Jaeger 1

Annie Jaeger
Mrs. Intawiwat
UWRT 1103
November 14, 2014
Growing Old and Coming of Age
After a lot of research and changing my topic several times I have finally decided
to write my extended inquiry project on rites of passages. Many cultures have many
different rites of passages, but most signify the same thing, a person coming of age and
entering adulthood. In many cases these rituals take place during the years that teens are
going through puberty. However, not all rites of passages are associated with a person
coming of age. In my paper I will discuss some of the various rites of passages common
in other countries and cultures and some in our own culture. I will also talk about how
this topic relates to the novel, Into the Wild, because it is clearly demonstrated all
throughout the novel.
Many cultures have a different way of celebrating this coming of age experience.
One of the more common traditions is the Jewish tradition of a Bar Mitzvah or Bat
Mitzvah. The boys celebrate their Bar Mitzvah at the age of thirteen and it signifies that
the commandments now apply to them. The Bat Mitzvah is the female counter part of
the Bar Mitzvah; the only difference is that it is celebrated at twelve years old
instead of thirteen. Despite the difference in age, both ceremonies are celebrated in
almost the exact same manner. The celebration includes the teen receiving a
particular blessing and readings from the Torah. I have attended many Bar and or
Bat Mitzvahs and they are typically large gatherings mostly including family

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members. There is typically a lot of dancing at these celebrations as well. Here is a
picture from my best friend Erin and Shannons Bat Mitzvah party (Kennedy).

Another common coming of age rite of passage is the Quinceanera. This is

celebrated in the Latin American culture. Unlike in the Jewish tradition where there
are two separate ceremonies for male and females, only girls have a Quinceanera. It
is celebrated at the age of fifteen. These ceremonies are usually very large. It is the
equivalent to the American sweet sixteen. The party usually begins right after the
teen has attended Mass with their family. Girls usually dress very formal for this
special occasion. It usually consists of big, long, formal dresses and a tiara. At the
party the girl is given her last doll to show her leaving childhood and entering
adulthood, becoming a woman. A big aspect of the Quinceanera is the first dance.
The first dance is celebrated by the father putting on their daughters first heel and
then dancing with her. This is a picture from my friends Quinceanera (Aves).
Originally she started the party wearing a long, ruffled, pink dress but she later

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switched into a short dress because it was easier to dance in.

Another less common coming of age ritual is female genital mutilation. This
is commonly practiced throughout different tribes in Africa. Female genital
mutilation is an age-old ritual where the females clitoris or vaginal lips are cut off or
removed. Many people believe that is an inhumane ritual and demoralizing for women;
however, Shweder argues otherwise, he claims that girls look forward to this ceremony
and ask for it to be completed. Shweder also claims that the procedure is very safe, with
minimal risks involved. No particular age was stated for when this ritual occurs, only that
it happens during the pubescent years. Clearly, this ritual is more extreme then others but
that is why I find it so fascinating. Personally, I do not see anything wrong with letting
these tribes to continue this practice if it is what the girls want and if it is safe for the
girls to participate in. However, there are a lot of people who believe that this is a cruel
punishment that needs to be eradicated.
One example of a rite of passage in the United States, not directly related to
coming of age and something that we have all done recently is graduate high school. For

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many graduating high school symbolizes a new chapter in ones life, and is a common
rite of passage that most teens go through. The majority of the population will graduate
high school and either goes on to a job or a college/university. Graduation can be
celebrated in many ways but some things hold true for all over and many different types
of graduations. Traditionally students all wear a long robe in your schools color, you
also wear a special hat called a mortarboard, with a tassel hanging over the edge. During
the ceremony various people usually make speeches traditionally these people include:
the valedictorian, the salutatorian, the principal or dean, and student body president. Each
students name is called one by one and they walk across the stage and receive their
diploma from their principal and shake his or her hand. Then at the end of the ceremony
everyone is instructed to rotate his or her own tassel from the right side to the left side of
the mortarboard to signify the end of the ceremony and that they are officially graduates.
Then at the very end of the ceremony most people toss their mortarboard into the air. It is
also common for people to throw parties after the ceremony to celebrate. Graduation
weather it is high school, college, or medical school is a common rite of passage for
people and a special event for most. Graduation is also a prime example of a rite of
passage that is not rooted in religion. People of all religions and all over the world
celebrate graduation. This is a photo from my high school graduation, of everyone
tossing his or her mortarboard at the end of the ceremony (Toth).

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Another newly relevant ritual is the polar plunge. This is being performed by
all types of people all across the world. It consists of people jumping into freezing or
near freezing water. This is one of the only rites of passage that I have studied that is
not rooted in religion and is not centuries old. The polar plunge is done fir various
different reasons, some do it simply for the bragging rights, some do it just for the
fun of it, some use it as an initiation process, and some host these events to support
various charities. While, some may not formally recognize this as a rite of passage it
definitely can be.
While doing this research I have learned a lot about different rites of passage
across many different cultures. Something I noticed is that most rites of passage are
done to signify a person coming of age. Many look at these as transitions from
childhood to adulthood, and are largely celebrated and anticipated. Also, many of
these rites tie back to a specific religion.

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Reflection
1. The biggest thing that changed was my topic. I began thinking that I would
write about bucket lists then, when I started research, I found my topic too
difficult so I switched to transcendentalism. When researching this topic I
found a lot of information, however when I was writing the paper I kept
hitting a wall, and was not able to write enough about the topic, so I finally
decided to switch to rites of passage.
2. I found all of my research through different online databases. For some of
them I used the UNCCs library search, but for others I used additional sites
such as, JSTOR, and Student Resources in Context. I found these the most
useful, because it was a quick way of searching and finding credible
information, since these databases only pull from credible sources.
3. I found mostly only research regarding rites of passage that celebrated
coming of age. Originally I had planned to only discuss one or two about
coming of age and the rest other types of rite of passage, however, with the
information I found, this was not really possible, thus, I narrowed my scope
to coming of age.
4. I didnt write extremely formally or informally, I think it was a good mix. I
stated the facts, and information, but I also included personal opinions about
the matter. I chose this style just because I didnt want to just deliver the
facts, I felt it was important to include my own thoughts.
5. My small critique group helped because some of the people in my group
chose to write about the same topic and so we were able to help each other

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along the way. They also helped in small ways such as peer-editing because,
sometimes you dont catch your own mistakes.
6. This research paper has been different because it hasnt been so structured.
Most research papers I did in high school were arguments and this is the first
time that I got to choose the type of research paper I wanted to write. It is
similar because I conducted the research in the same way. For the first time I
included pictures in my research paper. All of my previous research papers
have just been your standard 6 paragraph essay and we were not encouraged
to use pictures, graphs, or charts.
7. I learned a lot more about rites of passage then I already knew. I now have a
deeper understanding for the exact reasons they take place. I have also
learned about a lot of rites that I didnt even know existed. I also learned that
it is okay to switch your topic if you arent finding enough information or the
type of information that you are looking for.

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Bibliography
"A ritual almost too hard to bear." Sydney Morning Herald [Sydney, Australia] 18 Oct.
2014: 30. Student Resources in Context. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
a) This news article describes a relatively new tradition called the polar plunge. This
is when people jump into freezing or near freezing water. This is now being
performed all of the world, at all different times. The event described in this
article is an extreme version of this, because they are jumping from a cruise ship
into artic water, but not all polar plunges are quite this extreme. While fun, polar
plunges can be very dangerous and should be monitored properly.
b) I thought that this was interesting because I never really thought of the polar
plunge as a rite of passage, but now I see how it can be in many ways. The first
time I heard about the polar plunge was a couple years ago when my friend did it
with his University. Then just last year while I was in Buffalo, New York with my
family I performed the polar plunge. I wanted to include this rite of passage
because unlike many of the others discussed, the polar plunge is not rooted in
religion, and has not been going on for centuries.
c) I know that this is a credible source because it is from a credible news source. The
Sydney Morning Herald routinely publishes credible news stories.
Aves, Kayla N. Kayla's Quinceanera. Digital image. Facebook. Facebook, 23 Aug. 2010.
Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

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Goldberg, Harvey E. "Rites of Passage: Jewish Rites." Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed.
Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. Vol. 11. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.
7818-7824. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
a) This article talks about the different rites of passages in the Jewish religion.
Some of these traditions include circumcision, redemption of the first-born,
bar/bat mitzvahs, and marriage. This article focuses on the religious roots of
these rituals and why they are being practiced. It discussed how many of these
rituals have been practiced for centuries but most of them took shape during
the middle ages.
b) This source was interesting because it provided so much insight into why
these rituals are taking place. It is also showing how these ceremonies have
grown and modernized since the Middle Ages. This article taught me a lot
about these rituals that I had not already known. While I have many Jewish
friends and I felt that I understood many aspects of these rituals and
ceremonies I now have a much deeper understanding for them.
c) This is a credible source because it was found off a credible database. I found
this source by using the Gale Virtual Reference Library. I also know that it is
credible because it was published in the Encyclopedia of Religion.
Horror of Repulsive FGM Unveiled." Africa News Service 17 Nov. 2014. Student
Resources in Context. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
a) This article discusses the tradition of female genital mutilation that is commonly
practiced in many African Societies. It claims that the tradition is incredibly
painful for the young women and also life threating. It was interesting because it

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talked to some of the mothers and fathers of daughters who were going through
this rite of passage to see their input on the ritual. The United Nations Childrens
Fund has said that 125 million girls have gone through with this ritual and it is
practiced in 29 countries across Africa and the Middle East. The Kenyan
government has made large strides to attempt to eradicate this practice.
b) This source was interesting because it was a counter argument to another one of
my sources. It is always interesting to hear both sides of an argument before
making a decision. After hearing both sides of the argument I agree that I think
this practice is dangerous for women and should be stopped. I think that a culture
has its right to perform what may seem like taboo rites until they start
endangering the lives of people, which this rite clearly is.
c) The author of this source is not stated, but the source was found off of a credible
database. It was also published in the Africa News Service, which tells me that it
is credible. The Africa News Service is constantly publishing African news for
the global public.
Kennedy, Jennifer. Bat Mitzvah. Digital image. Facebook. Facebook, 16 June 2013.
Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
Kowalski, Kathiann M. "Coming of age." Faces: People, Places, and Cultures Nov.
2007: 12+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
a) This article discusses various coming of age rituals in different cultures around
the world. It brought up the good point that most coming of age rituals are deeply
rooted in religion. It stresses that most coming of age rituals are perfectly safe,
and are just big celebrations, there are also some very dangerous rituals still being

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practiced around the world. It also highlighted how each culture has a different
age for people entering adulthood.
b) This was probably the most useful source I have found thus far. I liked how it
briefly described many different events instead of just focusing on one or two. I
knew of some of the ceremonies in the article such as: Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and
Quinceaneras, but I hadnt heard of many of the other traditions. I also didnt
realize the age difference between different cultures. Some cultures perform these
ceremonies at around 15 years old while others wait as late as 20 years old.
c) This is a credible source because it comes from an online database, that only takes
credible sources. It was published in the magazine Faces: People, Places and
Cultures, which is a credible magazine.
Shweder, Richard A. "Female Genital Mutilation Can Be a Safe Cultural Rite of
Passage." Women's Health. Ed. Christina Fisanik. Detroit: Greenhaven Press,
2006. Contemporary Issues Companion. Rpt. from "What About 'Female Genital
Mutilation'? And Why Understanding Culture Matters in the First Place."
Daedalus 129 (Fall 2000). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
a) This article discusses female genital mutilation as a rite of passage. In some
African culture this is an old ritual that females take part in. During this procedure
the females clitoris or vaginal lips are removed or cut. Many people from other
cultures believe this is demoralizing for females, and a barbaric tradition,
however; Shweder argues the opposite. He says that many women in this culture
beg to have this procedure performed, and that the procedure is now very safe for
women.

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b) I found this article extremely interesting. I had never heard of this rite of passage
before. It does not surprise me that many people are outraged by this and think
that it is wrong or torturous, but I seem to agree more with the writer of the
article. I think that people can be very ethnocentric, and considering that women
are not being forced against their will to get his done, then I do not see the big
deal. Since there are not any huge health risks, and the surgery is relatively safe,
people should try to be more respectful of other peoples culture.
c) This is a credible source because I found it on opposing viewpoints, which only
pulls up credible sources. The author of this article is Richard Shweder, in the
article he says that he is a writer and educator who has lived and taught in Africa
for many years. Im sure that while living in Africa Shweder got to observe these
rituals first hand and his information is credible.
Toth, Casey. Green Hope High School Graduation. Digital image. The Cary News.
The Cary News, 16 June 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

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