NEB Grade XI Compulsory English Note | Literary Studies | Unit 3 | Lesson 1 Sharing Tradition | Essay | Frank LaPena

Unit:3

Sharing Tradition

Summary

The essay 'Sharing Tradition' written by Frank LaPena is about passing on culture and values from generation to generation through oral tradition. For this, one must listen to his or her elder’s stories.

Oral tradition is helping maintain the cultural values. No one dies if what they have gained by living is carried forward by those who assume the responsibilities. Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the rules of the elders they have enhanced their lives creating a special position. Once they die it is difficult to fill their position. The young people don’t pay attention to something that will happen but they regret it later. They express that they wished they had listened more, remembered more or asked more about the things that the elders were willing to share with them.

The new technologies separate the generations. They have an impact on natural resources with new developments. Part of tradition is tied to natural world which is being destroyed. It’s hard to live with all the stress, worry, change that modern technologies impose on people. Oral tradition is the tools of education to learn the natural world. Oral tradition is the things that modern society doesn’t learn. Sometimes the researchers gather oral material in the field are not always told the truth. They modify the information which is told. The result is that the erroneous information is published and falsely validates one’s research. It is harder to correct errors after it is published.

Oral tradition is different from a literary tradition. The oral tradition has the opportunity of corrections. It is possible to get a proper understanding of one’s information. One should be patient. The information is given correctly if the speaker and listener have a vested interest in or participate it.

The relationship between art and oral tradition is developed in the essay. Oral tradition has an impact on which an artist visualizes his artistic imagination. When the traditions are altered, a piece of art becomes abstract. The result of genuine art work depends on what is included or left out in terms of oral tradition. Sharing the traditions truly helps in honouring the elders and thinking of the responsibilities.

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a. According to LaPena, what is the importance of the oral tradition? To what extent do you agree with his opinions and why?

...
Answer:
Oral tradition is in helping maintain the values of culture. It helps a society to pass knowledge across generations without writing.

b. Who preserve and pass on the oral tradition?

...
Answer:
The elders preserve and pass on the oral tradition. The present generation can maintain the oral tradition when they pay attention to knowledge and experience of the elders.

c. What is the danger of not passing on information from generation to generation?

...
Answer:
Our cultural and traditional values decline if information is not passed on from generation to generation.

d. What is the difference between oral tradition and literary tradition?

...
Answer:
Oral tradition can be corrected but literary tradition has no possibility of corrections.

e. How does LaPena establish a relationship between art and the oral tradition?

...
Answer:
The oral tradition has an impact on how an artist visualizes the stories, the characters, the designs and colour for art, the atmosphere, and other information in his creation.

Reference the context

a. LaPena states that the oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture. If you believe that the oral tradition is important, how would you maintain it?

The oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture. To maintain the oral tradition, every individual in a society can play a significant role. Our elders should be listened more. Interviews with them can be done. Audio copies of the narrations, folktales, epics, etc. can be prepared for public use. Young people can be taught the importance of the oral tradition.

b. “Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the roles of the elders.” Explain this statement with reference to the essay.

The elders have enhanced their lives by creating a special position. Their roles in a community often involve responsibilities that require specialized knowledge and experience. They are found to fulfill their roles very well. The youngs are supposed to pay more attention to their knowledge of the culture and the responsibilities but they don’t. Once the elders die, their position is hard to fill.

c. What is the controlling idea or thesis of this essay?

The controlling idea or thesis of the essay is that oral tradition is very important in helping maintain the values of culture. The oral tradition is the message that is transmitted orally from one generation to another. It helps people make sense the world and is used to teach children and adults about important aspects of their culture. The best way to maintain the oral tradition is to listen to elders’ stories.

d. How do topic sentences guide the reader through the essay? What would be lost without them?

Topic sentences relate to the main point of the essay. They guide the readers by signposting what the paragraph is about. All the sentences in the rest of the paragraphs should relate to the topic sentences. Without topic sentences the essay loses coherence and the essayist can't convey his/her main idea or message to the reader.

e. What are the four major problems developed by LaPena with regard to maintaining the oral tradition. How are they used to structure the essay?

The four major problems developed by LaPena with regard to maintaining the oral tradition are:

- Not everyone is capable of fluffing the roles of the elders.

- New technologies create the separation between generations.

- Modern society isn’t interested in learning the way how oral tradition functions.

- As oral tradition accommodates corrections, it is harder to validate it.

These problems are used to structure the essay as they support the thesis statement and the topic sentences.