The power of myth and tradition to shape and control the shared consciousness of communities is a recurring theme in Toni Morrison's novel Paradise. Morrison uses the residents of the town of Ruby and the nearby convent to illustrate the irrationality of dogmatic adherence to mythical beliefs and traditions without reason, while proving that belief in mystical powers can heal as well as harm. By comparing the canonized legends of the founding of cities in religious fanaticism with the innocent spiritual awakenings of convent women, Morrison forces us to inspect the values ​​and traditions to which we adhere before allowing ourselves to be blindly guided or pass judgment on the others. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay The central conflict of the novel is between the appeal of new mythical figures and ideals external to Ruby and the gravity of the old methods used by Ruby. the elite wishes to maintain. All the other conflicts in the novel can be interpreted as consequences of this main confrontation. Young versus old, 8 rocks versus light skin, and the conflict between Reverend Misner and Pulliam are all ways of shaping the same question: should the people of Ruby stick to the old myths propagated by family Morgan or reject them and their principles in order to become part of the larger myth of African American culture struggling to enter the mainstream? While the older citizens of Ruby have already made the decision to reject the outside of society in favor of their own, the younger ones have begun to realize that they cannot remain isolated forever. Although the citizens of Ruby's adherence to the core myths should be unwavering, the myths themselves often change to better suit the needs of the city's bourgeoisie. The beliefs of the inhabitants are thus perverted and used as a means of control and oppression. After the confrontation at the Convent, “the story was told; how people modified it to make themselves look good... each of the attackers had a different story and their families and friends (who were not near the convent) supported them, improving, recasting, inventing misinformation. (297) As time passes and the people involved get older, lies and truth become indistinguishable. Soon, no one will remember what really happened at the convent, any more than anyone remembers Coffee Morgan's twin brother, Tea. As soon as people can reasonably convince themselves that the lie is the truth, then the myths surrounding Ruby and the Morgan family will be secure again. It is clear that not all residents of Ruby believe the myths propagated by the most powerful families. Some, like Pat Best, don't like the level of reverential praise toward Ruby's founders. Pat's situation as a semi-outsider allows her to have a more balanced perspective on Ruby. She sees the myths surrounding the 8 rocks as a way to ensure that those in power stay in power. Yet when she is approached by Reverend Misner, even more of a stranger to Ruby than she is, Pat discovers that she "defended people, things and ideas with a passion she didn't feel... All this nonsense she had grown up with seemed like an excuse to be hateful. (214) The Morgan twins do not remember everything that has happened since Haven's creation, but no one in Ruby could dispute their knowledge. Everything Deacon and Steward say about what happenedbecomes history, that is, until Reverend Misner and the Ruby youth decide to change the engraving that adorns the oven. The oven that the Founding Fathers transported from Haven to Ruby functions as a shrine to the legend. of the generations that preceded him and the values ​​they represented. When the oven was built, it served a practical purpose and connected the community. When the move to Ruby was made, the oven went from a legitimate pillar of the community to a mere accessory. By then, appliances had replaced the need for a community kitchen area and meeting place and the oven had become something else. When the oven was brought to Ruby, it was a demonstration of the power of the founders. This mutation of the oven from its original purpose also changed its effect on the community, moving from one of unification to one of division. This change in the nature of the oven manifests itself physically in the confusion over the oven's original inscription and the meaning of the message it conveyed. Although the argument over the words on the oven may seem inconsequential, seen in light of how important myths and traditions are in maintaining ancient practices, it becomes easier to understand why the special interests of the city, namely the elders, believe that the issue is so important. By challenging the legitimacy of the oven as a cultural cornerstone of the community, Ruby's youth openly question the validity of the old way and the men who reinforce it. The final success of this effort comes only after the complete collapse of the old system which results in the confrontation at the convent. The symbolic meaning of the oven makes it an ideal place for the younger generation to make their voices heard. The appearance of a black power symbol on the furnace upsets Deek and Steward not only because of what the symbol represents, but also because it ruins the furnace itself. The oven is a symbol of Haven's, and later Ruby's, autonomy and isolation from the rest of the world. The graffiti on the oven is a call to unite and identify with a larger group than just the town of Ruby. This suggests that there is a culture in the world more justified in its ways than those of the men who built the furnace and, more recently, those who worked on its move from Haven to Ruby. The tilt of the earth that threatens to overtake the oven at the end of the novel is indicative of the state of the community that built it. Another example of how the same myth can be spun in order to give it a different meaning can be found in the feud between Reverends Misner and Pulliam. Although ministers preside over congregations of the same faith, in the same city, and of the same stock, they somehow manage to find entirely different messages in the Book of the Lord. As Billie Delia says, “Senior Pulliam had scripture and history on his side. Misner had the Scriptures and the future on him. (150) Each of the men fights for what he believes to be the best interpretation of the same mythical texts. Each of them finds the message they want to find in the book, then finds ways to transform the words into a form that serves to prove what they want the people of Ruby to do. These messages are then passed on to the townspeople, who consider the content and ramifications of each interpretation of the same verses before deciding which version best meets their own interests and desires. The problem is that the true meaning of the scriptures they use to justify their own beliefs is lost as soon as it is put into words. The essence of the ideas behind the myths cannot be summarized inwords without opening their meaning to interpretation. Once individuals interpret the words, the meaning is further diluted from its original message by the biases and motivations of the individuals reading them. In this way, the novel suggests that an over-reliance on history, myths, traditions, and rituals is misguided. What really matters is the pure, untouched message crystallized in the ideas that sparked the creation of the artifacts people turn to, like the Scriptures or the Christmas play. In order to root out the ideas behind these relics, an atmosphere of peace, acceptance, individual thinking and spiritual openness must be adopted. This is where the people of Ruby fail and the women of the convent escape a similar fate. Although Ruby and the Convent are similar in that they are isolated and self-contained communities of like-minded individuals, they are different in several important ways. The convent is a place where strangers are accepted and given time and space to resolve their problems themselves or seek help if they wish. No one forces the women who live at the convent to stay, and no one who seeks help at the convent is turned away. This stands in stark contrast to Ruby, where Steward turns away a family of white people who he says were "born lost." Conquered the world and still lost. (123) The women of the Convent have been mistreated by the world just as much as the blacks of Ruby, but instead of turning their backs on the world they open up to it. Mysticism plays a big role in women's lives. but not in the same way as for the inhabitants of Ruby. While the mysticism that surrounds Ruby is imposed and manufactured by the city's powerful, the mysticism of the convent can grow and spread through individual women. The mystical realm created at the convent is open. The symbol of the convent's mysticism are the hot peppers that grow in the convent garden, which contrast sharply with Ruby's oven. While the oven is artificial and supported by Ruby's social strata, the peppers are natural and grow on their own. The convent's special peppers were already growing when Connie arrived, and continued to thrive in the same spot after the confrontation with Ruby's men left the convent empty. Although Mother, and Connie after her, were the undisputed leader of the convent, she imposed no social code or restrictions on the other women who took refuge there. The women of the Convent did not seek to control others, as the men of Ruby did, but to control themselves. The convent's final lighting ceremony, the ritual that took place in the basement outside Connie's room, was a journey of inner self-realization. The women of the convent realized that there was something within them that was the source of their problems. in the outside world. As Seneca said: “She knew there was something in her that made the boys tear her out and show her to the men.” » (261) This "something in her" was a fragility of spirit that led the men around her to take advantage of what was clearly a broken soul. Seneca's habit of cutting herself is an early and unfortunately destructive attempt to make this thing bleed inside her. The women of the Convent realize that they cannot change the world but that they can change themselves to better survive in it. By exorcising their demons and embracing each other, the women of the convent were able to free themselves from the bonds that held them in the outside world. An important parallel that highlights how the men of Haven and Ruby failed when the women of the convent survived. in the history of Coffee and Tea. When the brothers.