Wisdom Sits In Places Summary

The power of stories manifests itself in literature, film, and more generally life. Stories inspire, provide hope, and bring understanding. Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel Ceremony permeates the strength of stories. Ceremony follows the story of Tayo, a half white Native American plagued by the invasion of European culture, as well as his own past of war and loss. However, through the folk stories of his Laguna culture, as well as the advice he has been given to embrace his past, Tayo is able to see the world more clearly.

Within Ways of Reading, by Anthony Petrosky, there is an excerpt called the "Loss of the Creature", by Walker Percy. In Percy 's excerpt he writes about many different stories and examples that are all about different things. He shows that everyone 's 'Value P ' is different because everyone sees things different. By saying this Percy is trying to say that we, the readers, should not set expectations on an experience that we will have. He also talks of planners and consumers and how one will worry about the planning of the experiences and the other will not worry and just experience what they experience.

This specific book changed my outlook on my hometown. I thought I knew a lot, but in actuality I don’t. My hometown is relatively historic, and when I think about it, I think I need to know more about it. Before reading this I thought that everything, and every place was established by white people.

Wisdom is not simply knowledge but rather knowledge gained through personal experience and growth and then, in turn, applied back into the person’s life in a

“If we want to live at peace with ourselves, we need to tell our stories” (3). In Richard Wagamese’s novel, “Indian Horse”, a man named Saul Indian Horse is introduced and he tells his story. He faces a lot of hardships on his journey, including racism, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. He is exposed to violence multiple times. Saul’s experiences help readers understand what it is like as an Indigenous person growing up in Canada.

Wisdom is a trait many people desire, but wisdom is gained through self-experience and cannot be taught. In the novel, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse the protagonist Siddhartha identifies he can only learn from himself, when he converses with Gotama and discovers his teachings have flaws. “You have learned nothing through teachings, and so I think, O Illustrious One, that nobody finds salvation through teachings. (Hesse 27)” This is the pivotal moment for Siddhartha, from this moment forward, he knows to follow his own path in order to achieve Nirvana.

Define and explain the notion of Katatjin (Knowledge), Boodjar (country) and Moort (family) and explain how the relationship between land, people and knowledge in the shared space of the South-west of Australia can be utilised. It is important to understand the Noongar trilogy of belief. The boodjar (land), is considered the mother and caregiver, moort is family and relations and katijin is knowledge and cosmological stories. Together these form a symbiotic relationship which is considered the "web of life" by Noongars (Collard 2007). In the south-west the term Noongar is the name given to aboriginal people who were the original inhabitants of the land (Collard et al. 2004).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders cultural beliefs and practices vary depending on region. They live a hunter/gather lifestyle. The land and environment they live in is fundamental to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The land is not just simply soil, rocks and minerals, but rather an entire area that manages and is maintained by individuals and culture.

The Ibibio worldview is not only determined by an array of their language, belief, and communication that lengthens “beyond the members of the society at a given point in time but to those who are dead and the unborn generation” (Okon & Ansa, 2012, pt. 3). This concept aligns with Thoreau’s views that, “All the past is here,” (pt. 3) which characterizes the Ibibio people as a close-knit society that is defined by three key factors which bind them together – symbolism, proverbs, and religion to explicate their way of life. For instance, the Ibibio people assigned specific meanings to the Iroko tree, an imagery which is hinged upon the strength of the people as discussed in one of their many proverbs; “Ubok mm, ubok mm etuud ukpa” meaning “In togetherness, any obstacle can be removed” (Okon & Ansa, 2012, pt. 5.1). Working together in love and appreciation of others rather than as individuals they can collectively meet challenges they are faced with. In spite of the weight of the tree, which is synonymous to the enormity of a problem, working together brings resolution that satisfies and promotes the interest of the entire community rather than a few.

Education, a life-altering event that involves the development of being more open- minded. When one’s horizons expand they begin to have a shift of perception. The process of becoming knowledgeable through education can differ from the individual or situation. It can also have one acquire gratitude for their change of insight. Two passages, “Learning to Read” by Malcom X and “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato, each contain an individual who goes through the path of gaining wisdom.

The search for knowledge is arduous, to utilize knowledge wisely can be blessings, but

He dedicates his life to learning and eventually obtains the knowledge

Wisdom is not only to have deep knowledge and rests at the experience but also not to realize wise oneself and not to commit amiss things.

In the novel, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, nine distinct stories are told that depict families or people of Indian descent who experience different situations and circumstances that affect their lives. Many themes arise throughout the stories, but one that is prevalent through two specific stories, Mrs.Sen’s and Interpreter of Maladies, is the idea of cultural assimilation. Mrs.Sen’s and Interpreter of Maladies both portray the idea of cultural assimilation, but in different ways. Mrs.Sen’s is an example of a woman who resisted cultural assimilation in order to preserve her Indian heritage, while Interpreter of Maladies is a story that depicts a family who have fallen victim to cultural assimilation, thus losing a sense of connection to their Indian roots and being conformed into American culture. Lahiri uses the recurring motif of physical objects and actions to illustrate the various effects cultural assimilation has on certain people.

Wadley’s Behind Mud Walls: Seventy-Five Years in a North Indian Village is an insightful view into another culture. As an audience member who lives in a country where changes are created quickly and numerously, it was surprising (at first) how the villagers of Karimpur resisted change to their way of life. Though this reviewer is familiar with the concept of having landlords, she was surprised how Karimpur did not belong to the people but rather the landlords. It was also a surprise in how quickly children caught on to their social status.