taylor's blog

In the biography of Naguib Mahfouz it is mentioned that the 1919 revolution in Egypt greatly affected the author. While Mahfouz wrote a novel more directly related to the revolution (Palace Walk) elements of revolution can be seen in The Journey of Ibn Fattouma. Ibn Fattouma sets out on his journey to find Gebel, a promise land of sorts. He makes his way through different societies along the way, and encounters many different lifestyles. He flees his home city because of the corruption that exists there, but as he travels through the different lands, he finds that problems exist in all societies.

The idea of revolution can easily be seen in the first place Fattouma settles, Mashriq. The whole society is based on a free love, free thought foundation, a stark contrast to more rigid societies. Even though this culture is open and free spirited, it is not without rules and regulations, and Fattouma rebels against these guidelines by trying to raise his family in the ways of Islam. The other lands reflect revolution through their insistence on upholding freedoms and security, and in the final land that he enters, the importance of self awareness. The majority of Ibn Fattouma’s resistance is passive, relating directly to the Egyptian revolution, which was a non-violent effort to stop the British occupation of the country.

The interesting aspect of the story lies in the final pages when Ibn Fattouma finally catches a glimpse of the land of Gebel and the book’s ending before we learn about the secrets the place may hold. Gebel is Ibn Fattouma’s chance to create a better existence for the people in his homeland. He travels for years in order to find this elusive land, and we never find out if he finds what he’s looking for. People travel to see new places and things and gain new experiences that will help them change their view of the palce they call home. Fattouma travels for exactly this reason, to find something in a distant land that will change the place he came from. As readers we don’t see the final leg of his journey because this secret that he seeks is unattainable. There is no one secret to perfection in life, and we do not see Gebel because Ibn Fattouma has already learned what he needs to know to make his homeland a better place. Through his travels he has learned to accept other cultures and is able to embrace their strengths and weaknesses. It is the skill, not the instant life perfection supposedly housed in Gebel, that will potentially help him make his home a better place.

I really like Ian McEwan’s novels. Before reading The Comfort of Strangers I had read Atonement, and found both to be interesting and engaging. McEwan’s stories are often dark and sinister, turning everyday moments into tragic events. There is something about the way he describes chaos and violence that is almost poetic, however disturbing the situation might be. As I began reading The Comfort of Strangers, I was instantly drawn in by McEwan’s style, but I was waiting to stumble across the story-altering twist, the piece of information that would drastically change the meaning of everything before it. With twelve pages left in the book, the twist came on page 115 when Caroline shows Mary the wall of pictures of Colin.

I’m not usually the type of person to yell at the characters in horror movies or books, I don’t usually tell them to leave the dark, scary basement, but McEwan made me care about Colin and Mary, and as Mary saw the pictures on the wall, I wanted her to run as fast as she could away from the crazy woman next to her. Even though I had expected things to go badly for Colin and Mary, when everything went downhill I wasn’t expecting how horribly wrong it would become. I was expecting some sort of confrontation between Robert, Caroline and Colin, but I was not expecting it to end in death, or at least not death in such a gruesome manner. Colin’s murder removes any of the romanticism that sometimes accompanies death in fiction; there are no dramatic final words, no tearful goodbyes. Because the story shifts to Mary’s perspective, we drift in and out of consciousness with her and miss Colin’s final breath, making his death even more sinister.

I think McEwan’s main accomplishment in The Comfort of Strangers is the message he presents regarding the dangers of travel. His characters go off to Italy to rediscover the strength in their relationship, and instead find themselves facing down death. It is this idea, that any traveler at any time in any place could easily fall victim to a dark and sinister death at the hands of someone more familiar with their surroundings that adds a truly chilling overtone to the entire story. Anyone could take a wrong turn and end up in a dark alley with an unsavory character, but that’s not exactly highlighted in any of the travel brochures that promise fun times and beautiful scenery. Colin and Mary wanted an authentic experience so much that they were unable to see the danger their new authentic acquaintances represented.

a life altering horizon

I took a trip to England once. I had always wanted to travel there, and I had finally gotten my chance with a trip through school. I was very excited, ready to see all the sights and hear all the British accents. Without actually visiting, I had decided that England was my favorite country, though I couldn’t tell you why. Perhaps it was something about the way the rolling hills looked in pictures of the English countryside, although it could just as easily been the funny hats the Queen’s guards wear, I was always intrigued by the little things. In any case I had never been so excited for a trip in my life.

After a plane ride that seemed to take forever we landed at Heathrow airport in London. We stumbled out of the terminal and onto our little bus, perfect for our group of ten people. I’m not sure how long it took, be we ended up in the tiny town of Frome. Our hotel was small, but the sliding door in my room opened onto the lawn overlooking a perfect set of rolling English hills.
We spent the next ten days taking day trips on our bikes to all sorts of beautiful and exciting places like Stonehenge and the historic bathhouses in Bath. We saw caves and monuments and lots of rolling hills. I actually spent some time getting very lost on one of those hills, surrounded by tall grass and sheep. All these experiences were enjoyable and interesting, but they weren’t as life altering as I had wanted them to be.

About halfway through the trip we spent a day off schedule. This was the first day that we didn’t have every moment planned out, and it turned out to be the most interesting. Our bike trip for the day took us to a beach. It was July, but the air was cool and the water was cooler and the beach was deserted. Instead of sand the entire beach was made up of smooth, beautiful rocks and pebbles. We spent about two hours just having fun, running around over the shining rocks, trying to skip stones and some of us even dared to brave the chilling water.

It was on that rocky beach that I began to feel like this trip was going to be something unbelievably important in my life. There was something about sitting on the smooth rocks, staring out to the horizon that spoke to me better than a guided tour of Stonehenge ever could. I can’t say exactly why that moment was so important to me, but It was the moment my trip really began. I sat on that beach and stared out at the ocean, thinking that if only I could see far enough, I could see America, I could see the east coast that I called home. To be fair if I had seen any big mass of land it most likely would have been Ireland, but the idea of seeing my home from a completely different angle was fascinating to me. We left the beach, but I took a part of it with me, using the feeling of looking at things in different ways to enhance the rest of my trip. I’ll never forget the feel of those wet rocks beneath my bare feet, and I’ll never forget how my trip to England forever changed the way I travel.

tourist information, more important than you may think

While many of the novels we read had elements of epiphany, there were a few that stood out the most. I think that the epiphany in Sputnik Sweetheart is perhaps the most unique epiphany that we read about. When Sumire realizes that in order to be happy with Miu, she has to seek out a part of Miu that no longer exists in their current reality. In many ways this relates directly to why most people travel in the first place. In many cases, travel is a tool for discovering another part of or way of life that is not evident in one’s everyday life. People travel to escape the banality of the day-to-day, and they go searching for something more. In Comfort of Strangers for example, Colin and Mary go to Italy to search for a new strength that will help them improve their relationship. They too, embark into an alternate type of reality, a reality parallel to their own that is only accessible to them because they are traveling.

The realization that Sumire comes to is life altering, not only for Sumire, but for Miu and the narrator as well. By seeking out something completely different and leaving behind everything she knows, Sumire leaves the people she cares about in the dark. They are greatly affected by her departure and go to great lengths trying to find her. The question is, was Sumire’s epiphany a good thing or a bad thing? Because we don’t follow Sumire on her journey, we aren’t really aware if she found what she was looking for, but we do see the damage her disappearance does in the lives of Miu and especially the narrator.

In The Comfort of Strangers, Colin and Mary experienced a moment that seems to help them realize a goal of their trip. Much of this class has been based around the idea of finding the authentic experience through travel. While in the bar with Robert, Colin and Mary “began to experience the pleasure, unique to tourists, of finding themselves in a place without tourists, of making a discovery, finding somewhere real…they in turn asked the serious, intent questions of tourists gratified to be talking at last to an authentic citizen.” (McEwan, 29) They manage to find a small sliver of authenticity amid the normal tourist culture, and while this is important in the story, what comes of this discovery is perhaps more pertinent. Later in the story, the couple realizes that their authentic encounter with Robert has actually caused a great detriment to their ability to completely enjoy their trip. They spent so much time searching for something authentic that once they found it failed to notice how dangerous it could be. The epiphany here lies in the idea that while authentic experiences are welcome, it is important to realize that the safety and familiarity of tourist experiences are indispensably valuable.

pushing the limits of reality
“In another moment Alice was through the glass, and had jumped lightly down into the Looking-glass room.” -Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

The novels we have read for this course have dealt with physical, tangible travel. Sputnik Sweetheart is the first book to deal with travel that is less concrete and more metaphysical. When Sumire disappears it seems that she has been the victim of some unfortunate event that sometimes comes with traveling abroad. When K comes across Sumire’s account of Miu’s traumatic experience, he concludes that Sumire has sought out this other world where the other version of Miu resides.

This crossing of dimensions reminded me instantly of Lewis Carroll’s story Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Carroll’s story follows Alice, of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland fame, through a household mirror into a strange, different universe. While we do not follow Sumire to the “other side” the same principles apply. K even says, “Sumire broke through the mirror and journeyed to the other side.” (166) I find this comparison interesting because Carroll’s story and style of writing is very much based in fantasy with very little of the story actually occurring in the real world. On the other hand, Sputnik Sweetheart has a very strong base in reality, and simply descends deeper into a reality that is spliced with an imagined mirror world.

This concept of travel through dreams and travel to other sides of varying types is very ethereal, and hardly what first comes to mind when discussing “travel fiction”. That said, I am almost surprised that this sort of theme has not come up more often in our readings. While some characters have had spiritual experiences, none have really taken a big leap into an alternate reality in the way that Sumire does. Granted, there is the possibly that Sumire met an unfortunate, earthly fate, but it feels like this crossing to the other side is the more logical explanation.

I also found it interesting that Miu is able to open up to Sumire while they are in a foreign country, displaying the aspect of travel that frees you of your ties to home and the everyday stresses that weigh on you. Travel leads to a release of her demons and a change in the structure of her personality. In Daniel Zalewski’s article for the New York Times Book Review “Lost in orbit…” he mentions, “The human self has become a disturbingly malleable thing. As with Sumire, it can change beyond recognition. As with Miu, it can snap in two.” This idea of malleability is central to travel of any variety and how is has the ability to drastically change a person’s outlook on the world. By creating a world where personalities can split and people can seek other realities, Murakami is highlighting what normal travel can do by presenting it in a seemingly supernatural light.

a combination of sorts
As someone who spent the last three years of my life learning Mandarin Chinese, I found it easy to relate to the struggle between the English and Chinese languages in A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. After three years taking Chinese I know how to say quite a few things, but perhaps the ability to say, “my dog wants a sandwich and likes to play cricket” won’t come in too handy down the road. Learning a new language is always a difficult process, heck it took me three years to learn how to ask, “where is the hospital?” That said, I found it impressive that Z could learn a great deal of English in a year. The difficulty going back and forth between these languages can be attributed to two main things. One, as Z mentions on page 12, there are fifty thousand characters that make up the Chinese language. Two, in English we change words to reflect tense while in Chinese you simply add words like yesterday to imply tense and the verbs do not change.

Z comes to England ready to learn a new language and ready to see the world in a new way, she is ready to change her verbs to fit her new situations. Unlike other characters we have read about, Zhang travels with the express purpose of learning something specific. In most of the stories we have read the characters travel to a foreign place to experience the culture, but aren’t searching for anything incredibly specific. They happen upon information about these foreign cultures while searching for authentic experiences. Z on the other hand happens upon authentic experiences while studying one of the most important aspects of English culture. She essentially stumbles into a complicated love affair with a native through a loose grasp of the language, and through this relationship she learns more about English culture and the intricacies of romance.

Before I learned Chinese I had taken French for nine years, I had learned enough to be nearly fluent. Now, trying to speak French is unbelievably difficult and unless I really focus on what I’m saying everything comes out an odd mixture of Mandarin and French that nobody can understand. After living away from home for a year, learning the subtleties of the English language and culture, Z returns to China and finds that she no longer fits into the mold of Chinese culture like she once did. She notes “Beijing has changed as if ten years passed. It has become unrecognizable.” (281) People tell her that because she can speak English she has a unique opportunity to make money, but her experiences living in a foreign place have changed her values. She has fifty thousand characters at her disposal for self-expression, the comforting familiarity of Chinese, and yet the 26 letters of the Roman alphabet hold new opportunities for self-expression that Chinese cannot touch. She doesn’t fit perfectly in England or China and because of her experiences in both places, she is destined to always speak a language that falls somewhere between English and Chinese.

Main Characters, No Longer With Us
“Port's death from typhoid may be in the tradition of Daisy Miller's succumbing to Roman Fever and the perils of European civilization, but Bowles goes beyond this metaphor for transcultural dangers to suggest that Port died not from the terrors of an unknown society, but from an incapacity to accept the terrors of existence itself.” –Burton Kendle

In Burton Kendle’s article “Paul Bowles: Overview”, he makes an interesting comparison between Port’s death in The Sheltering Sky and Daisy’s death in Daisy Miller. There are not many obvious traits that these two characters share other than both being Americans in foreign lands. Daisy Miller is a young, impulsive girl who doesn’t care to follow the rules of the place she is visiting. She epitomizes the idea of a tourist who expects a foreign place to be an extension of their home. Port on the other hand is well traveled, respects the cultures he visits, he is a traveler. Port does not really belong specifically to America as Daisy does. He is a citizen of the world. Their choices in destinations, Europe versus North Africa, further emphasize how different these characters are.

While there are inherent differences between Port and Daisy, the both die while traveling, indicating that there must be some similarity to them. Kendle asserts that Port was aware of the terrors of the society he was surrounded by. I think that while Port is certainly a more worldly traveler than Daisy, the fact that he is unaccustomed to the culture around him contributes to his death in some way. I would say that Port’s main downfall is his inability to connect with the world and the people around him. He spends time wanting to be alone, free of any responsibilities, which leads him to the ultimate aloneness of death.

Kendle notes that Port’s death can also be contributed to the terrors of life. I absolutely agree with this statement. Daisy Miller seemed blissfully unaware of the dangers of the world, and I think that Port has a better understanding of these dangers; he just is not able to avoid them. One of the novel’s first major plot points finds Port running from an angry mob of men after his encounter with the prostitute. He seems to find trouble wherever he goes, which makes it easier for the reader to accept his death, it seems like a natural progression for his character.

Palazzo Publico, Siena “She wished she were an authentic tourist – an Englishman come to flaunt his reticence, an American secretly hankering for gift wrapping and matching towels. She did not really know where she most belonged. Even those places to which she felt most drawn were mere approximations of home.” (43)

The distinction between tourist and traveler is brought up a few times during The Evening of the Holiday. Sophie seems to struggle with her own place within these two categories. Because she is half English and half Italian, she does not really belong to one or the other and instead exists in a sort of free float between the two.

As Sophie becomes move intensely involved with Tancredi the narrator notes that “in his company, she was like a traveler.” (58) It is interesting to think that one can change from a tourist to a traveler merely by associating with different people. By complimenting her Italian half with Tancredi’s native Italian nature she is able to transcend the feeling of living without a true sense of home. While they are together, Tancredi becomes Sophie’s home. Without Tancredi, she exists in a place between belonging and being an outsider.

Throughout the story Sophie and Tancredi travel to different locations on day trips. It seems that even though they go on these trips to be together, they do not learn much about each other during their relationship. Even though they are engaged in a passionate affair, they do not seem to know much of each other’s personalities or lives. In a sense they are navigating their relationship as tourists, looking at their surroundings in a superficial way that does not allow the permeation of deeper meaning or understanding.

In the final pages of the novel, Sophie again feels like a tourist walking around the town. “She went along slowly, like an unseasonable tourist, eyeing the buildings as if she had not seen them before but had heard a great deal about them.” (134) Without Tancredi she has fallen back into the position of the slightly out of place tourist trying to connect with the world around her. Instead she is left again with the feeling of not belonging in any specific place, without any true understanding of the places she inhabits.

“She stopped and looked back down the sloping street, and again gave the impression of seeing all this for the first time, or of saying farewell to it after a long acquaintance – which is sometimes the same thing.” (135)

Burguete, SpainFor a brief time in The Sun Also Rises Jake Barnes does not spend all his time and energy on drinking too much and escaping his reality. Jake and Bill’s trip to the small country town of Burguete is an event that stands in contrast to the rest of the novel. We often see Jake spending his days and nights getting drunk to avoid his woes, but in Burguete he spends time in nature and enjoys himself fishing and relaxing.

During his time in Paris and Pamplona Jake and his companions drink excessively, over imbibing to avoid facing up to the fact that they are the Lost Generation, a group of people who have little faith in the world after seeing the horrors of war up close. Within the group they continuously swap sexual partners in a somewhat incestuous dance that mimics the floors in the Paris dance halls. In Spain they revel in the bullfights, a gruesome display that distracts them from recognizing that their own lives are filled with a kind of spiritual and emotional death. Jake’s relationship with Brett is a constant struggle providing more fuel for the fire. Despite their obvious love for one another, they always find their way back to the fact that love is not enough to sustain their relationship. Brett and Jake are unwilling to completely let go of their dysfunctional bond, and instead drink away their disappointments.

Despite this constant escapism, Hemmingway depicts Jake’s trip to Burguete as a time of pure enjoyment. While fishing and joking with Bill Jake does not feel the need to be constantly drunk, instead the men enjoy wine in reasonable quantities. The small town has a calming, soothing effect on their psychological wounds left over from the war that the high energy of the cities cannot provide. By sending his characters back to nature Hemmingway is essentially bringing them back to the basics of humanity. While in the country they are happy to enjoy the simple things and are not constantly focused on how their lives have veered off course. The way he describes their experiences in the beautiful surroundings is therapeutic. It seems a shame that throughout the story Jake and his friends turn to drinking to mask their pain when all they really need is time spent in nature and a return to basics to find the joy in their lives.

Rome In Ruins

It seems fitting that Daisy Miller spent her final days in the city of Rome. Throughout Henry James’ novella, Miss Miller takes great pleasure in living by her own rules and in many ways ignores what society expects of her. She conducts herself with a hunger for life that reflects her youth and naivety. Daisy spends her days flitting about from place to place, content to spend time with various companions that the other expatriates in her circle deem unsavory.

The city of Rome was the ultimate seat of culture in the ancient world. The Romans were sophisticated and well educated and created some of the most impressive monuments and structures the world has seen. Rome was the birthplace of the Renaissance. The Roman Empire, at its peak, controlled over 4,000,000 square miles of land. The Roman culture is perhaps the most overarching culture of the world; its influence can be seen in countless countries around the globe.

Now, and in Daisy Miller’s time, the city of Rome sits in ruins, the great monuments and buildings ravaged by the hands of time and invading forces. The Roman Empire collapsed because it expanded too far too quickly. This formidable city crumbled despite its power and cultural excellence. Daisy Miller suffered a parallel fate, letting her youthful impulses lead her to an untimely death.

Daisy spends her time in Rome traveling about with Mr. Giovanelli, a Roman man whom her elders do not approve of. She visits the sites she wants to see and spends her time however she wants to spend it. While she wants to fit in with the expatriate society, she has a stronger desire to experience the native Italian culture surrounding her. Her headstrong nature directly leads to her death. If she were more concerned with conforming to expectations (a concern that often comes with age) she would not have visited the Coliseum at night and would not have contracted the Roman fever. Her attitude towards life and her death mirrors the rise and fall of Rome. Both Daisy and Rome were powerful forces that chose to chart their own course and met their ends as a direct result of their unrestrained strength and youthful blunders.