The piece, Body Ritual among the Nacirema, written by Horace Miner, is a prime example of the first learning outcome. The purpose of this writing is to show Americans at the time the piece was published, their ethnocentrism, and the inherent quirks and faults of their own society. Miner accomplishes this purpose by describing the content of the American way of life in the context of a tribal setting. By changing the way the content is presented Miner effectively shapes his audience into feeling superior to the Nacirema tribe, effectively gearing his purpose to fit his audience though the means in which he describes and structures his content. An example of this can be found when Miner describes the “holy-mouth-men” or dentists. “The practitioners have an impressive set of paraphernalia, consisting of a variety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these objects in the exorcism of the evils of the mouth involves almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client.” By describing the dentist in such a manner it is possible for the reader to see the practice in that society as being very uncivilized, thus supporting Miner’s overall purpose.
Another quote from the piece that further supports the purpose is found when Miner describes Playboy. “A few women afflicted with almost inhuman hyper-mammary development are so idolized that they make a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee.” This description of an American vice, as something lewd and crude is accurate, but when viewed in “another” culture it further degrades the civility of it in the eyes of the audience.
Miner is very skilled at changing his content and structure in order to better serve his purpose and audience. The piece is written in such a way that the average American would believe they are culturally superior. When effectively utilized, the first learning outcome can create a very persuasive writing by serving the author’s purpose and connecting to the audience.
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I agree with this article "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" ties in with learning outcome one. I also used this article for my first blog, and I agree that Miner changed the content of the article to fulffil the purpose of the article. The quote about Playboy was a really great example in how Miner describes an American activity in a different view which makes it seem crude in the eyes of the audience. The other quote describing the dentist also is good quote that shows the article clearly uses learning outcome one. The way Miner describes the practioneers makes it seem uncivil and ancient when it actually is what doctors do in America. This content is shaped in a way that fullfills the purpose which is learning outcome one. Overall, the analysis about this article is well written, and I completely agree witht the claims made.
ReplyDelete-David Cho g1
I agree with Daniel's statement about the author's purpose and method of accomplishment. Through the use of phrases that describe the eating habits and dentistry habits of Americans in a different light, the reader does indeed develop a skeptical perspective toward the piece. The audience, Americans, is clearly addressed in the article as all of the practices referred to are from the United States; we do idolize people's bodies and visit strange men with tools to get our teeth fixed. All in all, as Daniel states, "The first learning outcome can create a very persuasive writing by serving the author's purpose and connecting to the audience." The only part of this statement that I disagree with is the connection to the audience - when first reading "Nacirema" I felt very distant from the culture of the people. While, as Daniel states, this was because the author expressed the culture in a different light, I did not feel connected to it [the Nacirema culture].
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view on this topic, as I did the same for my first blog. I feel this piece was one of the best and easiest to do for blog one and learning outcome one. It successfully showed how the structure and context of the text was affected by the audience and purpose. Body Ritual among the Nacirema shows us, like you said, American culture in a different light. It enlightens us to the fact that we are a lot less normal and “civilized” than we think we are. I thin k your second quote, about the women with “almost inhuman hyper-mammary development” really drives home the point that we should really think about ourselves before we pass judgment on other cultures. In conclusion, I agree with your claim that Horace Miner better serves his audience and purpose by changing his structure and context. Daniel, you are right.
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