Purity And Danger Sparknotes

Just as Duneier discuses the role of homeless people in society, so do does Mary Douglas in Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo, where she explores societies views of cleanliness and purity and the different conceptions involved. Purity and Danger is well known as an outstanding text in the field of anthropology as it was recognised throughout many disciplines. Within Purity and Danger, Douglas gives representation to the significance of anthropological enquiries as she presents a method to comprehending rules of purity by investigating what the term uncleanliness means in numerous cultures. This investigation into the term uncleanliness becomes a central aspect of the text as she gives representation to the symbolism of how individuals view dirt in association to order within modern and primitive, secular and religious life. Douglas’s text challenged and questioned the idea
It is important to note that when Douglas is giving representation to the idea of dirt she gives recognition to the fact that ‘dirt is essentially disorder… dirt offends against order’. By highlighting the role of dirt in society, it sheds light on the issue that people perceive dirt in a negative light. It’s important to take into account when Douglas defines the role of dirt in society, she emphasises on the creative experience and movement involved with dirt as it is simply ‘an attempt to relate form to function, to make unity of experience’. As Douglas describes the role of dirt in society, she makes clear points to how society perceives it at first. It is important to consider that not only does her writings discuss the social complexities of the time, they present an ever-lasting issue of conceptions as even it today’s society people perceive dirt differently depending on the social