Writing About the Past

Change can occur in a society in which a culture changes throughout time, becoming more modernized, leaving behind some of its ideals, customs, and meanings. These are all different kinds of changes explored in “In Waiting for a Jew,� by Boyarin, “What Does the Dreaded Word ‘E’ Mean Anyway,� by Gould, and “Honor and Shame,� by Lila Abu-Lughod. All three authors tell a story about the past; how it has affected who they are today, how it has influenced society and even vocabulary, and what are the changes which could be beneficial or unfavorable for a society. Each author has a unique way of talking and describing the past, but all three authors use the past with a common obejective.
Like every writer, Boyarin, Gould, and Abu-Lughod have a purpose for writing about the past. Each has a message that is only transmitted by explaining the past first. Boyarin writes about the changes that he has undergone as an individual and as a member of a marginalized society. The purpose of this writing style is to allow the reader to understand the different changes throughout time that shaped who he is and the society in which he lives. Gould, in the other hand, has a different purpose. In order fo

By talking about the past the authors are not only presenting the changes of individuals, but of entire societies. By talking about the past Boyarin explains how his entire Jewish society changed throughout time. A perfect example of this is when the shul in Eighth Street was burned. Before it was burned the Jewish community in Farmingdale was more united and more dedicated to the shul but after it was burned they suffered the effects of marginality and became separated and disintegrated. As he talks about the past he also recalls experiences that explain the different Jewish societies in different environments. For example, when he goes to Paris he discovers a new Jewish community, “...ethnicity in Paris is not celebrated publicly as in New York, nor are ethnic mannerisms and phrases so prevalent as a deliberate element of personal style. This is the repressive underside of marginality,” (Boyarin 160). Boyarin would have never been able to explain the different changes the Jewish community went through without talking about the past and discussing the events that led to these changes. In Gould’s essay he also discusses the past in order to show how his society changed. During this time, talking openly about evolution was looked as wrong because it contradicted the religious beliefs of the majority in the society, “so school kids in New York got shortshrift because the statutes o some distant states had labeled evolution dangerous and unteachable,” (Gould 323). Before this the word evolution was even taken to trial in the Monkey Scopes Trial and debate wether it should be taught in schools. But like everything changes, as Gould’s society changed, biology as well as other sciences were more understood and the use and the meanings of evolution were accepted. Because the society became more open and tolerant evolution was used in school and in different fields of science. Without first exploring these aspects, Gould can’t explain the present. This is the same case in Abu-Lughod’s essay, in which she explains the changes Bedouin women are experiencing. In order to see the changes the reader has to first understand how the Bedouin woman was originally. In the essay, Bedouin women were totally susceptible to what the man said and were not even allowed to have an education. But just as in Gould’s essay, as the Bedouin society changed so did the Bedouin women. Now women have a little more of a say in their personal affairs like who they are going to marry. As their society changed, women became a little more liberated and were even allowed to have an education, even if there was some opposition. Each author explains the changes in the society through events of the past.

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