Chine Chime
Essay 2
Robery Orsi’s description of religion as a ‘network of relationships between heaven and earth involving humans of all ages and many different sacred figures together’ introduces a new way to look at religion and the interaction that it has with those who value it. It prepares provides a framework that enables careful consideration of a concept that Victor Turner introduces (Orsi 2005 pg. 5). Communitas is a Latin term that turner coopts in a bid to describe a concept that cannot easily be defined. It is described using multiple ideas in order to be able to understand what exactly it represents. It is the opposite of structure but one that cannot simply be characterized as sacred. It is similar to Eliade’s idea of the sacred …show more content…
According to Turner, ‘Liminality implies that the high could not be high unless the low existed and he who is high must experience what it is to be low.’ (Readings in religious studies page 513). This sentence characterizes what the experience of communitas requires in order to appreciate it property. It is a space similar to affliction cults where traditional hierarchies are broken. Individuals from different walks of life are able to come to experience a sense of togetherness that transcends what normal is observed in day to day living. Previously established status is lost and in that moment all the participants are simply individuals with their own …show more content…
It showcases the struggle of the character Sonny, to find a space he fits into that that offers more than the community he is originally a member of can give him. The journey to establish this stronger sense of connection results into a foray into music. Soon after his mother’s funeral, he explains to his brother that he wants to be a musician. At this time, he is barely able to play any musical instruments as he states that the ‘thinks he can play the piano’ (Baldwin page 132). While he at this time not yet fluent in his instrument of interest, Sonny knows what type of musician he wants to be. He wants to play Jazz, a genre which at this point has members who are characterized differently as sellouts or radicals amongst other identities. In this one musical community, they are able to come and use that medium to create a space that offers them a sense of belonging. Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker who represent seemingly different ideals, both connect to the music of Jazz and use it an important mode of expression.
At this point, an invitation is extended by his brother to live with his Isabel his sister-in-law and her family. This is an offer that does not resonate with Sonny and his response shows that the option being offered to him is not one that he particularly agrees with. He is placated at the mention of a piano at Isabel’s home. In spite of the fact that he doesn’t