Image and Pilgrimage (1) - Kevin Covucci

One of the major themes in Turner's Image and Pilgrimage book is the idea of Communitas instead of Community on the trail. When reading Turner's book the idea of such spontaneous bonding between random individuals on the trail seemed very bizarre and foreign to me. I really couldn't understand or fathom how individuals who do not know each other and have no connection to one another besides the trail could become so close in such a short period of time. I also did not really understand how all social classes are non-existent out on the trail. The idea that there is one single social status that everyone falls under seemed extremely strange. How could a lawyer and a homeless man see themselves as equal and work together towards a common goal? The whole idea behind Communitas really did not make too much sense to me. However, when we watched "Lion King's" documentary on his through hike of the AT I cam to realize that all the things I mentioned before truly just do not matter when you are on the trail. Who cares that you are a lawyer or a businessman, it won't help you one bit on the trail, it as all about personal drive to overcome all of the major obstacles the AT is guaranteed throw at you. One thing I noticed while watching the video is that when Lion King interviewed people he never asked what their jobs were or what kind of background they came from. Stuff like that does not matter in Communitas, all that matters is the goal set in front of them. I truly feel that my understanding of Communitas came after seeing concrete examples from Lion King's documentary, and without it I would still be very lost and confused.