The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
The
Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain chronicles the voyage through Europe and the
Holy Land. It is a travel book that tells the journey of Twain's excursion
in 1867 on board a charted vessel to the Mediterranean. He traveled with a
group of Americans that he became close with during his trip....
......................On the way to Gibraltar the
sea is super stormy. They are glad to see land. Once in Gibraltar they are once
again harassed by guides. They go into and up on the rock of Gibraltar and are
told the same legend over and over again. Twain describes several curious and
annoying characters aboard ship: the Oracle, a poet, "a good-natured
enterprising idiot".
Twain is flattered into
buying poor quality kid gloves by a beautiful Spanish saleslady.They arrive in
Tangier, which they find to be thrillingly and refreshingly foreign. He marvels
at the locals' garb. He is fascinated by the ancientness of buildings. He
expounds some of Tangier's history.
He describes the trade and
changing money. Morocco is despotic and there is brutal taxation and Moroccans
feign poverty so they are not taxed.Paris. They choose one of three guides.
They are thrilled by his gentlemanlike appearance, until they start their tours
with him and are continually slowed down by his gluttony. They also realize he
keeps stopping by stores on the way to the Louvre because he gets commission on
items the travelers buy.
They go to the International
Exposition but find the museum-goers more fascinating than the
exhibitions.
They go see a military
parade under the Arc du Triomph in which Napoleon III and Abdul Aziz are
present. They inspire marvel in him at their respective greatness and
terrorism/ignorance/laziness.
Twain is upset that there is
nothing to see in Rome that thousands haven't before him. He imagines he were
an Italian having come from a visit to America and expounds the oddities of
American life in relation to European. It is implied that he appreciates the
quality of life in America.
He
sees the cathedral of St. Peter's and it is too large to comprehend. He visits
the Forum, and Coli
.Twain reflects that, a year after the trip, it seems much more pleasant and he would even do it again and he's friends with or on speaking terms with the passengers. In fact, he's grateful for having been with the same bunch of people for so long,because if he had travelled conventionally he would have had to depend on strangers continually for travel partners and socializing. Also, they had the ship which served as a mobile home.He praises the journey for keeping to the program and for dispelling prejudices. He says he will remember scenes and incidents for many years to come. The distance of time will cause every place they saw to seem great.
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