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(2014
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2014 #2b: Short Essay (Favorite Term) |
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Cassandra Rea
Origin and Creation Stories
The concept of origin and creation stories
have truly stuck out to me in this course because it is the foundation as to
where different cultures came from. Before this course, I honestly did not
really think much of where different cultures came from. As a child, I was
taught that Columbus discovered America and that was the end of it. But with all
these different texts that became available to me throughout this course really
struck a chord with me in truly understanding where different individuals come
from. It is important to know these histories because I feel that it allows me
as an individual to have a better appreciation of not only my cultures or
origins but others as well.
The concept matters a great deal to me
because now I no longer look at America’s history as one-dimensional but I
understand that it has been shaped by many different cultures. Genesis is the
original creation story in my eyes because it explains how we was people have
come to be as well as the idea of good versus evil. One part in Genesis that
stood out to me was, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him…and God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very
good” (Genesis 27 & 31). This shows that God made everything on Earth would good
intention, he created man through his version of what man should be. This is
important because a lot of people look to this creation story as the starting
point and explanation of how individuals came to inhabit Earth. It is through
this creation story that I saw the beginning of my culture but I was fascinated
to see that other cultures in American History have their own version of
creation and origin of their people.
By reading other origin stories, this
allowed me to see a bigger picture of the world in America that I know or I
thought I knew. Particularly, is the Native American Origin Stories that shed a
new light on origins. The Native Americans do not use just one single story to
explain creation and the origin of their people but rather they have different
kinds depending on their tribe. Different types of their stories included the
Iroquois Creation Story that had three different versions of creation. But the
fascinating thing about that group of stories is that they had similar symbols
within each story such as the tree of life and sky-woman who fell from the
heavens. Another type of story that they had was an emergence story or a
creation myth. One in particular entitled
The Jicarilla Genesis that deals with the elements of nature being able to
communicate with people, “In the beginning the earth was covered with water, and
all living things were below in the underworld. Then people could talk, the
animals could talk, the trees could talk, and the rocks could talk” (Jicarilla
Genesis 1). This story talks about how all of the elements of the Earth can
together to form Earth. The Native American stories explain that their world or
culture is very organic in nature. Their creation comes from a woman as well as
the tree of life and the animals that help build the world they live in. I see
that appreciation that they have towards mother Earth and they see nature first
and foremost. Unlike Genesis that surrounds man and woman with the contemplation
of good versus evil, the Native Americans see their creation as organic and very
in sync with Earth and its creatures. These stories truly show and explain how
different they view the world compared to others.
The stories from the Native Americans and
Genesis have evolved my understanding of where we came from. But another story
in particular that is important to the origin story and its understanding is the
Narrative of Olaudah Equiano. This narrative puts the perspective of the African
Origin story for American History because it gives a first-hand account of how
Africans were brought to America. He talks about being kidnapped as a young boy,
being brought to America, and eventually buying his freedom. This story has
helped me understand that not every origin coming to America was quite majestic.
It shows a dark side of the origin story that gets overlooked. With these three
type of stories however, my train of thought has evolved from being naïve about
America’s origin to becoming well rounded. There are just so many origins that
America has that it is hard to believe that I did not know about until this
course. I no longer see America’s origin as just Christopher Columbus but rather
an assortment of different cultures that have made up America.
Ultimately, the concept of creation and
origin stories have stuck out the most within this course so far because I feel
like I finally have a point of origin to the history of America. With the
dynamic range of stories from different cultures, I now as an individual see
America for what it truly has always been which is the melting pot of different
cultures. To be able to read these different origin stories, I saw differences
and similarities of how each origin story came to be. It is truly fascinating
that each origin story is unique in its own way. As a student, I feel that there
is now a disconnection with the dominant cultures version of America’s origin
but I see that their more pieces to the puzzle. There can never be just one
story to explain everything but with reading different cultures creation an
origin stories, I as an individual am able to see a clearer picture of America’s
origin.
