Podcast Interview Answer #7:
What's the Symbolism of a Cocoon in the Story as the Metamorphosis Process
in a Consumer Society?
Adolescence is a period of transformation, not unlike a
chrysalis changing into a butterfly. If you have never seen this process, it
can be painstakingly difficult to watch. The butterfly gradually breaks free of
his cocoon, pulling and pushing, stretching and contracting for what seems like
an eternity before he finally emerges. If a benevolent onlooker decides to help
the process along, the butterfly will likely die, because it is only through
the struggle of metamorphosis that he gains the strength to survive on his
own.
Donna Volpitta, Ed.D The Adolescent Metamorphosis
Symbolism is using a word or object to represent a real
thing or an abstract idea. The symbol of a cocoon in this story represents the
persons, places and actions of a consumer driven society. (Ecological Succession of Birchum Birch)
This symbol appeared as a real object on one of my walks in
the forest. There it hung a small cylindrical shape wrapped in a fuzzy grey blanket
attached by a small foot to a twig.
Inside a life cycle was unfolding in preparation for adulthood to
survive in the world around it ... from a caterpillar into a butterfly or a moth.
One of the most truly amazing occurrences of nature is complete metamorphosis when one creature can completely change into a different creature. It begins with eggs that hatch into larvae or caterpillars which then transform into a pupa. The pupa hardens its protective covering or builds its cocoon as its home to hibernate until it can emerge as an adult. It can get out by cutting its way out, or secreting a liquid that softens the cocoon enough to break through the walls.
Cocoons are made by moth caterpillars from rather sticky strands of silk
that are emitted from glands near their mouths that are woven into external cocoons depending on their species... very loose and open,
or strong, tightly woven ones.
Butterflies, with very few exceptions, don’t spin cocoons;
instead, their pupae form a chrysalis of
hardened protein for protection as they begin their transformation.
But here is what is truly amazing about Nature’s handiwork ... a complicated insect recycling process kept as simple as possible. The caterpillar body breaks down, digesting
itself from the inside out! The same
juices used to digest food as a larva are now used to break down its own body
into imaginal or stem cells. These cells
are undifferentiated cells which means they can become any type of cell as they
are put back together to form a new shape and body.
Metamorphosis is one way that nature has to transition from
young pupae to adult stage and survival. That day looking at the cocoon attached to the branch, I wondered what
kind of metamorphosis young people go through as they change into adults and
responsibilities. For the butterfly, the process takes about 7-10 days. For
humans, it takes about 10-15 years.
Obviously, this is a volume unto itself; socially,
physically, and emotionally. But my main concern is how our society is grounded
in the consumer world.
Consumerism is defined as a society in which people
often buy new goods, especially goods that they do not need, and in which a
high value is placed on owning many things.
Today young people grow up in a Social Media environment
where comparison to objective standards and acquisition of popular trends have
high rankings to be a somebody. So much communication is already adult orientated to
dress, talk, brag or ‘like’ a certain way to get rewards.The normal social rites of passage are replaced with peer relationships moderated by mass media technology and hyperbole. What juices feed their minds or bodies?
The tragedy is that the adolescent brain runs on emotional
amygdala reactions because the logical, deductive part of the frontal brain doesn’t
develop until early 20’s. I believe, teenagers, especially teen girls, are
manipulated unfairly to value selfish commerce through big business, profits,
sales, brands, competition and will probably transition to an adulthood where money, fame, material possessions will determine
status or mental well-being.
What about values here to recycle and respect
Nature’s finite bio-systems? Where are the values of co-operation, diversity, equality and succession?
Let’s compare consumerism in the natural world.
In the natural world a consumer is an organism with one job ... to find food and eat for energy. There are 4 types of consumers;
herbivores (plant eaters), carnivores (meat eaters), omnivores (plant and
animal eaters), and detritivores (decomposers).
These consumers live in an organized ecosystem that can best
transfer food from one organism to the next. Their role is to balance the food chain to keep plant and animal
populations at a reasonable number. If
the food supply chain is broken, the ecosystem is disrupted, and the consumer
web becomes nonfunctional. Air quality, water and even climate change are all
affected.
The Big Picture question is food for thought. WHAT IF nature can set an example for people to
consume more fairly and efficiently? Here are some possible actions to start new habits for young people as they
metamorphose into lifelong survival:
- Buy into basic necessities like whole foods not processed cans of food
- Determine your status by how much less you have in order to be sufficient
- Do not power your brain to run on material possessions, branding or self-ego
- Make your opinions and decisions as independently as you wish (do what's right not what others tell you to do with Nature's helping hand.)
"First, what value did they find in nature’s
bio-systems starting with the worms and the bees? Or would their value systems be based on
their business ‘Mega Plants’ in order to supply their ‘Mega Malls’ in
competition with or even elimination of nature’s cycles? Or would their private
and public technology create their own bio-systems to be more important and
eradicate nature’s ecosystems? How would
the giant money network, like a cavernous spider, determine their actions?
Would the wonders and systems on Earth lose out to broken chains, contaminated
environments and artificial food webs because Nature could not speak in tongues
and her voice was not heard?
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