Class 11 Sharing Tradition Exercise
-Frank La Pena
Summary
This essay underscores the significance of tradition and its preservation through the art of oral tradition, as highlighted by La Pena. Traditional and cultural values are deemed crucial for a promising future, and the essay stresses the need to heed the wisdom of elders in upholding these norms. La Pena advocates for oral tradition, delving into its challenges and the factors that have impacted it. He defines oral tradition as a means of passing down knowledge, ideas, and cultural content verbally from one generation to the next. This transfer occurs through speech, songs, folktales, and more. The essay underscores the pivotal role both elders and young people play in this process. Elders share cultural insights and values, which must be absorbed by the younger generation to preserve tradition. After the elders' passing, youngsters are entrusted with continuing this practice, ensuring traditions persist. The essay emphasizes that this ongoing cycle sustains culture and values, effectively immortalizing the knowledge of the elders. The essay portrays tradition as a guide, molded by elders' life experiences and principles, imparting wisdom to successive generations. Oral tradition is presented as an educational tool, essential for comprehending the world and safeguarding cultural heritage.
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?
➜ LaPena believes oral tradition is crucial for passing down our culture and values verbally across generations. I agree because it helps protect our traditions and enrich people's lives.
b. Who preserve and pass on the oral tradition?
➜ The elders and young people are responsible for keeping the oral tradition alive by passing down cultural information verbally.
c. What is the danger of not passing on information from generation to generation?
➜ Not passing on knowledge to the next generation can result in the loss of our cultural heritage, leaving people with empty lives devoid of tradition.
d. What is the difference between oral tradition and literary tradition?
➜ Oral tradition involves passing down culture verbally, allowing for corrections. Literary tradition is written, making it harder to fix mistakes.
e. How does LaPena establish a relationship between art and the oral tradition?
➜ LaPena sees oral tradition as an artistic way to pass down culture. It involves skilled speakers passing knowledge to young listeners through various forms like stories, songs, and prose, preserving our culture effectively.
Reference to 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?
➜ To keep the oral tradition alive, I would:
Share cultural knowledge through talking.
Raise awareness about its significance.
Form a community group to support oral traditions.
Explain the benefits of oral tradition.
Encourage my team to pass down accurate information verbally.
b. “Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the roles of the elders.” Explain this statement with reference to the essay.
➜ This statement means not everyone can take on the responsibilities of elders as effectively. Elders play a unique role in preserving tradition, and their deep knowledge and experience are hard to replace. They pass down customs, values, and rituals that are essential to the culture, and this role is hard to replicate once they're gone.
c. What is the controlling idea or thesis of this essay?
➜ The main idea of the essay is sharing cultural traditions orally and how to pass them down accurately. The essay emphasizes the role of elders and youth in this process, highlighting its challenges and solutions.
d. How do topic sentences guide the reader through the essay? What would be lost without them?
➜ Topic sentences lead readers through the essay by introducing key ideas about the importance of oral tradition, preserving it, the roles of elders and youth, challenges faced, and potential solutions. Without them, readers might struggle to follow the essay's structure and main points.
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?
➜ LaPena discusses four main challenges in maintaining oral tradition:
Difficulty replacing elders in passing down traditions.
Impact of modern technology.
Effects of the modern education system.
Identifying and sharing reliable information sources.
These challenges structure the essay, forming sections that address each issue and its implications for maintaining oral tradition.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write a paragraph or two explaining your attitude toward the oral tradition of passing along information.
➜ I believe oral tradition is a powerful way to uphold and protect the customs and values of our heritage. It's like an art where older and younger generations work together to safeguard our culture's essence by passing down accurate stories and knowledge. This practice holds great importance, as it ensures that our cultural roots remain intact and our traditions continue to flourish. Through oral tradition, we can ensure our cultural and traditional legacy endures.
b. Our culture is our identity. Write a few paragraphs explaining how you intend to preserve your culture, values and norms.
➜ Our culture is our unique identity, shaping our lives profoundly. Our values and norms guide our choices and actions, making them an essential part of who we are. Preserving these aspects is crucial. To protect my culture, values, and norms, I plan to:
Partake in all cultural celebrations and rituals.
Raise awareness about the significance of our heritage.
Promote cultural events within my community.
Establish a group dedicated to preserving our cultural legacy.
Share information about our culture and its values.
If you have any doubts, Please let me know