The Importance of a System of Beliefs in a Society - Essay Example

The Importance of a System of Beliefs in a Society This task entails comparing two essays, ‘A Secret Society of the Starving’ by Mim Udovitch and ‘Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town’ by Kathleen Norris. The former is an essay that reveals an online society of anorexics and bulimics in Florida that leads a secret dieting life so as to keep thin. The latter talks of the plight of women writers in the Dakotan society, where telling the truth in their works could see them rejected from the society. These two essays strongly base their works on particular belief systems in the respective societies that determine particular behaviors. Thus, this comparison draws from the way the system of beliefs in each of the two societies shape people’s behavior so as to understand the magnitude of control that beliefs have on people. This will help appreciate the important role of beliefs in the society. Both essays reveal that in a given society, a system of beliefs serves as an important component by portraying how it governs the norms and practices of the members to a greater extent. The online society of anorexics and bulimics in the Floridian society has it practices motivated by a system of beliefs drawn from the Thin Commandments and the Ana Creed. The belief that “if thou aren’t thin, thou aren’t attractive” makes girls and women in Florida to join the pro-ana society which practice anorexia and bulimia so as to keep thin (Udovitch 112). Similarly, the Dakotan society does not support women writers who tell the truth in their works. This society believes that discouragements are not meant for public consumption, hence the reason why women writers should not tell the truth in their writings, otherwise they risk being separated from the society. Since setting oneself apart from the rest of the society is hard to do according to Norris (128), these women writers content in writing what is acceptable, the untruth. This similarity portrays a system of beliefs in a society as an important aspect in shaping the behavior of its members. It even overrides the truth to determine what they should and should not do. Udovitch and Norris, in their respective essays, allude on the importance of a system of beliefs in the society by fronting the argument of its unifying role. The writers bring out beliefs as the glue that puts people together physically and psychologically. In Florida, the girls and women who believe that if “you do wrong and you eat, then you sin” have been brought together to an online society where they share their experiences on their practice of anorexia and bulimia (Udovitch 110). With the rest of the Floridian society opposed to this practice, the online society provides a platform to meet with people of like minds. Even in Dakota, by female writers appreciating and abiding by the general belief that “if a discouraging word is heard, it is not for public consumption,” they become acceptable in the larger Dakotan society (Norris 127). These beliefs set a standard code of expected behaviors and norms which define a particular society. Observing this code promotes harmony among the members of the given society, thus uniting them. The need for sacrifices with regard to any system of beliefs in each of the essays enhances the importance that beliefs have to a society. For the Floridian women to achieve and maintain the thin body considered to be attractive, they have to suffer pain and sacrifice eating according to the anorexia practice. Furthermore, a woman observing the anorexia and bulimia beliefs has to sacrifice her publicity because as one of the members confesses, “I can’t just come out and tell them I don’t eat… they will get on my case” (Udovitch 111). These women sacrifice the comfort of free-will eating and publicity of their practices, which could cause deterrence from the public, so as to live up to the expectations of their beliefs. In the same way, the Dakotan women writers sacrifice the truth so as to be acceptable in the Dakotan society. According to Norris, “someone who wants to write either has to break away or settle for writing only what is acceptable” (128). But since the writers fear being set aside from the society, they choose the latter, thus sacrificing to tell the truth that they know. This shows that beliefs in any society are regarded with high esteem and members of the given society would trade anything to observe these beliefs. Despite both societies sacrificing particular aspects to observe their beliefs, the Floridian women make it private unlike in Dakota where the sacrifices are in the public domain, a difference which indicates that beliefs applies to all classes in the society. The Floridian society believes that “be anorexic and you’re gonna die in a year” (Udovitch 109). Thus, the anorexics’ society in the town make their practice private and secretly meet online, using disguised names so as to protect their identities from the rest of the Floridian society. Since the larger Floridian society does not expect them to practice anorexia, they voluntarily choose to join the society. But in Dakota, it is public that any discouraging word should not be shared with the public (Norris 127). The women writers are obliged by this belief not to give the truth in their writings, failure to which they risk being separated from the rest of the society. Therefore, the society contends with the fact that whatever they read from the women writers are short of the truth so as to protect them from discouraging words. This difference portrays beliefs as a powerful phenomenon in a society that supersedes even the truth. With the Floridian online anorexia society depicted as being more educated than the Dakotan women writers society, this difference makes one appreciate that the controlling power of beliefs applies across all classes irrespective of the education levels. Therefore, both the similarities and differences in the two essays depict a system of beliefs in a given society as an important phenomenon. Beliefs shape the behavior and practices of members of a society and unifies them together. Regardless of the class, a system of beliefs in any society controls the kind of life that its members lead. As such, this comparison depicts the importance that both essays have laid on system of beliefs governing a society. Works Cited Norris, Kathleen. “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?” Remix: Reading + Composing Culture. 3rd ed. Ed. Catherine G. Latterell. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 127 - 133. Print Udovitch, Mim. “A Secret Society of the Starving.” Remix: Reading + Composing Culture. 3rd ed. Ed. Catherine G. Latterell. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 109 - 116. Print Read More