"EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH"   Term Paper ID:18710 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: (Kai T. Erikson). Analyzes relationship of culture & social structure before & after 1972 destruction of Buffalo Creek by flood.... More...

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Paper Abstract: (Kai T. Erikson). Analyzes relationship of culture & social structure before & after 1972 destruction of Buffalo Creek by flood. Paper Introduction: This study will provide a book report on Kai T. Erikson's Everything In Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. The study will explain how culture and social structure are related in the case of Buffalo Creek, will describe the culture (the mountain ethos) and the elements of social structure (both local and national) and how a change in one aspect of the social structure affects a change in the other, will argue that the changes are reciprocally related, and will discuss the personal traumas (chronic and/or acute) of Buffalo Creek residents in terms of the destruction of both culture and social structure in that community. Clearly, Erikson argues that the culture and social structure of Buffalo Creek are intimately related, both before Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Erikson's EverythingIn Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. In other words, based on such economic improvements, a strong senseof family and kinship patterns, and a sense of community based on commonstruggle in the mines and a traditional history dating back centuries, theresidents of Buffalo Creek shared a social structure and culture which wereintimately related. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1976.----------------------- 8 . The national social structure in the early 197 s wasstill focused on Vietnam, on Watergate, on the oil crisis, and the GreatSociety of Lyndon Johnson was virtually dead in its tracks. The spirit oftaking care of social ills and injustices was a thing of the past, and ifthere had been a dialogue between the national social structure and thelocal social structure of Buffalo Creek, and had the residents of BuffaloCreek declared according to their custom that they wanted to be left aloneto live their lives and do their work without outside interference, thenational social structure would have readily replied, Fine. Works CitedErikson, Kai T. The people could not go back to the old socialstructure which had been destroyed, and they had no desire to connect inany significant way with the national social structure which they had forso long and so studiously scorned. I don't do no housework. It is, therefore, not possible to overestimate the devastation doneto the culture of Buffalo Creek when we consider that the culture of thecommunity consists of "customary ways" and that those customary ways and"moral space" were thoroughly devastated by the flood. I enjoyed my family and my home, but outsideof them, to me, everything else in life that I had any interest in isdestroyed. A person whose feelings of well-being begin to deteriorate becausethe surrounding community is stripped away and can no longer supply a baseof support . . But now I'vejust got to the point where it don't mean a thing in the world to me. The working miners and their families were about tojoin what Harry Caudill called 'that favored class' in the social world ofthe mountains, la sort of blue-collar 'royalty amid a population ofindustrial serfs'" (127). Long years of work were beginning to paydividends in the form of comfortable homes, brighter futures, and reliablesources of income. The study will explain how culture and social structure are relatedin the case of Buffalo Creek, will describe the culture (the mountainethos) and the elements of social structure (both local and national) andhow a change in one aspect of the social structure affects a change in theother, will argue that the changes are reciprocally related, and willdiscuss the personal traumas (chronic and/or acute) of Buffalo Creekresidents in terms of the destruction of both culture and social structurein that community. As Erikson writes, "Fewstatus differentiations are made between people . Ihaven't cooked a hot meal and put it on the table for my children in almostthree weeks" (145). . I just won't do nothing. What the flood brought to Buffalo Creek was the ruination of thesocial structure on a local level that the residents had nowhere to turnand no way of life left to be "repaired" by turning to the national socialstructure in any case. In fact, the sense of trauma experienced by the people of BuffaloCreek as a community was more disastrous and lasted longer than thepersonal traumas experienced by the residents, indicating the degree towhich the culture and social structure supported the tightly-knitindividuals of that community prior to the flood and its consequences. With respect to traumas suffered by the residents of Buffalo Creek asa result of the flood and its aftermath, it is clear, as Eriksonemphasizes, that while "most of the debris has been cleared away, the worstdamage . can be said to suffer from a form of collective trauma"(Erikson 154). . The national social structure, for example, depends heavily on aclearly defined hierarchy of leadership, a trait which the residents ofBuffalo Creek needed desperately after the flood but which they hadpreviously had no desire or need to establish. When the flood struck, however, this assumed commonality and sense ofshared community was shattered, and because the residents had long rejectedthe national social structure, there was no other social model to replacethe destroyed one. . . Can't eat. and, in trueAppalachian fashion, few people are ready to accept the responsibility ofleadership . In other words, the internal damage effectively destroyed many, ifnot all, individuals, love of the little things in life which hadpreviously served as the foundation of the culture and social structure. The mountain ethos lay at the foundation of both culture and socialstructure in Buffalo Creek. If we consider, for example, the importance of the family unit in thesocial structure and culture of Buffalo Creek, we can see in the experienceof one Buffalo Creek resident, Deborah, the damage done to that socialstructure and culture through the damage done to the family life, thebuilding block of the community. In other words, because the social structure of Buffalo Creekdictated that the people of the community "got it alone" and maintainindependence and individual and cultural liberties, when the flood hit andthe local social structure was devastated the local social structure hadnowhere to turn for help, and, in fact, was reluctant to do so hadsufficient help from outside been available. Erikson puts the matter in the most clear and painful perspective:". When they went to bed, poised onthe edge of sleep, the black water would crash and smoke through theirminds again" (135-136). At the same time, though, he is extremely resistant to measuresthat seem to impose limitations upon him. In the case of Buffalo Creek, however, neither of these twoimportant healing factors was present and operative. . . . . Everything In Its Path. . If we remember that the social structure and culture of the residentsand the community of Buffalo Creek depended almost entirely on the elementsof the mountain ethos which gave the people their sense of identity andisolated them from the external world which they so passionately distrustedand scorned, it will be easy to understand that the social structure andculture in the flood's aftermath were destroyed, especially in thespiritual or internal sense, without such supporting mechanisms present. When the floodstruck, then, and Buffalo Creek was ruined socially and economically, aswell as spiritually, the residents of that devastated community had nowhereto turn, clearly indicating the intimate relationship between local socialstructure (based on the mountain ethos) and national social structure. The mountaineer likes to be in control of his ownterritory, and the history of his life in the region is marked by examplesof his readiness to protect his home from marauders, his reputation fromrivals, and his livelihood from such meddling outsiders as revenue agents"(85). I loved to keep house. The social structure of Buffalo Creek, despite the fact that itexisted according to the requirements of Appalachia and work in the coalmines, was far less degraded than outsiders might believe according totheir own perceptions of the area and its people. He is apt to distrust thenational government, the state government, and the county government withequal vigor, and his difficulties in establishing the most elementary kindof community government are legendary" (84-85). The personal traumas experienced by the residents of a community suchas Buffalo Creek can be expected to heal over a reasonable period of timeas long as the surrounding community, culture, and social structure remainmore or less intact, or if the greater social structure on a national levelprovides the means for that community to recover its social structure andculture. Completing the vicious cycle, it can be said that the devastatedpersonal lives of the residents of Buffalo Creek made it impossible for thepeople to rebuild the culture and social structure. Deborah, in Erikson's recounting, says that "I'm neglecting mychildren. As Erikson writes, "On the whole, the people of Buffalo Creek weredoing all right before the flood. Erikson defines culture in this way: "Culture is . As Erikson writesin another example, the mountaineer representing Buffalo Creek "is moresecurely strapped in place by the traditional bonds of his cultural settingthan is the case for most of the people whose lack of personal liberty hescorns. . . was done to the minds and the spirits of the people whosurvived the disaster, and it is there that one must begin the search forscars The flood was with them always . For example, as Erikson writes, "the mountainethos seems to be characterized by a deep contrast between self-assertionand resignation. . This chosen sense of isolation from the outside world, especially thenational social structure, would seem to provide Buffalo Creek with astrong local social structure which would allow its residents to continueto develop its mountain ethos separate from that world. This study will provide a book report on Kai T. I loved to sew. the moralspace within which a people live or, rather, the customary ways thatdevelop within that space and make it distinctive" (81). The assumption seems to be that everyone lives by the samevalues, knows the same lore, does the same tasks, is acquainted with thesame people, and even shares the same thoughts" (129). Clearly, Erikson argues that the culture and social structure ofBuffalo Creek are intimately related, both before and after the flood ofthe winter of 1972 in that mountain community in West Virginia. I loved to cook. As a result, the personal traumas of thepeople of the community were not able to heal. I just want to take me a lot of pills and just go to bed andgo to sleep and not wake up. This sense of isolation and protectionism with respect to thenational social structure on the part of the local social structure inBuffalo Creek, however, in fact made the community especially vulnerable tochanges from outside when the drastic changes of the flood hit BuffaloCreek. The national social structure was not in a mood or a position torespond effectively to the special needs of the people and community ofBuffalo Creek, and the surrounding social structure and culture on a locallevel were effectively destroyed. Iwas all the time working and making improvements on my home. Can't sleep. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.