Sometimes, life falls apart. In these moments the options seem limited. Do you run away, do you stay and push through the problem, do you go on a spiritual journey? There are endless options to consider, but in a moment where life seems to be engulfing you, the only clear option is to follow your gut. In the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, that is exactly what she did when her marriage fell apart and life trapped her on her bathroom floor. Her gut told her to embark on a spiritual journey, and that is exactly what she did when she packed up and went to Rome and then a small Ashram in India. Many aspects of the journey that Elizabeth Gilbert embarked on qualify it as a pilgrimage according to the points made in the essay, “Image and
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According to this definition of a pilgrimage, Elizabeth Gilbert’s journey was very much a pilgrimage. This is shown with many different examples throughout her memoir. For example, In the opening scene of the memoir Elizabeth found herself on her knees, on a bathroom floor, praying, and thinking the thought, “I don't want to be married anymore. I don't want to live in this big house. I don't want to have a baby” (pg 10). This was her breaking point and the moment in which she decided to pray to God. This was also the same moment that landmarked that whatever she were to do next would be the pilgrimage that would save her from herself and from her marriage. Turner’s article states that, “Pilgrimage, then, offers liberation from profane social structures” (pg 9). This quotation relates to Gilbert's story, because it all starts from her anxiety and fear of getting stuck in the normal social structure of getting married, getting a big house, and then having a baby. To further represent that Gilbert’s story goes hand in hand with a pilgrimage, Turner’s article explains that a pilgrimage should only be, “to intensify the pilgrim’s attachment to his own religion” (pg.9) The fact that when Gilbert hit her breaking point she decided to pray is evidence that a pilgrimage was the next step that she was going to take. By …show more content…
Sometimes, people do not even know that they are on a pilgrimage. They just think that they are taking a break from life by traveling, which describes a tourist or “a person who travels to a place for pleasure” (Merriam Webster). According to the Turner’s article, “a tourist is half a pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist” (Turner 20). In her memoir, Elizabeth Gilbert is both a tourist and a pilgrim. She takes off and goes to Rome, Italy to learn Italian and to eat as much of the food as possible. Then she goes to India to live in an Ashram, practice yoga, and learn the art of meditation. Gilbert did not travel to these place just to immerse herself a new culture. In her memoir she states, “It wasn’t much that I wanted to thoroughly explore the countries themselves; this has been done. It was more that I wanted to thoroughly explore one aspect of myself set against the backdrop of each country” (Gilbert 30). When comparing what Turner has to say about simultaneously being a tourist and pilgrimage and Gilbert’s idea about what she wants to gain from her travels, it is apparent that Tuner’s statement is true. Gilbert wanted to explore herself in those countries, rather than just explore the countries. Turner explains that even when people “bury themselves in anonymous beaches” they are usually speaking something “sacred” or bigger than what they can find in their daily lives (Turner 20). This statement from the Turner
According to this definition of a pilgrimage, Elizabeth Gilbert’s journey was very much a pilgrimage. This is shown with many different examples throughout her memoir. For example, In the opening scene of the memoir Elizabeth found herself on her knees, on a bathroom floor, praying, and thinking the thought, “I don't want to be married anymore. I don't want to live in this big house. I don't want to have a baby” (pg 10). This was her breaking point and the moment in which she decided to pray to God. This was also the same moment that landmarked that whatever she were to do next would be the pilgrimage that would save her from herself and from her marriage. Turner’s article states that, “Pilgrimage, then, offers liberation from profane social structures” (pg 9). This quotation relates to Gilbert's story, because it all starts from her anxiety and fear of getting stuck in the normal social structure of getting married, getting a big house, and then having a baby. To further represent that Gilbert’s story goes hand in hand with a pilgrimage, Turner’s article explains that a pilgrimage should only be, “to intensify the pilgrim’s attachment to his own religion” (pg.9) The fact that when Gilbert hit her breaking point she decided to pray is evidence that a pilgrimage was the next step that she was going to take. By …show more content…
Sometimes, people do not even know that they are on a pilgrimage. They just think that they are taking a break from life by traveling, which describes a tourist or “a person who travels to a place for pleasure” (Merriam Webster). According to the Turner’s article, “a tourist is half a pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist” (Turner 20). In her memoir, Elizabeth Gilbert is both a tourist and a pilgrim. She takes off and goes to Rome, Italy to learn Italian and to eat as much of the food as possible. Then she goes to India to live in an Ashram, practice yoga, and learn the art of meditation. Gilbert did not travel to these place just to immerse herself a new culture. In her memoir she states, “It wasn’t much that I wanted to thoroughly explore the countries themselves; this has been done. It was more that I wanted to thoroughly explore one aspect of myself set against the backdrop of each country” (Gilbert 30). When comparing what Turner has to say about simultaneously being a tourist and pilgrimage and Gilbert’s idea about what she wants to gain from her travels, it is apparent that Tuner’s statement is true. Gilbert wanted to explore herself in those countries, rather than just explore the countries. Turner explains that even when people “bury themselves in anonymous beaches” they are usually speaking something “sacred” or bigger than what they can find in their daily lives (Turner 20). This statement from the Turner