, ill-equips their adolescents to combat definite crises within the confusing realms of identity exploration. Additionally, the church, founded under the Amish culture, invokes powerful penalties for individuals that a...
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...viduals yearns to comprehend the source of these interesting silhouettes, so without further delay, he seizes the opportunity to discern that these silhouettes originated from a cave entrance from a stunning world of colorful clarification and enchantment with impressive indigo skies, crisp vegetation, and wondrous creatures scouring the outskirts of this mysterious new realm. He comes to the conclusion that he must inform his peers of this new realm of knowledge, mystery, and wonderment, but upon his arrival and explanation of this discovery. Unfortunately, upon his return, his colleagues politely ask him to return to his seat. The power of a new perspective can create enlightenment and joy, but consequently, those satisfied for the commonality of their cultural existence may omit an opportunity to fully embrace and comprehend a crucial change within their identity.
Self-identity allows you to be your own individual person; it allows you to be able to fit in with certain groups. However being a teen and trying to develop a self-identity of you own is very difficult.In Evan Hunter story "On the Sidewalk Bleeding" the theme of self-identity and its cause and effects have been explored.This will be shown through an analysis of why Andy joined the gang, the reasoning of why the couple did not help him, and also Andys thoughts about the identity he has chosen towards the end of the story.
The family provides a dense web of social support from cradle to grave. […] Family members help each other during an emergency, a fire or flood, and, of course, at a death”. The Amish community would not have withstood the drastically shifting eras had it not been for their foundation built on solid family and community relationships. Within Amish homes, bonds between siblings, parents and their children, as well as potentially extended families ties including aging grandparents or other relatives, are of utmost importance. Importantly, these interrelationships are not left within the household as the Amish community holds an interconnectedness inclusive to the community that creates an additional support network. This patchwork community of benevolence is not a gift, but a reward. There are expectations and consequences, as the BBC reports “[…] Members are expected to believe the same things and follow the same code of behaviour (called the Ordnung). The purpose of the ordnung is to help the community lead a godly life. […] If a person breaks the rules they may be 'shunned', which means that no-one (including their family) will eat with them or talk to them”. Expectations must be met for an Amish individual to earn and maintain their spot within the community. Despite guidelines wavering depending on each community and their location, the Amish are expected to follow God and seek salvation in a preset and dictated manner. Punishments for breaking the ordnung are strictly enforced and the insubordinate individual is completely excommunicated as a result of their disobedience. Since family connectedness is universally valued amongst Amish communities, if an individual is shunned, they will lose not only their community status but communications will be severed between immediate family members. When applied to education, if prohibited by that particular Ordnung, pursing a higher
Individualism and conformity seem to be the exact opposites of each other, but what if being individual meant conforming to the way of everyone else, and what if conformity was the key to being apart of a community? In the essay by Andrea Fishman “Becoming Literate: A Lesson from the Amish” the author looks at the conformity in the Amish culture in regards to education. However, in the essay by Stuart Ewen “Chosen People” Ewen discusses how mainstream America prides itself on individualism. Both essays explore the complexity of being an individual in societies that thrive on conformity.
Devil’s Playground is a documentary following the lives of several different Amish teens in LaGrange County, Indiana. The film shows the teens during a period in their lives known as rumspringa. At the age of sixteen, Amish teenagers can leave the Amish world to experience the modern world. The teens stay in this lifestyle until they decide they are ready to be baptized and officially join the Amish church as adults.
Watching the Amish riding their horse drawn carriages through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, you catch a glimpse of how life would have been 150 years ago. The Amish, without their electricity, cars, and television appear to be a static culture, never changing. This, however, is just an illusion. In fact, the Amish are a dynamic culture which is, through market forces and other means, continually interacting with the enormously tempting culture of America. So, one might be led to wonder how a culture like the Amish, one that seems so anachronistic, has not only survived but has grown and flourished while surrounded by a culture that would seem to be so detrimental to its basic ideals. The Amish, through biological reproduction, resistance to outside culture, compromise, and a strong ethnic symbolism have managed to stave off a culture that waits to engulf them. Why study the Amish? One answer would be, of course, to learn about their seemingly pure cooperative society and value system (called Ordung). From this, one may hope to learn how to better America's problem of individualism and lack of moral or ethical beliefs. However, there is another reason to study the Amish. Because the Amish have remained such a large and distinct culture from our own, they provide an opportunity to study the effects of cultural transmission, resistance, and change, as well as the results of strong symbolism in maintaining ethnic and cultural isolation.
Racial and ethnic identity are crucial elements in the framework for individual and communal identity in our society. Deep values through religion and family create a sense of racial and ethnic identity and are manifested in sensible ways for many distinct minority populations in the United States. Individuals with these beliefs have different cultural values that are undesirable in mainstream American society. For others, on the other hand, especially white Americans, ethnic and racial identity are virtually invisible because societal normality is usually constructed around their ethnic, racial and cultural values. We commonly refer to them as the “standard American culture.” In Native Speaker, the protagonist, Henry Park, is unable to define himself in American society. This essay will discuss Park’s cultural self and his path to discovering himself in relationship to his family, friends, and the United States, as well as drawing in personal experiences that relate to Park’s.
...n, A. M. ( 1995, Spring) The Amish Struggle with Modernity. Virginia Quarterly Review. Vol. 71, Issue 2
Establishing an identity has been called one of the most important milestones of adolescent development (Ruffin, 2009). Additionally, a central part of identity development includes ethnic identity (ACT for Youth, 2002). While some teens search for cultural identity within a smaller community, others are trying to find their place in the majority culture. (Bucher and Hinton, 2010)The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian chronicles Junior’s journey to discovery of self. As with many developing teens, he finds himself spanning multiple identities and trying to figure out where he belongs. “Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other” (p.118). On the reservation, he was shunned for leaving to go to a white school. At Reardon, the only other Indian was the school mascot, leaving Junior to question his decision to attend school he felt he didn’t deserve. Teens grappling with bicultural identities can relate to Junior’s questions of belonging. Not only is Junior dealing with the struggle between white vs. Indian identities, but with smaller peer group identities as well. In Wellpinit, Junior is th...
We often face the reality of questioning our purpose in the world and wondering: when our time in this world comes to an end, what impression will we have left on the world? To answer this question, we look to our identity — both personal and community-based — to define who we are and provide for us a sense of self. Identity for a Jew, like that of other marginalized groups, is made up of a collection of character traits and significant milestones that both define and validate the existence and survival of an age-old people. As an American Jew, whose freedom to identify is made possible by the persistence of my ancestors to keep our traditions and culture alive, my identity is immensely important to me. But how is it that our heritage has
Collective Conscience, Collective Representations, and Social Currents: The events that the young Amish will be apart of during Rumspringa appear to be similar to what an English person, like you or I, is showed to during high school and college. The problem with Rumspringa is that the Amish are very unexposed to our sort of lifestyle their entire lives, that when they finally get to experience it for themselves, they tend to have over exposure.
From the beginning of this religion, to the present day family roles, the Amish religion has been dissected thoroughly to prove that they are not as boring as perceived by American society. To date, the largest group of Amish people live in Lancaster County, home to about 30, 000 Amish people. Prior to researching this religion, I had many bias thoughts and assumptions about the Amish people. Through weeks of research, I have enlightened myself to a new religion that I did not have much appreciation for, but most importantly, group of people whom I share many of my values and beliefs with.
In this paper I will present the numerous theories built around the process of establishing one’s identity and provide examples of how this identity shapes a students involvement and actions while in school. I will also reflect on the importance for systems that foster identity formation that is equal for both inner-city and suburban children. It is crucial to the success of America’s schools to understand that a mixture of cultures creates a mixture of identi...
Minority individuals who are raised in the United States live in community where norms are trying to be preserve; therefore, traditions are strictly enforce by peers, family, and friends because they believe it is the only way to live. In other words, minority youths are forced to learn their community’s norms in America because their own kind are afraid that the norms will be lost. For instance, Junior is a representative of a young minority youth force to practice the norms in his Native American reservation. In his reservation, the s...
What is Identity? Is it what you think of yourself? Is it how others see you? Or maybe it is the way you present yourself. Stories like “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth , “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and “Indigenous Identity: What is it, and Who Really has it?” by Hilary N. Weaver give us a few examples of identity based on each one of the authors viewpoints. Both “Ain’t I a Woman?” and “The Story of an Hour”, focus on how women were viewed and placed in society before and during the suffrage movement. “The Lottery” opens our eyes to the identity issue of blindly following tradition. The author of the story “Indigenous Identity: What is it, and Who Really has it?” tells us that identity is based on; race, gender, social status, and the knowledge of one’s heritage.
In the modern society, the concept of identity is gaining much attention from both scientists and the wide public. The idea of identity is connected with the issues of identification and determining one's role in the society. However, the problem with the identity concerns the idea that it is perceived through numerous external factors that tend to determine the social status of a person and his or her belonging to a certain group. With regard to this, very often the identity of every particular person tends to be misinterpreted and perceived incorrectly. The incorrect interpretation of a person's identity usually comes as a result of cultural differences. The aspects that define the person’s identity usually include the labels that tend to be imposed on people due to their world-view, the language they are speaking, the racial belonging, or even the clothes they are wearing.