Tradition has been such an
integral part of society. It brings
people together and enforces values, morals, and customs from one generation to
the next. Every family has a tradition,
whether it be flying to Florida for spring break or having a get-together for
Thanksgiving. Marriage is one custom that
has a certain tradition to it. For
example, the bride always wears a white dress with a veil and tosses the
bouquet behind her to a crowd of single women.
These are all traditions of marriage, yet the tradition of marriage is
completely lost and withered in Las Vegas.
In Joan Didion’s essay “Marrying Absurd” she attacks commercialism and
criticizes the impulsive nature of America’s youth. Didion states that Vegas “seems to exist only
in the eye of the beholder,” revealing that although the idea of wearing a “light
satin Priscilla of Boston wedding dress with Chantilly lace insets” may sound
absolutely fantastic, it lives only in their minds. Marriage is supposed to be a meaningful event,
celebrating with your partner and loved ones, but this aspect is removed with
the pure goal of performing a service and collecting a quick buck. Didion writes that there are “nineteen such
chapels that offer better, faster, and more sincere services than the next.” The irony in this is that there is absolutely
nothing sincere about an “eight dollar” service that lasts barely five
minutes. Only in Vegas would you be able
to find marriage 24 hours a day, with Elvis marrying you.
“After you peed on me, I wanted to kill you” (Morrison 213). At the end of chapter 9, Lena is talking to Milkman about how he has peed all over his family. Now, Milkman is quite drunk, so he does not truly understand what Lena is getting at, but she tells him the story of when she took him to the woods, and he peed on her. Lena explains to Milkman that he was born with all his needs catered at his every whim and that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Their entire life, their worlds revolved around Milkman’s. Lena states that, “As surely as my name is Magdalene, you are the line I will step across” (Morrison 214). She means that she is finally standing her ground and is physically and mentally exhausted of carrying this weight on her back. For everything that his mother and sisters have done for him he has peed on them in return. “When you slept, we were quiet; when you were hungry, we cooked…” (Morrison 215). ...
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