Honor in Two Cultural Systems

Honor is central to the society we see through the tale of Chushingura, and Honor is considered to be the very core of the society in which you live at Washington & Lee. Obviously 'Honor' means different things in the two settings, and requires different commitments and different actions of those who participate as active members of these two Honor-bound communities.

Think about what Honor includes in both the world of 18th century samurai and the world of 21st century W&L, and write a summary meditation on the contrast between these systems, focusing on this question:

To what domains (settings, circumstances, moral dilemmas, etc.) does the local concept of Honor not apply in each society?

A "good" response (i.e., a check plus) will go beyond description of the systems, and present an informed critique of the realities of Honor, citing examples (e.g., episodes or even quotations) from each setting.

To be completed before NOON on Tuesday 11 November, and linked on your index.html page as Limits of Honor