On Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Michael C. Gibson)

I read the Sandra G. Shannon article that dealt with the role of Christianity in August Wilson’s plays. The article took an in-depth look at all of Wilson’s main characters; Levee, Loomis, Maxson, and Boy Willie and the similarities that the characters shared in relation to Christianity. Specifically I would like to talk about Herald Loomis in the context of this article and the play. Basically, the article essentially “reveals” August Wilson’s view of Christianity through his characters. Wilson essentially claims that Christianity is only a white man’s religion and that God doesn’t have time for, or listen to, black people. I thought the article was kind of strange in that it dealt with all these characters and events as factual black social views instead of one man’s fictional characters. There has obviously been much segregation and oppression of the African American culture, but to equate extended oppression with apathy on the part of Christianity and ultimately God is a bit unfounded in my opinion. Throughout time, humans, not just black humans, have continually been subjected to violent, abominable oppression. The Jewish, the Native American, even women in Salem, and let’s not forget the Roman oppression of the Christians themselves. To dismiss a religion or God because of intense, extended repression is a reflection of the individual, not of Christianity. A large part of Christianity is faith, which is its ultimate strength, yet conversely, its most often cited downfall. Yet it remains a staple all the same. If these characters, or Loomis in general, has lost this faith, this provides no grounds for dismissing Christianity as a white religion entirely. These characters all experience traumatic events that lead to their ultimate “realization” of a God who has abandoned them. However, in the Christian faith, such oppression, even extreme oppression, is means of testing, and as a result, strengthening one’s own faith and person. So what this article and August Wilson’s characters reveal is one author’s take on what he believes to be a flawed religion and God. Is it that he is right or is it that in his experience and perhaps weakness, he has become calloused to faith and ultimately wrong? Well I guess that’s for each of us to figure out.

Written by Michael C. Gibson - February 27, 2007