Book Reading #2: Coming of Age in Samoa (Microblog)

Reference Information
Title: Coming of Age in Samoa
Author: Margaret Mead
Editors: Williams Morrow and Company (1928)

Summary
Introduction
The reason for the way we talk, walk and behave is the civilization and the society we are brought up in. One of the most important and rather tricky phases in the human life cycle is the adolescence. This is the period of rebellion against authority, where conflicts are inevitable. This is the period in which many of our firm values like religious beliefs and values are established. The research question is - are these difficulties due to being an adolescent or to being an adolescent in America? In the quest to answer this question, the author chooses to study adolescent behavior in primitive civilizations. She travels to Samoa, a South Sea Island, about thirteen degrees from the equator. She focuses her research on a Samoan adolescent girl. Further chapters reveal her observations about the Samoan civilization and strike the differences between modern and primitive civilization and its effect on human development.

Discussion
To be very honest, when I started reading this book, I was not at all interested by the issue being addressed. I was questioning myself - "Why am I reading this?". However, as I continued to read the author's introduction to the book, I did get a hang of what she was trying to say and found it rather interesting. It was interesting to know how culture and civilization impact our values and morals. Towards the end of the chapter, I was so engrossed in reading, that I unknowingly moved on to Chapter 2.