Appending III: Samoan Civilization as it is Today
Coming of Age in Samoa
Margaret Mead
Summary: In this appendix, Mead gives a description of the Samoan civilization and how it became what it was before then. She basically describes Samoa as it is in the time frame when she did her research, but describes how it became more flexible as it was before. She discusses some aspects of European and American influences which made Samoa less rigorous a more comfortable. Mead discuses things such as their way of living (describing their houses), the economy, and government structure, etc.
Discussion: The description of Samoa given by Mead in this appendix is really different from all other descriptions provided throughout the book. In previous chapter, it seemed that she was observing everything from the inside, more personal. In this appendix, it seems that she is giving a critique of their civilization, from the outside. The tone and style I think are really different, however effective. With her discussion about the things that have changed thanks to foreign influences, I can see how even though Samoans were influenced but they still learned how to keep their culture. For example, they had one American civil judge, but they also had one native judge.
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