Rite of Passage

Essay by jasmyn76 November 2007

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Rites of passage have existed throughout human history and may be a significant factor in the development of a stable adult personality. Broken down into its most basic elements, a rite of passage involves a separation from society, preparation or instruction from an elder, a transition (in the case of adolescence, from child to adult), and a welcoming back into society with acknowledgment of the adolescent's changed status. (Delaney, 1995)Today’s youth have much more advantages than the generations past with the technological advances that have occurred in the world. For the separation process of the rites of passage, I would remove the teenagers from the cell phones, internet, television, and video games. Taking the teens out of his or her normal environment and placing them into an unfamiliar environment that forces them to adapt to the unfamiliar environment. Placing the teens in the wilderness, 100 miles outside of civilization. In this process the youth are going through a process similar to an infant being born.

Once an infant leaves the safety and security of its mothers womb they have enter into an unfamiliar world, and are now forced to adapt to the harsh reality of the real world. In the wilderness the teens would have to learn to adapt to living and providing for his or her self with guidance of an adult. The adolescents would learn to catch , clean and cook their own food. In this process the adolescents learn the importance of providing food for his or her self. This allows the teens to see the advantages that they have had in their lives. Separating the youth from the only world that they have ever known and forcing them to see that the basic needs in life can be tended to with technology being removed from the...