The power of myth and tradition to shape and control the shared consciousness of communities is a recurring theme in Toni Morrison's novel Paradise. Morrison uses the inhabitants of the town of Ruby and the nearby Convent to illustrate the irrationality of dogmatic adherence to mythical beliefs and traditions without reason, while also demonstrating that belief in mystical powers can heal as well as harm. Comparing the canonical legends of the founding of cities out of religious fanaticism with the innocent spiritual awakenings of convent women, Morrison forces us to examine the values ​​and traditions we adhere to before we are blindly led or pass judgment on others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The central conflict in the novel is between the allure of new mythical figures and ideals external to Ruby and the severity of the old ways in which Ruby the elites wish to maintain. All the other conflicts in the novel can be interpreted as offshoots of this main conflict. The young versus the old, the 8 rocks versus the light skin, and the conflict between Reverends Misner and Pulliam are all ways to shape the same question: should Ruby residents uphold the old myths propagated by the Morgan family or reject them and their principles to become part of the larger myth of African American culture struggling to break into the mainstream? While the older citizens of Ruby have already made the decision to reject outside society in favor of their own, the younger ones have begun to realize that they cannot remain isolated forever. While Ruby's citizens' adherence to the core myths is expected to be unwavering, the myths themselves often change to better suit the needs of the city's bourgeoisie. In this way, citizens' beliefs are perverted and used as a means of control and oppression. After the clash at the Convent “the story was told; how people changed it to make a good impression... each of the attackers had a different story and their families and friends (who had never been anywhere near the Convent) supported them, improving, reformulating, inventing misinformation. (297) As time passes and the people involved grow older, lies and truth become impossible to distinguish. Soon no one will remember what really happened at the Convent any more than anyone remembers Coffee Morgan's twin brother, Tea. As soon as people can reasonably convince themselves that the lie is the truth, the myths surrounding Ruby and the Morgan family will be safe again. It is clear that not all residents of Ruby believe in the myths propagated by the more powerful families. Some, like Pat Best, resent the reverential level of praise given to Ruby's founders. Pat's situation as a semi-outsider allows her to have a more balanced perspective on Ruby. He sees the myths surrounding the 8 rocks as a means of ensuring that those in power remain in power. Yet when she is approached by Reverend Misner, even more of a stranger to Ruby than she is, Pat finds that she "defends people, things, and ideas with a passion she didn't feel... All that nonsense she grew up with seemed like an excuse to be hateful." (214) The Morgan twins don't remember everything that's happened since Haven was founded, but no one in Ruby could question their knowledge. Whatever Deacon and Steward say becomes history, at least until Reverend Misner and the young people of Ruby decide they want to change the carving that adorns the oven The oven that the founding fathers transported from Haven to Ruby functions as a shrine to the legend ofgenerations that preceded us and the values ​​they represented. When the oven was built it served a practical purpose and brought the community together. When the move to Ruby was made, the bakery was transformed from a legitimate pillar of the community to a mere prop. By now appliances had replaced the need for a community kitchen area and meeting place and the oven had become something else. When the oven was brought to Ruby, it was supposed to be a demonstration of the power of the founders. This mutation of the oven from its original function also changed its effect on the community from that of unification to that of division. This change in the nature of the kiln manifests itself physically in confusion over the kiln's original inscription and the intended meaning of the message it conveyed. While the argument about the words on the oven may seem irrelevant, when viewed in light of how important myth and tradition are in upholding the old ways, it becomes easier to understand why the city's vested interests, namely the elders, they believe there is so much at stake. Challenging the legitimacy of the bakery as the cultural cornerstone of the community, Ruby's youth openly question the validity of the old way and the men who enforce it. The final success of this effort will come only after the complete collapse of the old system resulting in the conflict at the Convent. The symbolic meaning of the oven makes it an ideal place for younger generations to make their voices heard. The appearance of a black power symbol on the oven shocks Deek and Steward not only because of what the symbol represents, but because it ruins the oven itself. The oven is symbolic of Haven's, and later Ruby's, self-sufficiency and isolation from the rest of the world. The graffiti on the oven serves as a call to join arms and identify with a group larger than just the city of Ruby. This suggests that there exists in the world a culture more justified in its ways than that of the men who built the oven and, more recently, those who worked on its move from Haven to Ruby. The tilt of the earth that threatens to overtake the oven by the end of the novel is indicative of the state of the community that built it. Another example of how the same myth can be interpreted to interpret a different meaning can be found in the feud between Reverends Misner and Pulliam. Although the ministers preside over congregations of the same faith, in the same city, and of the same lineage, they somehow manage to find totally different messages in the Book of the Lord. As Billie Delia says, “Senior Pulliam had the Scriptures and history on his side. Misner had the Scriptures and the future with him.” (150) Each of the men strives for what he believes to be the best interpretation of the same mythical texts. They each find the message they want to find in the Book and then find a way to twist the words into a shape that serves to demonstrate what they want Ruby's people to do. These messages are then relayed to the people of the country, who examine the content and ramifications of each interpretation of the same verses before deciding on the version that best suits their interests and desires. The problem is that the true meaning of the Scriptures they use to justify their beliefs is lost as soon as it is put into words. The essence of the ideas behind myths cannot be put into words without opening their meaning to interpretation. Once individuals interpret the words, the meaning is further diluted from the original message due to the biases and motivations of the individuals reading them. In this way the novel suggests that overreliance on history,about myths, traditions and rituals is misleading. What really matters is the pure, undisturbed message crystallized in the ideas that sparked the creation of the artifacts people turn to, like the Scriptures or the Christmas play. To eradicate the ideas behind these relics it is necessary to embrace an atmosphere of peace, acceptance, individual thought and spiritual openness. This is where the inhabitants of Ruby fail and how the women of the Convent save themselves from a similar fate. Although Ruby and the Convent are similar in that they are isolated and self-sustaining communities of like-minded individuals, they are different in several important ways. The Convent is a place where strangers are accepted and given time and space to solve their problems on their own or seek help if they wish. No one forces the women who live at the Convent to stay, and no one who seeks help at the Convent is turned away. This is in stark contrast to Ruby, where Steward alienates a family of white people who he says are “born lost.” Conquer the world and still lost. (123) The women of the Convent have been mistreated by the world just as much as the black men of Ruby, but instead of turning their backs on the world they open up to it. Mysticism plays an important role in women's lives. but not in the same way as for Ruby's people. While the mysticism surrounding Ruby is imposed and produced by the city's powerful, the mysticism of the Convent can grow and spread individually through women. The mystical realm created at the Convent is open. The symbol of the Convent's mysticism are the chili peppers that grow in the Convent's garden, in stark contrast to Ruby's oven. While the oven is artificial and supported by Ruby's social strata, the peppers are natural and grow themselves. The Convent's special peppers were already growing when Connie arrived, and continued to thrive in the same spot after the battle with Ruby's men left the Convent empty. Although Mother, and Connie after her, was the clear leader of the Convent, she did not impose social codes or restrictions on the other women who took refuge there. The women of the Convent did not seek to control others, as Ruby's men did, but to dominate themselves. The Convent's final lighting ceremony, the ritual that took place in the basement outside Connie's room, was a journey of inner self-realization. The women of the Convent realized that there was something within them that was the source of their problems in the outside world. As Seneca said, “She knew there was something inside her that made boys steal her away and men flaunt her.” (261) This “something inside her” was a fragility of spirit that led the men around her to take advantage of what was clearly a broken soul. Seneca's habit of cutting herself is an early and unfortunately destructive attempt to bleed this thing inside her out. The women of the Convent realize that they cannot change the world but they can change themselves to better survive it. By exorcising their demons and embracing each other, the women of the Convent managed to free themselves from the bonds that kept them in the outside world. An important parallel can be seen highlighting how the men of Haven and Ruby failed when the women of the Convent survived. in the history of Coffee and Tea. When the twin brothers were forced to humiliate themselves by some white men, Tea gave in and followed their orders. Coffee stood his ground and took a bullet in the foot for it, but he kept his pride. The lesson that Coffee took from the incident and passed on to the other founding fathers was that the outside world is no place for a self-respecting black man. The problem is that where Seneca looked within himself and saw a victim,.