Margaret Mead

How much of the child's equipment does it bring with it at birth? How much of its development follows regular laws? How much . . . is it dependent upon early training, upon the personality of its parents, its teachers, its playmates. . . . ? (1).

The advantage of studying the Manus children is that the lives of the Manus people "are lived very much as they have been lived for unknown centuries" (2). The "picture of human education in miniature" which she hopes to paint is based on "six months' concentrated and interrupted field work" in which she "learned the native language, the children's games, the intricacies of social organization, economic custom and religious belief and practice which formed the social framework within which the child grows up (6; 10-11).

The surrounding sea plays a central role in the children's lives, "tempting them forth to exploration and discovery" (24). At the same time, because of the dangers of the sea, the child learns to stick close to his mother, whose "attention is never wholly diverted from the child. . . . The parents demand a speedy physical adjustment from the child, but they expose him to no unnecessary risks" (24). The child soon learns to swim, to ride and pilot a canoe, so that he

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t is with spirits. . . . Spoiled children in early life, they are spoiled children to their spirits, accepting every service as their due, resenting discipline, quick to desert a spirit which has not been powerful to protect them (117). The child's world is one of play: "Here in Manus are a group of children, some forty in all, with nothing to do but have a good time all day long' (120). Children imitate adult life in a number of ways, including repetitious games, boasting and recrimination, and sometimes violent disputes related to story-telling. Children are trained to have fine memories, are "alert, intelligent, inquisitive" and have "receptive minds" (127). Their great freedom to do as they wish as young children is part of their "train[ing] to take care of themselves" (129). The child's personality development reflects the impact of the father's modeling, and Manus children show great differences in personality, and are allowed to develop those differences freely in the play groups. The freedom of childhood allows them to develop their personalities unhindered, but as adults this egocentricity leads to divisiveness and selfishness. Because the adult world is dominated by trade and economics, they are ready for the compet
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Life Mead, Admiralty Islands, Growing Guinea, boys girls, manus children, Blue Ribbon, adult world, child's world play, spoiled children, major role, world play, child's world, world spirits, children children, adult life,
Approximate Word count = 1568
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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