Written for Anthro405
The essence of Erving Goffman’s interactionist theory is that social life is a game. We take on roles, which define our basis of interaction with others in the society, and maintain those roles by saving face. Social codes, which are the substantive or everyday rules and ceremonial or special occasion rules by which society is organized (both formally and informally), govern our interactions with other players in the society, aiming for euphoric (positive) outcomes and avoiding dysphoric (negative) outcomes. Violating these codes (deviance from the social norm and mores) skews one’s world view, making both the deviant and those around him uncomfortable, and the situation intolerable, thereby creating a dysphoric situation. Participation in the social games will continue as long as the playing field is equal and there is a possibility of a euphoric outcome.
One element of highland Sardinian life that levels the playing field, making everyone equal, is invidia (envy). The success of one person in the society leads to envy from the less fortunate members of the community, and then to obstruction and destruction of the successful individual in order to bring them back the same level as everyone else. (Salzman p. 56). “Any outstanding accomplishment - whether personal, social, educational, economic, or political - became in Villagrande a target for attack (Salzman p. 57).” Envy maintains equality in the community by ensuring that every individual is of basically the same status as everyone else. Everyone is an equal member of the community, and so they resent anyone who tries to bring themselves above the rest and retaliate with whatever means necessary, including violence, in order to re-establish the fundamental equality of the village society.
Events such as the development and success of the factory “Plant M”, which disrupt the equilibrium of the village by raising one person or family above their fellows, are answered with violence. Plant M was becoming quite successful, and so was bombed. The plant was pretty much unsalvageable (Salzman p. 56). The bombing clearly stated the position of the villagers: don’t disrupt our equality, or else. The owners of Plant M were not really surprised by the bombing, and recognized immediately the message sent by it as legitimate. They had pulled themselves above the rest of the village, thereby making themselves a target for invidia, to which they attributed the bombing, and for destruction. Villagers who are of a personal-success mindset leave the village rather than upset the equilibrium and balance of the village’s playing field (Salzman p. 57). Once in the outside world, any successes they may have are a source of pride to the village, because they represent the village as a whole in the larger playing field of the outside world. The fact that these successes occurred out side the village changes their interpretation by placing them outside the boundaries of the village’s playing field., changing them from being disruptive to the community to being a matter of patriotism of the village.
When the game goes too far, it ceases to be fun (Kivisto p. 241). In highland Sardinia, banditry is normally tolerated and often approved of. Salzman states that “in some people’s view, bandits and fugitives from state justice, latitanti, showed the respected highland virtue balentia, consisting of courage, daring, and shrewdness, and they stood for local norms above those of the external and foreign state (p. 67).” Stealing from rich families and kidnapping them for ransom payments is seen as leveling the playing field, maintaining the basic equilibrium of the village community. Under these circumstances the game maintains its euphoric outcome, and is therefore played. When kidnappings go too far, taking the game of banditry beyond the socially tolerable limits, the community rallies around the cause of justice and maintaining balance.
The kidnapping of Farouk Kassam went too far for two reasons. In the highlands, adults are kidnapped far more often than children (Salzman p. 72), who cannot protect themselves against offese (for a kidnapping is surely an offesa to the entire family, showing that their balentia wasn’t enough to protect their family), and so the kidnapping of Farouk was unusual for that reason alone. In addition, Farouk was a foreigner. His mother was a native of France, although his father owned a restaurant on the Costa Smerelda, which made him a target as a potential hefty ransom. However the fact that Farouk’s mother was a Frenchwoman and not a Sardinian made the family be seen as guests of Sardinia, and therefore their treatment was a reflection on Sardinia and its hospitality. The kidnapping of Farouk was a detraction from the reputation of the community of the highlanders as a whole. Another kidnapping that went too far was that of Ferruccio Checchi, who owned a beach resort on the coast. The coastal area is seen as external to the highland society, and so the kidnapping of Checchio was also abnormal, though not to the extent of Farouk’s case. In response to Checchio’s kidnapping, “. . .a summit of the forces of order was called, and one hundred elite army parachutists were brought to Barbagia (Salzman p. 71).” Demonstrations were held throughout Sardinia in opposition to the kidnappings. The public opinion among the highlanders, especially the women, shifted against banditry and kidnapping.
When an offesa is given to another highlander, it is an insult against his honor and that of his family (Salzman p. 49). In order to redeem himself in the eyes of the community, the insulted party must save face by retaliating, showing his balentia and ability to defend himself and his family so that everyone in the community recognizes this. In order to save face Salvatore shot and killed another shepherd (Salzman p. 49). That shepherd’s family then had to save face by killing Salvatore’s brother Antonio. This cycle of saving face through vendetta becomes a faida, feud, where both sides of the faida must continually redress offese by saving face. Both sides must prove their balentia. “In highland Sardinia, pursuing a vendetta is mandatory, a duty (Salzman p. 50).” Saving face, maintaining one’s image, by retaliation against offese, is a requirement of highland society. People have to watch their words and actions so as not to cause themselves or any others to lose face, and therefore have to pursue a vendetta. “Fellow community members beyond the protagonists involved in the vendetta or faida tend to be passive, even withdrawn (Salzman p. 50).” The reason for this noninterference is that intervening in a faida or vendetta can be interpreted as a loss of face for those involved in the feud, since intervention by an outside party implies that those feuding are incapable of resolving their conflict on their own, which is of course an offesa. This offesa will require retaliation and thus bring the intervening party into the feud.
“The highland norms of self-help and neutrality, of vendetta and local solidarity, have come gradually, especially in the post-World War II period, to be increasingly seen as outmoded, inappropriate, and immoral (Salzman p. 68).” The rules of life in highland Sardinia, the traditional mores and social norms of the community, are beginning to lose their ability to deliver a euphoric outcome to the game. They are now seen by many as producing dysphoric outcomes: many Sardinians argue that “. . .kidnappings and other banditry would chase away entrepreneurs and scare away investment, thus undermining the desired development and improved opportunities for highlanders. . . (Salzman p. 68).” Many people in highland Sardinian society therefore believe that the norms should then be changed, that the traditions of the highlanders are no longer valid in the modern world. However, some highlanders still feel that they should stick to the old ways and traditions of their society. To them, the traditional rules still work, and there is no reason to toss them out and make a new set of rules. But if the rules of the playing field cease to produce a euphoric outcome, then the game will cease to be fun, and the players will quit and find new rules that do produce a euphoric outcome.