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To Travel or Not to Travel?
Homesick
In Henry James’s novella Daisy Miller, perhaps the most honest and trustworthy voice is that of young Randolph Miller. As an adolescent, he has a limited view of the world. His experience in Europe, first in Vevey, then Rome, is probably his first foray into a world outside of his home in Schenectady, New York. He has a certain untainted view of the world because he is seeing everything for the first time. Randolph also exudes an innocence that only the truly youthful possess. Society has not yet impressed upon him the propriety and tact to keep certain feelings to himself. Instead, Randolph lets it be known that he is not enjoying his travels. He bluntly declares that he would prefer to be at home with his father.
It is considered a virtue, in our society, to possess the desire and means with which to travel. To most, being considered a ‘worldly traveler’ is something to be admired, but to young Randolph, there exists little to entice him to this. As discussed in a critical essay by Donald E. Houghton, Randolph even becomes physically ill from travelling. This most likely comes from his childlike frame of mind, in which there is no reason to travel outside of his home. He is comfortable in his home. In Schenectady, he has everything he can ever conceive of wanting or needing, including family, friends, and most importantly, good candy. With all of this available to him, he questions the need to ever leave home.
This brings up a topic that I find very interesting. If home is so good, why do we leave it? Do humans have an ingrained sense of adventure or curiosity that leads us to explore? Or do we simply need to find something of meaning in our lives? Do we travel for our own interest or because we are told it is the thing to do? All of these questions circle back to the articles by Huxley and Iyer. I have to believe, judging on the accounts of pure, untainted Randolph, that the need to travel is simply a byproduct of modern culture. If we assume that Randolph is a symbol for the unbiased, natural human mind, then the need to travel is not necessarily a need. It is just something that society tells its citizens to desire. Humans are not born yearning to travel, but develop this craving as their minds are molded by society.
This is not to say that travel is a negative thing. Travel can provide growth and reflection. People who travel, and truly enjoy their time abroad, can benefit from it greatly. But it is my belief that not every person can or will benefit from travelling. Some people will find it uncomfortable and exhausting; they may even suffer from sleepless nights in a manner similar to Randolph. These people will not gain anything from the experience and will most likely end up wishing they could have just stayed home. I think that life is a general search to find happiness. Most people try to achieve this end by looking for it in new and different places, but just as many may already know that they can have happiness without ever leaving their homes. After all, home is where the heart is.
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SchenectadySchenectady
Randolph
I would have to say that I disagree pretty strongly about your character analysis on Randolph Miller. I think that his character serves to show that we create our ideas of travel, whether they are positive or negative, when we are simply toddlers. For example, last week in class, we discussed how people often believe that they can leave their problems simply by leaving and going to another country or city for a while, thus showing that they blame their problems on their locations, and not on themselves. In Daisy Miller, Randolph blames his teeth falling out on Europe, saying "It's the climate that makes them fall out. In America they didn't come out. It's these hotels." In addition, one can see that Randolph is somewhat unable to appreciate the perks of traveling, for he states that his father is in "a better place than Europe," suggesting that he doesn't think much of the continent containing some of the world's most powerful and culturally-wealthy nations.
As I was reading Daisy
As I was reading Daisy Miller, I was also intrigued by Randolph's character, as it seemed to represent the idea that children are "too young" to appreciate travel. I think that one has to be older to really appreciate a place fully. In Rome for example, a young child would never be able to understand the Colosseum--it's history, the feat of its construction, and the sheer grandeur. An appreciation for travel comes with age, just as an appreciation for art, food, wine, literature and other "sophisticated things.