The Accidental Tourest
In the novel, The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler deals with many different subjects, such as love, grieving, change, family, and guilt. She addresses these subjects throughout the novel, in many different scenes. One of these scenes, which I found to be the most helpful in understanding the novel, comes late in chapter twenty, at the very end of the novel, when Macon leaves Sara and goes back to Muriel. This scene is important because how Macon has begun to change, and is now in control of his life. In this scene not only does Macon take a major action on his own for the first time, but he also finally begins to cope with, and accept his son's death.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 "had not taken steps very often in his life, come to think of it, really never. His marriage, his two jobs, his relationship with Muriel, his return to Sarah-all seemed to have simply befallen him. He couldn't think of a single major act he had managed of his own accord."(339) In thinking this, Macon is realizing that he has dedicated a great deal of time using systems and finding other ways to organize and control the minor aspects of h
is life, however he has never put much thought, or attempted to take much control of the major aspects of his life. This realization prompts Macon to wonder "Is it to late now to begin." Macon decides that it isn't too late, and begins to take control by deciding to leave Sarah, and return to Muriel, who he really loves. For the first time Macon is doing something different from what everyone expects from him. After getting in the cab, Macon sees Muriel waiting for a cab and tells the driver to stop. As the cab stops, a sudden flash of sunlight hits the windshield, and spangles flew across the glass. The spangles were old water spots, or markings from old leaves, but for a second Macon thought they were something else. "They were so bright and festive, for a moment he thought they were confetti." The sunshine and confetti both symbolize Macon's newfound happiness. Sunshine and brightness usually mean that things are starting to look better, and the confetti is a symbol of joy, and happiness, we use confetti at new years and other special occasions to celebrate. The use of these words shows how Macon is happy that he has now moved on, and is getting on with his life. He has left Sarah and is now going to be with Muriel, who he really loves. Another significant thing in this scene occurs when Macon is attempting to hail a cab. He is attempting to hail a cab, and he is in two much pain to raise either of his arms. He sees a cab pull over up the st
Some common words found in the essay are:
Anne Tyler, Sarah Sarah, Macon Muriel, Macon Ethan, Macon Throughout, Sarah Ethan, Ethan Ethan, Sarah Muriel, boy macon, macon ethan, son's death, , attempting hail cab, raise arms, muriel loves, cab pull, scene macon, attempting hail, cope ethan's death, fear commitment, hail cab,
Approximate Word count = 982
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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