The Beliefs in the Supernatural - Essay Example

Some people believe everything looks supernatural until we explore it and prove it scientifically. According to them, everything works in a methodical scientific way we just need to be technically advanced to understand it.  Whereas those who believe in supernatural things accept the existence of supernatural things beyond their control. They actually find it magical and fanciful.

The supernatural belief system

Every society has its own set of superstitions and supernatural belief systems. The belief about the extent of control over the social and physical environment and over things varies from society to society. There are and will always be things which can be explained scientifically and whose results are very predictable e.g. with an increase in disposable income our expenditure increases, two and two will make four, etc.  But we cannot deny the fact that there are things in life and around us that are beyond reasoning (Ferraro). For example, during an earthquake, some of the houses are devastated while others remain unharmed. Some people despite their unhealthy habits remain healthy while conscious people get contaminated with all sorts of viruses. Some safe drivers encounter lethal accidents while rash drivers go luck unscathed. To explain the unexplainable people rely on things like magic, sorcery, witchcraft, religion, astronomy.

Religious and other supernatural beliefs shape our values, beliefs, and attitude and affect our businesses, work, lifestyle, efficiency, and sense of responsibility.

People will refrain from undesired and unwanted anti-social behavior if they believe in supernatural things out of the fear of punishment. If they believe in witchcraft they will refrain from deviant behavior because they regard their failures or misfortunes as a result of witchcraft.

Superstitions

This belief system leads to many superstitions present in every society. It is not considered food to walk under the ladder, Friday thirteenth, breaking of the mirror, a cat crossing your path, etc. all these are used to explain our misfortunes.


An Anthology of US Latino literature

There is a great no. of anthologies of short essays or short stories available but Latino Boom’s treatment of story and style is very different and unique. Here I will discuss his story in chapter four: The lost worlds. The story is about Dreams and Betrayal. (Jose B Gonzales)Most Latino fiction is about movement from one culture to another and the differences and the gaps and voids between the two. He handles the transition from a safe and convenient sphere to a more painful one very expertly. Most of his stories deal with the delusion of the immigrants how they perceive their past. Mircea Eliade regards the original Edenic setting as “Land of pure”. It’s about false beliefs immigrants nurture about their native lands as they were a lost piece from paradise. Some go to such an extent that they refuse to accept the changes and take an active part in the new changing world. They spend their lives daydreaming about their past life where everything was safe and recognizable and good. It impairs their ability to mingle with people. It talks about cultural differences. His usage of the word “between worlds” has almost become a cliché. His imagery of the distant green islands and the peace of Puerto Rico reflects the notion of the lost paradise and debility to initiate a new challenging life in America. Most of the writings of Latino are about crossing cultural and spiritual boundaries and the problems that displacement creates such as self-imagery and fragmented, distorted identity.  The writer makes us understand different dimensions of hybridity through the attitudes of the characters when they face the confronting metaphorical past/present, safe/unknown, innocence, and experience. These issues are discussed in stories like “Primordial paradise”, “earth’s navel”, “man's ultimate problem” etc.

The same thing can be found in his poems. His poem “I ‘m Latino proud” is also a family poem. It’s about how immigrants take pride in their race, their looks, their way of life. It’s about how proud they are for the hard work they do and how little they earn. People look down upon them but they don’t care. Some bad people because of their bad behavior cannot tarnish their image.

Conclusion

So belief in the supernatural can distract us from reality. As depicted in Latino’s poems and stories some people live in an imaginary world, fanaticizing about things that don’t exist because they have no control over many external factors affecting their present. They find it fanciful and magical to believe in such things.