Total Rejection of Traditions


Posted April 23, 2021 by martinbanett

Karinthas story by Jean Toomer is a symbol and illustration of how social values and traditions are affected and changed by people, who act or behave differently from the norm.

 
Karinthas story by Jean Toomer is a symbol and illustration of how social values and traditions are affected and changed by people, who act or behave differently from the norm. Toomer shows how old men admired the young immature girl for sexual reasons and will. They disrespected her age and made her behave as if she was older than her age. All males, whether young or old, wished that she was old enough so that they could have sex with her. This shows that the society was moral and unwilling to commit the unacceptable. This character was transferred to the young woman, making her believe that having sex with many partners was right and acceptable. Even the pastor showed her that her beauty was everything, instead of correcting her from her bad behaviors of beating up animals, fighting other children and the company of old rotten men. He formed a part of the group killing the religious values and breaking the traditions of the society. This most likely made not only Karintha, but also other children to believe that such behavior was acceptable.
Becky lives a life of isolation together with her sons. In the strip of land between the railway line is all her world and life. She is secretive to a considerable degree; thus, no one knows who the father of her two children is. The life she lives is more inhuman and unacceptable in terms of most values both in the white and black races. This brings her into a conflict with both races. She is cast out and forced to live alone. Becky breaks the tradition and value of racism. This is evident by the fact that she bore children who are black, despite the fact that she is white. Furthermore, she breaks the values of morality by having children out of wedlock. Becky in her life does not in any way show a sense of the family hood. Moreover, she has no relatives or even friends. She fails to introduce her children to anyone to call father. Thus, Becky disintegrates the values set upon by the society on the family.
Becky is not portrayed as the one, who works for a livelihood. She has no occupation, and the land she lives on is too small for farming. It cannot sustain any foods, neither it is suitable for farming. This sets her at crossroads with the society. Despite the fact that she is capable, she is not willing to work for her own sustainability. This breaks and affects the values and traditions of the society negatively. Becky does not set a good example to her sons and the wider younger society in general in terms of showing them the value of hard work and the social economic independence. This is extended by the fact that the land she occupies is donated and not legally acquired.
Jean Toomer portrays Beckys sons as individuals, who by no means recognize the boundaries of racism. This is a positive effect on the traditions set by the society, where they exist. They view everyone as an equal and, thus, no one is offered a specific treatment by the two kids. They further handle all humans equally with no trust or close friendship. However, they act in an inhuman and antisocial manner. By doing this, they break the strong value of humanity and tradition of togetherness for people, who live in one common state or country. They shoot, kill and fight for no good reasons, but rather on mere assumptions and beliefs of aggression. This shows a trend of the intolerance and impatience. It also demonstrates a lack of the respect for human life and common moral beliefs of the society. They fail to learn and understand human life and its settings.
The sons are portrayed as hardworking and quite independent as compared to their mother. They do not depend on handouts from strangers and travelers who use the railway lines near their home. This positive factor touches favorably on the values and traditions of the society. They have acquired the right traditions and values by themselves and are likely to pass them over to the coming generation.
In this story, the author clearly displays how the actions of the parties involved affect traditions, as well as social values. Fauset shows Opal Street as one that did not have the niceties that could be imagined for such a small street. The effect on traditions and social expectations is evident, when it comes to the differences between the old and the young. In this street, the young people have exceptionally little to call theirs. All the older people have grabbed their land and left nothing for the poor generation. In other rich families, the ambition of the younger generation seems to surpass the greed and selfishness of the older generation. However, in Opal Street, the older ones have ignored what is socially right and deprived the young people of the hope and faith for the future. Instead, they chose to live in their desirable satisfaction at the expense of the young and less experienced generation.
In the book, Coontz showed how most of the values and traditions that the Americans upheld were slowly being eroded. According to the political economists, the United States of America was growing, and the industries were mostly involved in the mass production of goods. Therefore, the hard work that helped to industrialize the US was wearing off slowly. The perspective of people with respect to the consumption changed. In the increasing advertisements, women were the main targets. This is where the loss of social values and traditions started to be evident. The application of consumerism took charge to the extent that thefts committed by women at the market place were not considered as crimes. Soon, the advertisements involved young women, who could be found in various states of undress. Most of the people in the older generation found these malpractices socially unacceptable and completely against the traditional beliefs of the Americans. The market had eventually turned into a place of the explicitness and advocating of immorality.

About the author Martin Bannett specializes in writing academic papers on educational topics. He is a wtiter at https://essay-online-shop.com/article/write-my-argumentative-essay/
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Last Updated April 23, 2021