Sharing Tradition : By Frank LePana | Exercise | Class 11 English Literature

Sharing Tradition

By Frank LA Pena

Understanding the Text:

1. According to LA Pena, what is the importance of the oral tradition? To what extent do you agree with opinions and why?
   Ans:According to the writer the importance of oral traditions is in helping maintain the values of culture. He helps in handing down our traditions and cultural values generation to generation. If it were not so, they would gradually be lost. Yes, I agree with his opinion, because had there been no such practice, we wouldn't have known our cultural traditions. Our future generations too would not be aware of such a heritage.
2. Who preserve and pass on the oral tradition?
   Ans:It is the duty and responsibility of both younger and elder generation to do it. Always the elder generation pass on the oral tradition to the younger. In its turn, the younger generation pass on such things to next generation.
3. What is the danger of not passing information from generation to generation?
   Ans:If our culture, traditions, values etc. are not passed from generation to generation, they will neither be preserved, nor will be transmitted (passed on) in future. The natural result will be that they will be forgotten by society gradually. That will be an irreparable loss for the whole society.
4. What is the difference between oral tradition and literary tradition?
   Ans:Oral and literary traditions are two different channels of imparting information. The major difference between the two is that in a living tradition, there are chances of correction, whereas written tradition leaves a permanent impression . If by chance a wrong information is passed this way, it cannot be corrected.
5. How does LA Pena establish a relationship between art and the oral tradition?
   Ans:The writer has developed a relationship between art and oral tradition. Oral tradition is an art form, and it has impacts, on which an artist visualizes his/her artistic imagination. It helps an artist to visualize the stories, the characters, the design, and color for art etc. when traditions are changed an piece of art becomes an abstract. The result of genuine art work depends on what is included or left out in terms of oral traditions.

Reference to the context:

1. LA Pena states that the oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture. If you believe that oral tradition is important, how would you maintain it?
   Ans: There is no doubt that oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture. There are many ways of maintaining it, e.g., through speech, folktales, poetry and so on. Although in the modern times with the internet, T.V. or radio, it has been difficult to maintain a true oral tradition. For this we can follow a bed time tradition, when the family might sit together and elders can tell youngers stories from culture, their heroes’ religion etc. Another very good way is to give information to children about stories related to religion related holidays. For example, we can tell them the story of Goddess Durga killing Mahisashur before sending them on Dashain Vacation.
2. "Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the roles of the elders." Explain this statement with reference to the essay.
   Ans: It is natural we get old(er) with the passage of time. But that's not enough. Elders have a particular role. As elders have a deep experience and good knowledge of their culture, tradition, it is their duty to pass on this knowledge to the next generation through oral tradition. But as all the elders don't do it, or don't know the proper way of doing it, we can say that everyone is not capable of fulfilling the roles of the elders.
3. What is the controlling idea or thesis of this essay?
   Ans: The controlling idea of this essay is the importance of transmitting (transfer/ pass on) knowledge and values of a culture through oral tradition to save them from being forgotten.
4. How do topic sentences guide the reader through the essay? What would be lost without them?
   Ans: A topic sentence is a sentence that summarizes the main idea of a paragraph. It is very important because all the other sentences of the paragraph are deeply related to it. If there is no topic sentence, readers will find problems in understanding what the paragraph is about.
5. What are the four major problems developed by LA Pena with regard to maintaining the oral tradition. How are they used to structure the essay?
   Ans: Although transmitting culture, values etc. through oral tradition is of utter importance, but it is not so easy. The writer has mentioned four major problems to maintaining the oral tradition. They are:
   1. difficult in filling up the 'niche' of elders.
   2. impacts of modern technology on people
   3. modern educational system and its impacts
   4. sources of information and ways of perceiving and sharing it
   The writer has presented them in a proper structure. As he wants to focus on these problems, they come after he has introduced the importance of oral tradition. Then the problems come in the main body of the essay. Here he has used problem-solution method. They all support to the main thesis of the essay. Finally, the essay ends with a nice conclusion.

Reference beyond the text:

1. Write a paragraph or two explaining your attitude toward the oral tradition of passing along information.
   Ans: Oral tradition is the first and still the most widespread way of human communication. Oral tradition is not "just talking". It is storing, and transmitting knowledge, art, culture, and tradition. It preserves cultural and historical memory. They preserve the history of the past and important events, and contributes to transmit stories, legends, songs etc. It also has been a reliable source of historical writing.
   In conclusion, cultural preservation is vital (very necessary). It brings a sense of unity, togetherness and belongingness among people of a community. This has been a difficult task in the present time because of today's busy life-styles and increasing responsibilities.
2. Our culture is our identity. Write a few paragraphs explaining how you intend to preserve your culture, values and norms.
   Ans: We all have our own distinct culture, norms and values. They are so dear and valuable for us. They stand our identity. So, it is our duty not only to follow them, but also to pass on such things to the coming generation, so that they are not forgotten or lost. To preserve our culture, there is nothing better than to continue practicing them in our family. This will not only bring pleasure, but our children will learn them naturally. If someone is in a foreign land, it is better to meet with people of one's origin, and enjoy different festivals together. We can even wear traditional dresses on such occasions. Smell and taste have powerful connections to memory. So, it is also very good to cook some traditional dishes on such occasions. Another way to maintain our culture is to tell stories, legends and myths to our children, as storytelling gatherings once or twice a week.
   Next important thing is language. Mother tongue is the life blood of a culture and community. So, in order to preserve culture, values, etc., it is very important that one should strictly use mother tongue in family. Use formal language or the language of majority only in formal or other social situations. By following such things, we can preserve our culture and values.