The Importance of a System of Beliefs in a Society - Article Example

?The Importance of a System of Beliefs in a Society Text comparison forms an integral part of text analysis, as through this, the audience gets to learn more on a given subject covered in the texts being compared. In this essay, two essays give an understanding of how a given system of beliefs dictates the life in societies. “A Secret Society of the Starving” by Mim Udovitch is an essay that gives an account of an online society of anorexics and bulimics that lead a secret dieting life so as to keep thin while “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?” by Kathleen Norris talks of the plight of writers in towns bordering South and North Dakota, where writing the truth leads to being set apart from the society. These two essays strongly base their works on particular systems of belief in the respective societies that determine particular behaviors. Thus, by analyzing the setting, characterization and the shared theme in the two essays, this comparison shows how systems of beliefs have constrained the truth so as to shape the behavior of societies, giving them distinct identities. The setting in “A Secret Society of the Starving” is an online society whereas “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?” uses a physical society setting. In the online society, the truth about the identities of the members has been hidden under the disguised names that they use when interacting. Even with these hidden identities, Udovitch (110) gives an account of how members of this society have organized practices governed by their beliefs and that they share their experiences, without which they would probably not be pro-ana. Perhaps, their anonymity gives them the freedom to share their experiences online, a distinct trait of this society. In Dakota, writers face a physical community of people who are their prospective audience. Albeit these writers do not know with certainty who would be the audience with regard to their writing, they still find a moral obligation not to tell the truth considered to be discouraging. This follows the belief in the society that the truth should not be told if it would discourage the public (Norris 127). Through this contrast, it is evident that despite the nature of a society, the system of beliefs in which its members believe in serves as a more critical aspect in aligning their behaviors towards a specific way of life more than their anonymity to one another possibly could influence otherwise. Both of the selected essays use the power of characterization to depict a society where members would sacrifice their welfare to uphold the dictates of their system of beliefs, thus the importance of beliefs over people’s free-will in determining behavior in the societies. In the pro-ana society, in order to achieve and maintain the thin body considered as attractive, women have to suffer pain and sacrifice eating according to the anorexia practice. Thus, the belief that a thin body is attractive has sacrificing free-will eating as the price to pay (Udovitch 111). Beliefs supersede one’s free-will to eat. In the same way, the Dakotan writers sacrifice the truth so as to be acceptable in the Dakotan society. According to Norris, “someone who wants to write either has to break away or settle for writing only what is acceptable” (128). But since the writers fear being set aside from the society, they choose the latter, thus sacrificing to tell the truth that they know. The author, thus, shows that the value of beliefs supersedes that of the truth in the society. These characters show that beliefs in any society are regarded with high esteem and members of the given society would trade anything, including the truth about their welfare, to observe these beliefs. Moreover, the writers in both essays employ the theme of unity brought about by the existence of a system of beliefs, hence the importance of beliefs in giving people a common identity. Udovitch and Norris depict beliefs as the glue that unites people sharing similar traits both physically and psychologically. The online society leads a discrete life from the ordinary people, running “well-known-to-those-who-know sites” where they are known by their disguised names (Udovitch 113). Despite their hidden identities, the members of this society are a close community, sending each other bracelets to symbolize solidarity and support. The only thing that brings them this together is the shared pro-ana system of beliefs, which is not even monolithic according to Udovitch (114). Even Dakotan writers appreciate the general belief that “if a discouraging word is heard, it is not for public consumption” and abide by it for them to be acceptable in the larger Dakotan society (Norris 127). This produces a society of people who believe in the untruthful so as to guard themselves from discouragement. Thus, beliefs set a standard code of expected behaviors and norms that cause members of a society to behave uniformly, giving such communities an identity based on the portrayed behavior. The setting of both essays that involve societies where beliefs override the truth to govern the norms and practices of the members depicts the importance that beliefs hold in societies. The online society of anorexics and bulimics has even come up with the “Thin Commandments” and the “Ana Creed” as an indication of their devotion to their beliefs. They understand that pro-ana is just a state of mind and that their weights do not match the normal requirement for their ages and heights (Udovitch 111). Despite this truth, they still observe their beliefs of denied eating so as to maintain their thinness. Similarly, the Dakotan society does not support writers who tell the truth in their works. This society believes that the public should not be given discouraging information, thus the need for writers to avoid the truth in their writings or otherwise risk being separated from the society. Since setting oneself apart from the rest of the society is hard to do according to Norris (128), these writers have been forced by this belief to give the untruth in their writings. This similarity provides evidence for the superiority of beliefs over the truth, thus a determinant of the behavior of members of the society. Through character formation, basing the essays on the theme of unity and setting determination, the essays identify with beliefs as the constraint to the truth and hence the determinant of behavior in societies. Even the difference in the setting of the essays propagates beliefs as critical in behavioral alignment. Therefore, this comparison alludes to the importance of a system of beliefs in a society in giving a society its identity through shared common behavior, even more than the truth could possibly influence. Works Cited Norris, Kathleen. “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?” Remix: Reading + Composing Culture. 3rd ed. Ed. Catherine G. Latterell. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 127 - 133. Print Udovitch, Mim. “A Secret Society of the Starving.” Remix: Reading + Composing Culture. 3rd ed. Ed. Catherine G. Latterell. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 109 - 116. Print Read More