Essay on Burmese Values and Analysis

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Running Head: ESSAY ON BURMESE VALUES AND ANALYSIS OF STORIES WITH
THE USE OF RHETORIC
Essay on Burmese values and analysis of stories with the use of Rhetoric
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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ESSAY ON BURMESE VALUES AND ANALYSIS OF STORIES WITH THE USE OF
RHETORIC
The concepts of humanity and progress are extremely subjective. It signifies different
concepts for individuals. However, humanity, being impersonal, is a state of being that is granted
to human beings along with the basic rights and freedoms. While progress is counted mostly by
accessing situations that one have been living in with that of the present and a possibility of
betterment in the future. There is no standard unit of measurement when it comes to measuring
these abstract concepts. Humanity is a virtue that is put in practice with the help of acts that
reflect love, kindness and compassion for fellow human beings and all other creatures on the
earth. Progress can be more specifically defined as the betterment and wellbeing of the people.
Progress can also be defined as improvement in public life, civilization, behavior, and ethics,
various religious rituals and observations, etc. add up to the collective nature of improvement in
the wellbeing of human beings. These abstract concepts at times gain more importance in various
cultural contexts. The essay will thus discuss about the meaning of the concepts of humanity and
progress in terms of Burma. The thesis statement thus examines how the values of hospitality
and education are intricately woven with the development of humanity and making progress in
the Burmese society by keeping the short stories “The Trial” and “Age Old Differences” in the
locus of analysis.
Hospitality and education has always been prized by the Burmese people as milestones in
improving their lives and making progress in the society. However, they are extremely abstract
concepts and thus make it subjective in their definition (Pe Myint - Things Myanmar, 1991).
The characters of the story “Age Old Differences” are extremely instrumental in portraying the
hospitable nature of the Burmese people. As the story begins, the readers are informed about the
easy going nature of the people who earn their living by driving trishaws, yet manage to remain

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ESSAY ON BURMESE VALUES AND ANALYSIS OF STORIES WITH THE USE OF
RHETORIC
polite and hardworking in earning their wages. As the protagonist of the story was asked to wait
for another passenger in order to share the vehicle, it was clear that both the passenger and the
trishaw driver would be benefitted. There entire incident of the protagonist waiting for another
passenger and attempting to analyze the financial condition of the young boy was based on
assumption that lead to development of compassion and maybe even pity (Pe Myint - Things
Myanmar, 1991). The trishaw peddler being a young boy, almost of the same age as that of the
protagonist of the story made him take the boy under his care. The series of assumptions
continued as they protagonist tried to engage the peddler in small talk. The interaction continued
effortlessly until the protagonist enquired the boy about his education and learned that he had
matriculated that academic year with four distinctions. The protagonist’s assumption, although
took a backseat, did not completely stop there. He was even more surprised as the boy admitted
that he too, unlike most of the students in his time took the help of tuitions and managed to score
four distinctions. This was the first instance of a break in the wall of assumption that the speaker
had been building up. It only took a few moments for the wall to come undone as the boy
revealed to the man about the trishaws being his own and took to peddling them only when
someone was unwell or when he needed some form of physical exercise (Pe Myint - Things
Myanmar, 1991). The statement of the man that money cannot buy brains was nullified to some
extent as he came to know that the trishaw peddler was no different from those who took tuitions
and that according to the speaker was means of buying brains. Nevertheless, the most important
part of the interaction was the fact that the boy chose not reveal his exact identity unless
specifically asked by the speaker. Instead, he focused on the other good aspects of taking to
peddling trishaws when he could as a means to know the people who were working for him and
also saw the experience of peddling as opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. The

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ESSAY ON BURMESE VALUES AND ANALYSIS OF STORIES WITH THE USE OF
RHETORIC
latter part of the story reveals to the readers about the values of being honest in terms of earning
money while each individual being independent. “The Trail” is based on an incident near the
beach where the local men put a bet on the amount of clothes that a white woman wore to the
beach. As the story began with a court room trial, it later gave away into a very trivial situation
as the reason behind the atrocious behavior was revealed. The focus is on the fact that wearing
bikinis and sheer clothes or being nude in the beach is a very common phenomenon for the
English people or the white people in general. In that sense, although the act of lifting a woman’s
skirt to find out whether she was wearing underwear enraged the woman, she understood that it
meant no harm or assault (Pe Myint - Things Myanmar, 1991). The locals were however very
ashamed an concerned with the act as they continued to bash and reprimand those who were
accused in the act. However, it is almost impossible to ignore the satirical tone that has been
adapted by the author in order to reveal the futility of the measures that were taken in order to
teach the men a lesson regarding their behavior. This was because the judges and the witnesses
along with those hurling obscenities at the accused were more concerned about their image to the
world outside their community and not the act itself being wrong, irrespective of its place of
occurrence and context. The values of hospitality, friendliness and easygoing nature were
highlighted as the accused was sent to apologize to the white woman and returned with a bottle
of expensive wine as a token of friendship (Pe Myint - Things Myanmar, 1991). As stated
earlier, the Burmese have always valued their sense of hospitality; it was evident in their
etiquettes and offering of a friendly hand to the woman abused. Moreover, they were able to
recognize the differences in their worldviews and that of the visitors, and yet remain respectful
and accepting towards the stated differences. There are several downsides of this nature as well
since not every white woman in the white community would have been so easy going about the

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ESSAY ON BURMESE VALUES AND ANALYSIS OF STORIES WITH THE USE OF
RHETORIC
entire episode and that would have led to a serious offensive act of abuse (Pe Myint - Things
Myanmar, 1991).
It is worth noting that a long time was passed between the date of the stories being
written and the present day. In that account, it is obvious that the people of Burma are more open
minded towards the visitors and their personal choices. Similarly, the economic conditions as
portrayed in the story “Age Old Differences” have undergone significant amount of changes.
Changes in terms of the thinking process can be brought in terms of the formal method of
education and its connection with the progress of the society. as the first story formulated the
notion about economics, education and the interconnection along with the interdependency of
both these aspects, it was proved that there are many other ways of making economic progress
while holding on to one’s values and ideals. Where the other story highlighted the possibility of
different consequences had the woman been from another culture (Pe Myint - Things Myanmar,
1991).
Furthermore, the practice of values of humanity and progress are heavily and intricately
connected with that of the values of education, and hospitality, irrespective of their contexts.
Humanity and progress is heavily dependent on these factors, as they would lead to betterment.
Since a good bonding with fellow human beings is considered important in order to have good
experience of living, it is important to uphold the relations with the fellow human beings that
help in the survival of the general. It is important to understand that the wisdom of the elderly
also play a great role in modifying the cases of bonding with the fellow beings. Good manners
and etiquettes are also a part of being good human being and upholding the value of humanity
(Pe Myint - Things Myanmar, 1991). These are clearly showcased in the two stories that end in
quite unexpected manner. As the man reaches home, he also realizes that the younger generation

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ESSAY ON BURMESE VALUES AND ANALYSIS OF STORIES WITH THE USE OF
RHETORIC
is not completely empty of knowledge. They have their own ways with life and accepting that
notion is equally important and beneficial for the older generation. Progress and humanity are
definitely subjective aspects, and are measured and understood very differently by different
people (Pe Myint - Things Myanmar, 1991).
In conclusion, it can be said that the essay closely examines the manner in which the
values of hospitality as well as education are closely related with the development of humanity
along with making progress in the Burmese society by focusing on the short stories “The Trial”
and “Age Old Differences”.
Rhetoric- the rhetorical devices of logos, ethos, and pathos have been addressed in the
essay as they are linked to appeals of logic, ethic, and emotions respectively. It is also evident in
the two short stories that have been closely referred to in order to have clearer understanding of
the concepts.

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ESSAY ON BURMESE VALUES AND ANALYSIS OF STORIES WITH THE USE OF
RHETORIC
Reference
Pe Myint - Things Myanmar. (1991). Retrieved 9 February 2020, from
https://sites.google.com/site/thingsmyanmar/selected-myanmar-short-stories/8-pe-myint