The Quest for Authenticity

Baggage

In Erik Cohen’s article “A Phenomenology of Tourist Experiences” he uses the recurring theme of a society’s “centre” in order to discuss the variety of experiences that tourists can have while on their travels. To me, this idea of one’s quest for a centre was interesting and extremely relatable to the travel novels we have studied. Many of the ideas that Cohen presented made me think back to Jack Kerouac’s novel, On the Road. I found myself questioning which type of traveler Sal Paradise would be classified as.

Throughout the novel, On the Road, Sal exhibits traits of a diversionary mode of travel. He is searching for something, although it is never quite clear what. Perhaps Sal was simply looking for an adventure or a way to spend his time but nevertheless he appears to be traveling for “mere escape from the boredom and meaninglessness of routine” (Cohen 185). Sal constantly heads out on the road in search of something new. Whenever he feels like he is beginning to fall into some sort of a routine in New York, he picks up and travels across the country with no plan in mind. Cohen describes a diversionary traveler as a person not looking for meaning. This type of traveler simply moves around in order to get away from his own life. He picks up and leaves because he is not content with his own life. After all, Sal first begins his travels after going through a divorce. People see traveling as a means of running away from one’s problems and starting fresh in a new location. In reality, even for the diversionary traveler, problems follow a person wherever they go and if not they are still waiting when the tourist returns home.

Another interesting discussion of Erik Cohen’s article is his articulation of the traveler’s search for authenticity. While reading this section I was reminded of the novel The Sun Also Rises. When Jake Barnes, who would be defined by Cohen as an existential traveler, enters a restaurant in Paris he notes that it was crowded with Americans because “someone had put it in the American Women’s Club list as a quaint restaurant on the Paris quais as yet untouched by Americans” (Hemingway 82). This idea is illustrating Cohen’s assertion that “tourist attractions ‘stage authenticity’” (Cohen 187). In this case tourists flock to a restaurant that is said to be an authentic slice of Parisian culture but in fact, because of all the tourists at the restaurant it is no longer authentic. Jake notes the aspects, such as the “bill chalked up the same as ever on a slate” (Hemingway 82), which are supposed to emit a sense of authenticity. He says that this is a part of the restaurants “quaint” quality. But, if these aspects are forced in order to appease the tourist population are they truly authentic?

This idea of staging authenticity is prevalent in many novels and definitely a part of the tourist culture. Many heavily tourist locales are made to feel authentic but at the same time they retain some sense of modernity in order to make the visitors feel as if they are on vacation. In order to find a truly authentic experience it is usually necessary to move away from popular locations, which can put people outside of their comfort zones. This quest for authentic experiences can stem from a number of factors. Cohen states that “the desire for experiences far beyond the limits of the traveler’s own cultural realm; indeed, it is often sheer strangeness and novelty of other landscapes, lifeways, and cultures which chiefly attract the tourist” (Cohen 188). The traveler yearns for something new and exciting through his travels. He wants to experience things that he wouldn’t be able to at home. Whether the traveler is searching for an authentic experience or merely on a recreational vacation, according to Cohen each type of traveler exhibits distinct qualities, which make their experiences abroad rather contrasting.