Brazilian Sweet Fifteenth Birthday Party Essay -- Personal Narrative D

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quinceanera, which is Spanish for Sweet 15, is a very popular celebration in the Spanish community. This is a very special day to both the mother and the daughter. This day signifies the transformation from a little girl to a young lady. It is a way of introducing a new woman to society. Turning 15 is the most important birthday for Spanish communities. Quinceaneras tend to be a big and elegant celebration in which every family member and friends collaborate to give the birthday girl the best party she has ever had. To my understanding every Sweet 15 was celebrated the same in every Spanish country. But after attending my friend’s Brazilian Sweet 15 my opinion has changed for the better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My friend Stephane Rene and I were invited to a Sweet 15 a couple weeks ago. The birthday girl was related to one of our friend, Kim. At first, I did not even think of using this event to write my paper because I thought that I knew what a Sweet 15 was all about. I was primarily going to focus on the Brazilian culture because even though my friend is Brazilian I had never had the opportunity to share an event with Brazilians being the dominant group. But soon after the ceremony got started I found myself surprised and amused of what was in front of me. First, there is ceremony before the reception which is held at a church. The family is catholic therefore the ceremony was held at the catholic church of the town. After everybody was sitting down, Jennily walked down the aisle toward the front of the church. Here, the priest was waiting to give her the appropriated blessings. She was wearing a long gorgeous pink silky dress which represented her new status as a you ng woman. Jennily was also wearing soft pink slippers which she would change later into a more elaborate one. I was familiar with the ceremony at the church before the party because it is a way of blessing her and to appreciate her day of celebration which simultaneously represents her rebirth as a woman. But I did not hesitate to ask one of the family members, what did it signify to them to be blessed by the priest the day of her birthday? To my surprise, thru their blessings they also pray for her future and her new start. Once the priest was done, her aunt and uncle stood up and recall her first fifteen years of life in a very sentimental and biographical speech. Throughout the speech they kept referr... ...ized by they own people than an outsider because it would make no difference for me to see someone of their group acting a particular way. In actuality, it would be hard for me to notice that there is something a little odd.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Regardless of the difference of culture, language and customs, I learned so much about the Brazilian culture in the United States. For example, they have huge families like Dominicans and they stay together as a community one hundred percent. In addition, I myself might incorporate some of their traditions onto mine, maybe not for myself but for my cousins and even for my future daughter. I like they way in which everything was very detailed and organized. Also, I liked how everything had a meaning and a reason for being there. This party has motivated me to go out there and explore all the different cultures that exist in the society that I live in. This event has also taught me a lesson about life, in order for us to find ourselves we need to identify with our ancestors and continue our traditions. There is nothing more pretty than being able to bring our beliefs and customs with us. This is what identifies who we are, and who are children would be.

Assess Hume’s Reasons for Rejecting Miracles

Assess Hume’s reasons for rejecting miracles Hume defined miracles as a â€Å"violation of the laws of nature† and consequently rejected their occurrence as both improbable and impractical. This view has been supported by modern scientists and philosophers such as Atkins, Dawkins and Wiles to a certain extent. However Aquinas, Tillich and Holland and Swinburne to a certain extent reject Hume’s reasons, instead arguing that miracles have a divine cause and that Hume’s arguments are weak.This essay will argue that Hume’s reasons for rejecting miracles are not valid and in doing so consider his two main arguments; lack of probability and Hume’s practical argument. Hume’s first reason for rejecting miracles was a lack of probability. He argued that evidence from people’s experience of observing the world showed the laws of nature to be fixed and unvarying. However to suggest a miracle occurred was to say that the laws of nature had been violated, hence his definition of miracles being a â€Å"violation of the laws of nature. Miracles were reported has having occurred by eyewitnesses, as is stated in the Bible in the case of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. However for Hume it was far more likely that the eyewitnesses were mistaken in what they witnessed, than for Jesus to have actually raised Lazarus from the dead and in doing so violated fixed laws of nature. A violation of the laws of nature was therefore an improbable occurrence. Wiles’ agrees with Hume’s point that it is more likely the eyewitness was wrong than a miracle occurred, in doing so raising the problem of evil.It was illogical to suggest God was omnipotent and good if he showed clear favouritism through creating miracles whilst at the same time many people were suffering. It would be more likely that a witness made a mistake or did not understand what they saw than an ominbenevolant and omnipotent God showed clear signs of bia s and favouritism through miracles therefore Hume’s first argument is valid. Swinburne supports Hume’s view that laws of nature are defined by the experiences of people observing the world, as he believes that people’s observations are the basis for all natural laws.Additionally Hume’s argument that miracles are improbable is supported by Dawkin’s view that it would be highly unlikely that someone could simply learn to walk again after being paralysed as a result of a miracle, as this would constitute a violation of the laws of nature. This also supports the idea that Hume’s argument is valid. However he rejects Hume’s concept of the laws of nature being fixed and unvarying, as he believed them to be â€Å"corrigible† due the possibility new discoveries and observations about the world could result in them being altered in some way.Additionally Swinburne disagrees with Hume’s idea of what an improbable event is. Whilst f or Hume this means an event which it would be foolish to suggest occurs at all, such as the sun staying the sky, Swinburne argues that miracles are more â€Å"probalistic† such as picking out a red grain of sand, highly unlikely but not totally impossible therefore the validity of Hume’s first argument can be questioned.Additionally Swinburne criticises Hume’s definition of miracles as a â€Å"violation of the laws of nature† as he believes that whilst a miracle such as that of Jesus’ resurrection clearly does not fit in with the laws of nature, on it’s own it is not enough to prove the laws of nature have been violated, a view supported by Aquinas who suggests miracles have a divine origin. The contingency argument, supported by Holland and Tillich also criticises Hume’s definition of miracles as a â€Å"violation of the laws of nature. It uses evidence from the Bible, such as Jesus feeding the five thousand, to highlight that Godâ €™s aim with miracles is not to fit in with the framework of modern concepts but to for God to reveal Himself to the people. Tillich himself argues that miracles do not have to involve the violation of nature as they can be possible events, such as a train stopping just in front of a child on a crossing, which hold religious significance for some people. Therefore a miracle does not have to be an improbable event, suggesting that Hume’s argument is not significant.Hume’s second reason for rejecting miracles is presented in his practical argument. He considered levels of education to be a significant factor as miracles were only reported to have occurred by those who were not educated enough to understand the scientific explanation of an event. The stories these people reported were usually circulated and exaggerated, altering them significantly as is the case with urban myths, such as that after Hurricane Katrina stating that law and order had broken down.Hume also considered the general level of education of the country as a whole to be important. He highlighted how the early history of countries is full of miracles and visions due to the ignorant and barbarous populations, such as the very long life of Adam. However as the country becomes more developed and the populations better educated such stories disappear. Therefore for Hume, Adam living to 930 was simply a story made up by the uneducated, as living so long would suggest the laws of nature to be false.Additionally Hume believes that miracles used by religions to prove their religion true would be cancelled out, as not every religion could be true. Dawkins presents a key strength of Hume’s second argument, by supporting his belief that miracles are only reported by the uneducated, as he believes there is a scientific explanation for the effects, such as Jeanne Fretel being cured at Lourdes.The miracles of people being cured at Lourdes, as well as those reported in the Bible simp ly show that miracles were used to cover up a lack of understanding of a way the world worked and to increase people’s faith in God, something which is no longer necessary as most people no longer rely on God for guidance therefore Hume presents a relevant argument rejecting miracles. Atkins supports Hume’s argument that the typical educated person would not be inclined to report the occurrence of a miracle as they would know better.According to Atkins it is only the publicity seeker or someone deluded or hallucinating who would claim to have witnessed such an event as they may lack the scientific level of understanding of their peers, therefore Hume’s argument is relevant. However this view has been criticised by Swinburne as it raises questions about how to define terms Hume raises. It is unclear at what stage a person becomes â€Å"educated† sufficiently to reject miracles. It is also unfair to assume that a person believes in miracles simply because t hey do not know any better, as it is possible to both have a strong belief in God and a good understanding of Science.Further to this it is unclear what constitutes being â€Å"ignorant and barbarous† as whilst earlier nations may now seem uneducated compared to modern times, the nation may have been highly educated for the time as the standards change. Therefore the relevance of Hume’s second argument can be questioned. In conclusion Hume believes that miracles are â€Å"violations of the laws of nature† which are fixed and unvarying, and that they are only experienced by uneducated people who do not understand Science.This view rejected by Aquinas, Swinburne Holland and Tillich. Swinburne believes the laws of nature to be â€Å"corrigible† whilst Holland and Tillich argue that miracles are not violations of the laws of nature but sign events revealing God to the people. However Dawkins and Atkins support Hume’s view that miracles are only experie nced by the uneducated. Overall Hume’s reasons for rejecting miracles are valid to only a minimal extent, as he does not consider the different definitions of a miracle, and does not define what constitutes ignorant and barbarous.

Women’s Significance in To Kill a Mockingbird - 2102 Words

Women’s Significance in To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird portrays the significance of the female voice and gender issues in a racist and biased community. The naà ¯ve female protagonist in To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout, is maturing and she begins to notice the horrors of being a woman. Scout is put into an environment where she realizes how the women of Maycomb County speak about others when they are not righteous themselves. The women in To Kill a Mockingbird are symbolic of race, religion, education, as well as women’s rights. The novel takes place around the 1930’s. When the North defeated the South in the Civil War, Slavery was abolished in December of 1865 but, that does not stop the small, traditional Southern towns from being prejudice against African Americans. The reader realizes this when Miss Meriwether speaks about her maid. She treats the African Americans like animals or objects rather than human beings. We see this again when Scout describes the way Aunt Alexandra treats Calpurnia. She mak es Calpurnia feel irrelevant to her life. According to Darren Felty’s criticism, Harper is trying to reveal the Southern prejudices in the South. Lee wants to make explicit the consequences of racism and to guide the readers judgment of this episode in the novel. She accomplishes these goals, in part, by employing Tom Robinsons trial to allude to the famous Scottsboro Boys trials of the 1930s. These trials featured nine black defendants accused of rape byShow MoreRelatedEssay on Silent Spring - Rachel Carson30092 Words   |  121 PagesCarson left an especially deep imprint on her youngest child. While still quite young, Rachel began writing stories about animals, and by age ten, she had published a prize-winning magazine piece. In 1925, Carson earned a scholarship for Pennsylvania Womens College where she hoped to prepare herself for a literary career by majoring in English. As had always been her habit in school, the bright but reserved student focused on academics rather than socializing and was soon one of the colleges top scholars