Subject: Rites of passage
From: Jon Tveite (jontv@ksu.edu)
Date: Mon Jun 16 1997 - 11:21:28 GMT
Steve Gallagher <sgallagher@lasersedge.net> wrote:
> I too am searching. Stuck in mythology right
> now...loving everything Joseph Campbell....Wondering if Holden's
> unequipped journey couldn't be a tragic reflection of society's
> seemingly confident dismissal of ritual, rites of passage.
I haven't gotten around to reading Campbell yet (I plan to), but I have
read a lot about our society's lack of rites to mark the passage into
adulthood -- and I must say, respectfully, I have some doubts. Holden is
an excellent test case, however, and I will be interested to hear other
people's opinions.
I might be nice to have some ritual rite of passage in our society, but my
question is this: exactly what are we passing *into*? In other words,
what does it mean to be an adult in our society? I usually associate
adulthood with having a "serious" career, buying houses and cars, raising
children, perhaps -- but I have serious problems with the way we go about
all these activities. When someone says, "Behave like an adult," it
usually means something like, "Be more concerned about material things,"
or, "Stop having fun and doing what *you* want to do."
So I don't think Holden is lacking a rite of passage. What he lacks,
rather, is faith that passing into adulthood is a good thing. He sees how
phony and cold adults can be, and he doesn't want to join that particular
club. He doesn't see a place for himself in the adult world; he can only
imagine himself standing at the cliff marking the end of childhood,
catching kids if they stray too close to it too soon. The *last* thing he
wants, it seems, is to be told, "You're an adult now, Holden."
I know that I'm not doing justice to rite of passage, as an idea. It just
seems to me that the rite can't have any meaning if adulthood itself lacks
meaning. And our conception of adulthood is too screwed up to be fixed by
any ritual I can think of. But maybe that's just a lack of imagination on
my part.
Looking forward to opposing viewpoints,
Jon
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