Diplomová práce v angličtině - Rituals and rites in Robert Fulghum's works

This diploma thesis explores the understanding and conception of rituals in four books by Robert Fulghum, namely It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, Uh-Oh, Maybe (Maybe Not) and From Beginning to End. The first chapters will provide background information on rituals such as the word origin, its precise definition and short introduction of its etymologic evolution. A brief overview of the general history of rituals and ritual behaviour will follow in the second chapter. This overview will pay a special attention to burial practices. The third chapter will explore the occurence and practicing of rituals in the contemporary world and it will provide examples of the rituals practiced. The fourth chapter is fully devoted to Robert Fuglhum and the analyses of the texts from his nonfictional work. All the author's texts analysed in this thesis are essays. The essays for the analysis have been carfully chosen to provide a wide range of examples of th eauthor's arguments for his conception and understanding of rituals.