Class 11 English Unit 8: Writing: Essay

 

Writing (page 75)

a. Write an essay on superstitions that exist in your community in about 250 words.

Superstitions in My Community

Superstitions are as old as man. The earliest men who had no scientific knowledge fell on easy prey to superstition. Thus, illiteracy and lack of knowledge and capacity to reason out are the hotbeds that generate and perpetuate superstition.

Mahatma Buddha was probably the first great man to expound and explain the value and significance of reason, which eliminated superstition. He emphasized that everything should be thoroughly studied, judged, and tested before being believed. Later, many other great men like Guru Nanak and Kabir exhorted the people to shun superstitions. Many people may believe that faith is also a form of superstition. But, as we can see if we think deeply, there is a difference. Faith is a positive factor, whereas superstition is a negative factor.

Earlier, superstition was rampant in villages. The belief in ghosts was common. It was believed that these ghosts operated at night and that they were visible to some people and invisible to others. Taking advantage of this, many clever men burned into tan tricks and controllers of ghosts. They cheated the gullible villagers. Unfortunately, even at present, such clever men are at work.

Many kinds of superstitions are observed by common people. The throbbing of eyes, a cat crossing our way, and coming across a Brahmin-all these are believed to be inauspicious. The cawing of a crow indicated the possibility of a guest visiting our house that day. Similarly, if we come across a sweeper early in the morning, it is considered to be auspicious. We should try to develop a scientific spirit of mind and judge everything on the basis of reason.

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a.     “Superstition is prevalent in every walk of life.” Argue for or against this statement.

Yes, superstition is indeed prevalent in every walk of life. The man started to believe in superstitions when he got a feeling that humans are at the mercy of natural elements. Similarly, some superstitions were also created because of social values. As a result, people worship forces of nature for a long time.

The Greeks and Pagans used to worship elements of nature in the form of Gods and Goddesses. The same is the case with Nepalese tradition. People continue to worship the sun, moon, stars, planets, plants, and more, believing these things have the power to influence our lives. You might have heard ‘it is because of the impact of some evil star’ and more when a disease overtakes or a disaster strikes. Even the people in the West have been believing in them. You will find instances in Shakespeare’s plays where he includes things like omens, witches, and more.

Ever since a long time till date, people still consider the number 13 to be unlucky. Similarly, salt spilling over the dinner table is also an ill omen. In Nepal, people consider the black cat crossing the way to be unlucky. Similar is the case of an owl hooting or a dog barking.

If we look at it closely, there is no logic as such behind the beliefs in superstitions. However, they have grown age-old, and despite all the scientific advancements, they are not going anywhere soon, and hence, they are prevalent in every walk of life.

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