The Accidental Tourest Essay, Research Paper

In the novel, The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler trades with many different topics, such as love, grieving, alteration, household, and guilt. She addresses these topics throughout the novel, in many different scenes. One of these scenes, which I found to be the most helpful in understanding the novel, comes tardily in chapter 20, at the very terminal of the novel, when Macon leaves Sara and goes back to Muriel. This scene is of import because how Macon has begun to alter, and is now in control of his life. In this scene non merely does Macon take a major action on his ain for the first clip, but he besides eventually begins to get by with, and accept his boy & # 8217 ; s decease.

One thing in this scene that helps us to see how Macon has changed comes on page 339. Macon is reflecting back on his life, and he realizes that he & # 8220 ; had non taken stairss really frequently in his life, come to believe of it, truly ne’er. His matrimony, his two occupations, his relationship with Muriel, his return to Sarah-all seemed to hold merely befallen him. He couldn & # 8217 ; t believe of a individual major act he had managed of his ain accord. & # 8221 ; ( 339 ) In believing this, Macon is recognizing that he has dedicated a great trade of clip utilizing systems and happening other ways to form and command the minor facets of his life, nevertheless he has ne’er put much thought, or attempted to take much control of the major facets of his life. This realisation prompts Macon to inquire & # 8220 ; Is it to tardily now to begin. & # 8221 ; Macon decides that it isn & # 8217 ; t excessively late, and begins to take control by make up one’s minding to go forth Sarah, and return to Muriel, who he truly loves. For the first clip Macon is making something different from what everyone expects from him.

After go forthing the hotel, Macon & # 8217 ; s bag begins to weigh him down, and is writhing his dorsum out of line, eventually he decides that there is non anything in it deserving traveling through the hurting of transporting it, so he leaves it on the kerb and moves on. I think that Tyler uses this as a symbol of Macon & # 8217 ; s relationship with Sarah. It seems as though Sarah is weighing Macon down, and doing him hurting by forestalling him from being with his true love, Muriel. Just as his bag is weighing him down, and forestalling him from acquiring place, where he truly wants to be.

Another important thing in this scene occurs when Macon is trying to acclaim a cab. He is trying to acclaim a cab, and he is in two much hurting to raise either of his weaponries. He sees a cab pull over up the street, and a male child gets out. Macon, being unable to raise his weaponries, is forced to run in a eldritch scuttling manner after the cab. The cab is about to draw away when the male child s

EEs Macon and stops it for him. The male child so opened the door for Macon, helped him into the cab, closed the door for him, and so waived a formal adieu to him. The cab so makes a U-turn, and passes the male child. When the Macon looks at the male child, the manner the male child walks reminds Macon of how Ethan used to walk. Macon so thinks of Ethan. He thinks that if Ethan hadn’t died, he would hold grown to be a batch like that male child. This makes Macon believe about Ethan turning up in Eden, now 14 old ages old, alternatively of 12. This idea eased his heartache a small. For Macon, it was “their unsusceptibility to clip that made the dead so bosom breakage? The existent escapade, he thought, is the flow of time.” ( 342 ) If Macon could visualize Ethan as still being portion of that flow, in some other topographic point, no affair how unapproachable that topographic point was, so possibly “He might be able to bear it after all.” ( 342 ) This shows that Macon is eventually traveling on, and acquiring over his son’s decease. He has spent the full last two old ages sorrowing over his son’s decease. He feels guilty, because he gave in to Sarah and allow Ethan travel to bivouac. He is invariably haunted by this guilt, as he often dreams of Ethan coming home, or naming from cantonment, but now he feels “a sort of interior haste, a racing forward.” ( 342 ) , and he now feels as though he will be able to get by with Ethan’s decease, which is a really big measure for Macon. Throughout the novel, he is afraid to allow himself love once more, because of what happened with Macon. He seems to force everyone off, and fear committedness, he shows this fright when him and Muriel are discoursing acquiring married, and he says “Muriel, please. I’m non ready for this. I don’t know if I of all time will be.” ( 273 ) However, if Macon can acquire get by with Ethan’s decease, so possibly he can allow himself love once more, and acquire over his fright of committedness, and being hurt.

After acquiring in the cab, Macon sees Muriel waiting for a cab and tells the driver to halt. As the cab stops, a sudden flash of sunlight hits the windscreen, and sequins flew across the glass. The sequins were old H2O musca volitanss, or markers from old foliages, but for a 2nd Macon thought they were something else. & # 8220 ; They were so bright and gay, for a minute he thought they were confetti. & # 8221 ; The sunlight and confetti both typify Macon & # 8217 ; s newfound felicity. Sunshine and brightness normally mean that things are get downing to look better, and the confetti is a symbol of joy, and felicity, we use confetti at new old ages and other particular occasions to observe. The usage of these words shows how Macon is happy that he has now moved on, and is acquiring on with his life. He has left Sarah and is now traveling to be with Muriel, who he truly loves.