Chapter 3, 29 & 34 Summary

Anthropology 101 Conformity and Conflict Summaries Chapter 3 - Shakespeare in the Bush: Culture and Ethnology The Tiv tribe of Africa has many customs and traditions different then those of the US. As the narrator is retelling the story of Hamlet to the elders they interrupt her to explain in their own culture why things are happening. They believe that there is no such thing as a ghost, so the late king?s return is really an omen sent by a which. They believed that it was right for Claudius to marry Gertrude because that is how they do it in their culture. They go on to believe that Polonius is a fool, and he deserved to die because he didn?t speak when Hamlet said ?a rat!? Even though he did speak the elders say that because Hamlet was mad because of Claudius he still is not to blame for the death. The elders say that it is ok to have your father?s brother killed if he killed your father, but you must tell your father?s age mates so they can avenge him not you. They explain Ophelia?s death by drowning due to witchcraft. They explained that Laertes had two options. One; he could marry Ophelia off to someone, but no one would want to marry her because she would be Hamlet?s mistress and they wouldn?t be able to do anything about it because he would be judging them. Or two; he could sell her body to the witches after he drowned her. This is why he jumps into the grave during her funeral, to check the body. After Hamlet jumps in after him to ?protect? Ophelia?s body, Laertes is mad because now he has killed his sister with no benefit to himself. The fight between Laertes and Hamlet ends with both of them dying including Claudius and his mother because of the poisoned wine intended for Hamlet if he won. The elders say that Claudius would have given the wine to whoever won because he wanted Hamlet to die anyway, and Laertes was in contact with witches so he was also dangerous. In the end they believe that they have figured out the true meaning of the play. Chapter 29 ? The Kindness of Strangers: The US and Iraq: Laws and Politics Robin Fox describes the political status of different countries particularly the US and Iraq. She describes that the US has not even achieved the democracy it has now for more then one hundred years. She says that the US invaded Iraq primarily for oil but the underlying reason was because the US wanted to convert the country to democracy like America. The reader is enlightened on facts of the country such as inter-family marriages between first cousins. The country is not yet in the position of converting to democracy because it has not gone through any of the other phases that America has gone through in the last several hundred years. Strangers can either accept or reject a gift. In this case America was giving the ?gift? of democracy to Iraq whether they wanted it or not. The ?Iraqi People? as they are called is not correct. This term is combining many different cultures and religions that are only bound by a place not similar belief. Chapter 34 The Road to Refugee Resettlement: Globalization Refugee ? Someone fleeing their country to escape intolerable conditions in their homelands. They are not guaranteed entrance to the country; it depends on their story. Because they are not all granted access to the country many refugees develop fabricated stories about why they cannot go back to their homeland. Transnationalism ? cross-cutting social ties that span the borders of nation-states