"Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner by Rachel Lewis https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41 A Collaborative Rhetorical Analysis en-us 2018-02-05 20:49:29 UTC 2025-10-08 21:47:38 UTC hello@padlet.com Who is the author? lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228354765 Horace Miner was an anthropologist]]> 2018-02-05 20:51:45 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228354765 Point of View lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228354864 The author's point of view or perspective is how he or she feels about the topic they are speaking about. In this case, Miner's perspective is that of a frustrated anthropologist who uses satire to expose the injustices of anthropological practices. 
When reading Miner's account of the "Nacirema" peoples, the reader at first experiences the piece as informational, but then understands that Miner is utilizing satire. The reception of this piece changes when the author's point of view is considered.]]> 2018-02-05 20:52:00 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228354864 Where in the world is Carmen Nacirema? lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228438173 2018-02-06 04:45:51 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228438173 It's all (Cultural) Relativ(ism) lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228446802 "Cultural relativism" is the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another. This is different from "ethnocentrism:" judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.]]> 2018-02-06 06:10:56 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/228446802 Rhetorical Devices lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230910739 2018-02-13 05:00:53 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230910739 Rhetorical Appeals lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230910760 2018-02-13 05:01:09 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230910760 Audience lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230910780 2018-02-13 05:01:18 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230910780 Structure lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230913897 2018-02-13 05:36:29 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/230913897 Remember Smallfoot lewisrachel1095 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/231108610 2018-02-13 16:03:35 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/231108610 Diction and Syntax https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232011982 Horace Miner uses aspects of American literature to support his points made against American society.
Ex. “There are ritual fasts to make fat people thin and ceremonial feasts to make thin people fast.” (506)
Ex. “A few women afflicted with almost inhuman hypermammery development are so idiolized that they make a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee.” (506)

Miner also uses figurative language to make his writing more powerful.
Allusion Ex. “According to Nacirema mythology, their nation was originated by a culture hero, Notgnihsaw, who is otherwise known for two great feats of strength - the throwing of a wampum across the river Pa-To-Mac and the chopping down of a cherry tree in which the Spirit of Truth resided.” (503)
Comparison Ex. “This witch doctor [Listner] has the power to exorcise the devils that lodge in the heads of people who have been bewitched.” (506)

Finally the writing adopts a satirical tone which helps deliver the message to the reader.
Ex. “One has but to watch the gleam in the eye of a holy-mouth man, as he jabs an all into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain amount of sadism I saw involved.” (505)
Ex. “We’re it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them.]]> 2018-02-15 16:57:31 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232011982 Rhetorical Situation https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232013471 Horace Miner wrote this essay to satirize and provide social commentary on American society; “the appearance health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people” with the exigence of the essay being this.]]> 2018-02-15 16:59:42 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232013471 Audience https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232013918 The intended audience was American society. Miner takes advantage of Americans’ preconceived notion that the society they are reading about is inferior to their own. The society is presented as almost savage and barbaric. This leads to the reader criticizing the society until they have the inevitable revelation that the society they were insulting throughout their reading was actually their own. ]]> 2018-02-15 17:00:19 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232013918 Rhetorical Devices https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232015038 "Special women's rites are performed only four times during each lunar month, but what they lack in frequency is made up in barbarity." 

(Irony) hey are seemingly prim and proper, but their actions and rituals are barbaric. ]]> 2018-02-15 17:01:53 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232015038 Speaker https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232015076 Horace Miner establishes credibility by stating his university, referencing outside sources, and speaking as though he has researched extensively in the topic. ]]> 2018-02-15 17:01:57 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232015076 Is this related to the song? the4bownes https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232015445 https://www.youtube.com/


]]> 2018-02-15 17:02:32 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232015445 Ethos https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232016072
  • Educational tone (why so many people thought it was real)

    • ]]>     2018-02-15 17:03:29 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232016072     Rhetorical Devices https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232016647 Allusion: “Their nation was originated by a culture hero, Notgnihsaw....the throwing of a piece of wampum across the river Pa To Mac and the chopping down of a cherry tree in which the Spirit of Truth resided”]]> 2018-02-15 17:04:24 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232016647 Pathos https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232016996
  • “Special women’s rights are performed only four times during each lunar month, but what they lack in frequency is made up in barbarity
    • ]]>     2018-02-15 17:04:53 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232016996     Speaker https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232018475 Horace Miner comes across as unfair because he seems to come across as biased and condescending, but he does seem knowledgeable because he references other sources and research. ]]> 2018-02-15 17:07:01 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232018475 Logos https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232018553
  • His tone made the information seem like real facts
    • The (fake) locations and names — seemed real
  • "Looking from far and above , from our high places of safety in th developed civilization…” (last paragraph)
    • ]]>     2018-02-15 17:07:07 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232018553     the4bownes https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232018752 Satirizes our obsession with looks while criticizing our Puritanical views on sex. ]]> 2018-02-15 17:07:26 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232018752 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232019288 This essay is written in a descriptive structure, emphasizing America with details describing how the society appears. ]]> 2018-02-15 17:08:20 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232019288 Satire the4bownes https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020336 We worship TVs like a God]]> 2018-02-15 17:09:54 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020336 Rhetorical Devices https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020338 (Irony) "...depend upon the persuasive aversion to the natural body and its functions" 

    Healing by causing pain, not actually healing. ]]>     2018-02-15 17:09:54 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020338     Rhetorical Devices https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020371 Metaphor: “The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into the wall” (medicine cabinet)]]> 2018-02-15 17:09:58 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020371 Speaker arrogance https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020715 Horace Miner seems to be arrogant and authoritative. By stating all of his credentials he attempts to show the reader that he is far more intellengent. Once he reader, whom I a member of the society in which he reiticules, the reader is salty and can not acknowledge his point. The author is too negative not everything is a death hole. ]]> 2018-02-15 17:10:24 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020715 Text Structure https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020893 Miner structures his paragraphs and ideas in order of increasing criticism and specificity. As the essay goes on, it becomes more tongue-in-cheek and critical of American society and its practices.]]> 2018-02-15 17:10:41 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232020893 Effect of the form https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021194 While the reader is reading the piece, they criticize the society presented by the author, oblivious to the author's intention of cricitizng current American society. After reflecting on the piece, the reader can observe their own lives and how heinous the society looks to other people. By creating an altered world to depict corrupt America, readers come to the realization that the society they criticize while reading is the same one they make up. 

    ]]>     2018-02-15 17:11:06 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021194     Descriptive https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021274 This essay was written in a descriptive structure, emphasizing America with details of how society appears. 

    ]]>     2018-02-15 17:11:13 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021274     https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021429 Pathos quote:
    "Psychological shock results from the fact that body secrecy is suddenly los upon entry into the latipso." 

    ]]>     2018-02-15 17:11:26 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021429     https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021432 "Looking from far and above, from our high places of safety in the developed civilization, it is easy to see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic"]]> 2018-02-15 17:11:26 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021432 https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021989 2018-02-15 17:12:14 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232021989 Shaina Rosenblum https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232217575 Some of these people are closest to those who live the farthest away. They become friendly with people who they have never met, but end up knowing them better than their own neighbors. “Friends” one doesn’t know can look through his or her life and see how the week has been. Someone may even know where another is at any moment of the day. They can see the exciting events that happen in another’s life and find out who one’s friends and family are. Some are able to find people from their past even though they have had no connection for years. ]]> 2018-02-16 03:13:10 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232217575 Angie Le https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232295034 When people lose interest in their everyday rituals, they take out a contraption of melted sand placed on top of a metal box, filled with sunlight. These boxes are portable portals that allow the beholder to view different worlds through a series of different codes tapped on the melted sand. However, these contraptions have limited power; the more you open portals and the longer you keep them open, the more you drain its powers. Some of the portals allow the people to communicate with others, but may not let the person go through the portal. Despite these boxes' great power, it is very vulnerable. In order to protect such gift, many people purchase a skin to wrap around it. This fruit of people's entertainment is as common as an apple.]]> 2018-02-16 12:32:57 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232295034 Connor Tracey https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232358856 In line with their superstitious obsession with appearance, the Nacirema are know to wear grand magical vestiments, believing these powerful objects of display with grant them with boons of luck and status. The average Nacirema tribesperson might spend over a hour a day comparing the uses of his magical garb and the appropriate time to wear each one. Absorbed in this clothed culture, the creations of some seamstresses are idolized and valued highly, despite often being malformed to the point of absurdity or vastly similar to the work of other, lesser-known seemtresses. It is not uncommon to overhear two Nacirema comparing their clothed forms, this even extending to the sandals on their feet.]]> 2018-02-16 15:06:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232358856 Sean Rhee https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232360176 The adults of the tribe pressure their children into giving away all of their possessions and valuables to be able to go to join a group of learners and mentors that is held in high regard by most of the other people of the tribe. The kids may even have to borrow from the leaders of the tribe to be able to attend these highly regarded groups. Once the kids graduate from the special groups, they are often poor and indebted to those who they borrowed from. They often find that what they have learned does not help them repay their debts. Despite the credibility and status of these groups, those who don’t join the groups are often able to learn just as much if not more than the the people of the special groups.]]> 2018-02-16 15:08:46 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232360176 Lisa Traczyk https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232384955 The Nacerima have a thirst for green paper. The green paper is used during trade for a multitude of items they consider sacred. The status among themselves is only considered from how much green paper they each hold in accumulation, and their occupation can guarantee from their service a payment of green paper. For just a few hours daily, the Nacerima who are of age can offer their labor in return for this paper.  
    For hundreds of years, it is an established custom and economic normality to trade for items with green paper. Sometimes, the abundance of paper can be overwhelming to handle by hand, so many times they would store it in the safekeeping of another, who would then hold the responsibility of drawing enough money after each trade. The owner of their paper would no longer carry it by hand, rather replace it with a thin plastic rectangle-like shape. Much like a finger print, each card was designed with a specific string of codes so to identify one from the other, and after a trade has been completed, the owner would swiftly make a call to ask for their real paper in order to guarantee the trade is over.


    ]]>     2018-02-16 15:52:54 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232384955     Reeya Vasisht https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232400729 The Nacirema believe that the new generation of kids have trouble staying on task. This new generation oftentimes gets distracted when trying to complete a job and receive teachings, so the Nacirema have come up with a solution. In order to fix the new generation's concentration problems they have come up with a contraption that will help them focus on their teachings. It is a plastic and metal contraption that each person will hold and play with in order to focus. This contraption spins and is held in the person's hand in order to minimize distractions. Although it seems to be a good concept, this contraption seems to do the opposite of it's intended job and distracts the person from their studies instead. ]]> 2018-02-16 16:23:18 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232400729 Serena Patel https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232620114 A 5.5" screen. The average Nacirema today would rather convey their thoughts by anxiously pressing their fingers on a digital screen than by verbally communicating with words. Holding the object everywhere they go as if it is their most valuable asset, the average Nacirema has become too dependent on their tiny touch screens. Nonverbal communication is unhealthy for the foundation of relationships; how can you talk to someone without actually speaking? Nacirema's find comfort looking into a screen rather than looking into the eyes of a human to communicate. ]]> 2018-02-17 19:38:39 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232620114 Hailey Miller https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232736418 In the Nacirema culture, the younger generation must go to a giant temple called the Loohcs every day in order for them to achevie excellence in their society. At the  Loohcs, the individuals are expected to learn about things, many of which they will not need to know later in their lives such as a secret code for numbers called the Alumrof Citardauq. This complicated code, like other things, must be embedded into the minds of the people, which allows them to do well when assessed. At the Loohcs, it holds a miniature society in which going against the crowd or the flow is almost unheard of. There are also factions or people here, who do not associate with others unless instructed to, causing a diverse yet separated atmosphere at the Loohcs. Throughout the day at this place, the individuals must sit for long periods of time until a loud siren goes off, causing an almost panic frenzy of pushing and shoving to get to the next desired place, like animals. But when leaving the Loohcs, it is so much worse because everyone wants to leave so bad, that the narrow pathway leading out is difficult to surpass.]]> 2018-02-18 19:15:28 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232736418 Dominick Parungao https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232761241 For generations, civilians have used fire as their main source of cooking food.  But thanks to the power of modern science, the Nacirema have created a magical box with a see through filter.  They have somehow created a way to take their cold pieces of nutrients, make it spin within the box, and it somehow becomes as hot as a volcano.  This machine confused the living daylights out of all the Nacirema civilians and these boxes were distributed throughout the region.  It revolutionized the way people thought and heated their sources of nutrients.]]> 2018-02-18 22:09:23 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232761241 Ronak Thakur https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232781290 Every day, the Nacirema will conduct long rituals in the Tnemnrevog where every spell is under threat of being exposed to the public, and often these rituals accomplish nothing. Often these rituals were used to banish the darkness brought upon the hand-sized demons the evil used to wreck havoc on both the elders as well as those who attend the academies to master their skills. However, due to the curse of exposure, no spells are ever directly casted to stop these demons, and innocent lives continued to perish. ]]> 2018-02-19 01:09:59 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/232781290 Jonathan Costa jonathancosta https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233086944 In the later months of the year, many Nacirema spend their Sunday’s watching llabtoof. Llabtoof is a game where the contestants throw around an object, named after the game itself, and try to get it in the enozdne. It’s quite confusing for an outsider, but the Nacirema follow it religiously, and take it very seriously. It’s very strange they enjoy such violence.]]> 2018-02-20 00:04:39 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233086944 Julia Lenhart https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233111189 When members of the Nacirema society felt the urge to procrastinate, they would watch people’s life stories through boxes. The Nacirema would tell the box whose life story they would want to watch, and the box would provide many options. Some took place in fictional lands while some were in lands similar to their own. In order to have access to the stories, the Nacirema were forced to pay currency every thirty days or so. The boxes had multiple "providers" to see these other people’s life stories: Xilften, Uluh, oG OBH, etc. 
    This form of escapism was truly dangerous for the Nacirema society, tempting unproductiveness and laziness from watching too many life stories.]]>     2018-02-20 02:31:38 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233111189     Julia Kirk juliakirk https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233116538 The Nacirema are divided into factions. The strong are grouped with the strong and the weak are grouped with the weak. Those that don't perform well are left without a promising future. The elders stress the importance of attendance for the ritual in which they typically meet for five contiguous days. They supply the younger members of the tribe with an intense and rigorous workload to ensure prosperity for future generations. However, this demanding request leads to sleep deprivation and insurmountable levels of stress. They are molded into individuals with memorization skills rather than critical thinking skills. They examine a wide scope of subjects ranging from their environment to politics even though they may have no interest in the material. The division of the Nacirema becomes problematic when reflecting on the knowledge of others and comparing one individual's attributes to those of another.]]> 2018-02-20 03:17:17 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233116538 Alex Andrews https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233128695 The members of this newly discovered tribe’s society have so many luxuries, yet they still find reasons to complain about their lives and reasons to claim to be miserable, according to interviews done with a few individuals of the tribe. They have developed a way to ease pain and sickness! Surely that would make them happier. They have developed an extremely accessible way to travel up to twenty times faster than they could ever dream of running! Surely that would make them happier. They have discovered a way to be able to talk with or write to anyone else in the tribe at any time, regardless of location! Surely this would make them happier. They have discovered a way to take all the music and literature of their tribe’s history and make it accessible to everyone at all times on a single digital library! Surely this would make them happier. Surely, they couldn’t take all of these amazing and revolutionary discoveries for granted, right? ... Right?]]> 2018-02-20 04:54:48 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233128695 Hannah Dasta https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233374751 The Nacirema also conduct rituals where they plant themselves on the ground and watch society work through a box. Depending on the individual, periods of these rituals occur as short as seconds or as long as days. This practice grants the individual the ability to see and hear whatever plays to the strings of their desires. Through this, they can observe their dream realities, staring into a window and seeing a world that they can envy or a world they can despise. Every ritual is done with the intention to amuse. While they are not forced to go through with the ritual, many of the Nacirema choose to put themselves through it in order to discover some sort of entertainment in the dull society they live in. However, there are some Nacirema that can fall to addiction through constantly repeating these trials. This addiction causes them to lose their basic sense of reality and rely on this altered world they are so immersed in. This ritual can be done everyday or not at all, a practice that is specific to the Nacirema. ]]> 2018-02-20 16:54:36 UTC https://padlet.com/lewisrachel1095/7faebs09sf41/wish/233374751