‘Instructor’s Name’
‘Subject’
An Analysis of ‘The Long Way Home’
Writing solidifies the fluid memories of a man’s life and serves as a tool for self expression. Literature has many genres and travel writing is one of the earliest genres. The ‘Odyssey’ written by Homer together with ‘The Iliad’ formed the foundation of Western literary tradition. Odyssey is more or less the account of the perilous journey undertook by its protagonist Odysseus to reach his way home after Troy fell to its enemies. Early travelogues, like Odyssey, were mostly dominated by religious thoughts. During the nineteenth century, writers like Sarah Kemble Knight, William Byrd, and Dr. Alexander Hamilton, produced works that deviated from the established conventions, and offered the readers a humorous and insightful account of their journeys.
Following in their footsteps, Paul Theroux produced some memorable travelogues during the past century, which described in vivid detail the many travels he embarked across the globe. ‘The Long Home’, written by him in the year 2009, is special because it is the first time he has written about journey through America, his homeland. The article, as Theroux says, is almost written with the view of a foreigner yet there is the pride of a native, in the tone of the narrative. The long way home is a travel literature, which deals with the author’s journey across America on the road from Los Angeles, California, to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The following part of the essay aims to explore the article in detail and analyze its various literary elements.
Travel writers are, in essence, undertaking the journey on behalf of the reader, and thus travel literature needs to have detailed and accurate description of places and people. To provide a detailed description, observation is the key. Hayes describes how William Bartram’s travelogues, influenced by his father, would be full of botanical names of the species he witnessed during his travels. He further states that, though these scientific nomenclatures may sometimes be distracting, it was accepted by the readers and added an interest quotient to his works. In the same way, Theroux takes pain in describing every minute detail of his travels so that he offers a complete picture of his travel to his readers. For example, he presents an thorough picture about the life of the truckers, how the fuel price hikes affect their lives, and even how they plan to protest against it.
Hayes argues that American literature and American travel are indelibly linked, and the wilderness fired the imagination of the early settlers. He further expands on the initiatives of Jefferson in organizing a transcontinental expedition, and the intense national significance of the journey. ‘The Long Way home’, is a literary work undertaken in a similar vein, as it is a proud recount of an American citizen who is overjoyed and feels happy to be a part of a great nation, and this pride is evident all throughout the article. The author says,
“I was seeing America, coast to coast, with the eyes of a foreigner, feeling overwhelmed, humbled and grateful.”
“Then gouts of marble-size hailstones swept over the road ahead, like a plague of mothballs.”
An end of an abroad trip is compared by Theroux to curtain falling at the end of a movie, the storm clouds are likened to iron-dark wall, and the visitors of Las Vegas are portrayed as participants of a circus - clowns, floozies, risk-takers.
Hayes explains how American authors have used their travelling experience abroad to understand their own culture better, and how their works embody their confidence in the American way of life. Theroux has journeyed to and written about many places on earth, and the perspective gained from his wide travels has enabled him to marvel the greatness of his homeland even more.
“It is in our nature as Americans to want to drive everywhere, even into the wilderness.”
He describes how everywhere he went he was received with hospitality, and how the landscapes and their vastness symbolized the American need for elbow room. He portrays the truckers as a tough and hard-working group, and the bikers as a patriotic and free-spirited bunch of people. He recounts how his enquiry for directions was never met with suspicions, and how in a diner in Nashville people tried sincerely to make him feel welcome as he was travelling alone.
Travels often serve as a tool for probing and understanding history of the land. Theroux gets in touch with history by visiting the Oklahoma City, where the bomber Timothy McVeigh caused the death of 168 people in 1995, and Gettysburg, the famous landmark of the civil war. He explains that no history book could bring him closer to the events that took place in Gettysburg, than an actual visit to the place.
Travel literature is a portrait of not just the places, but also of the people who render character to those places. Theroux, through an extensive description of both the landscapes and the people of America, gives his reader, a taste of not just the scenic beauty of America but also offers a glimpse into the soul of this country. This article sheds light on the wonders of the geography and the free spiritedness of the people inhabiting this land. ‘The Long Way Home’ is intellectual and insightful, and above all, is an expression of the unforgettable beauty and heart of the author’s homeland.
Works Cited
Hayes, Kevin J. A Journey through American Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Theroux, Paul. "The Long Way Home." Smithsonian,Vol. 40, No.6 (September 2009): 70-77. Print.
