Gullible’s Travels · Chapter
III explained
The narrator and his wife arrive in St.
What happens
The narrator and his wife arrive in St. Augustine, Florida, where they are met by a hotel bus. They settle into the Alcazar Hotel, but the narrator is immediately struck by the high costs of everything, from valet services to meals. They have a tense breakfast with a couple where the wife controls her husband's diet, and later they visit Fort Marion, the oldest house, and take a boat to Anastasia Island. The narrator is unimpressed with the sights and the company, and they leave St. Augustine for Palm Beach, where they are greeted by a swarm of porters, confirming his suspicions about the place.
Themes in this chapter
Travel and Its Discontents
The narrator's constant complaints about costs, uncomfortable rides, and unimpressive sights highlight the frustrations of travel.
Money and Financial Strain
The narrator meticulously tracks every expense, from valet services to meals, and worries about the overall cost of the trip.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator is the primary voice, complaining about costs and the lack of glamour in St. Augustine.
- The Missus
The narrator's wife, who tries to keep expenses in check and insists on sightseeing despite the narrator's reluctance.
- Jake
A fellow diner at the hotel, whose wife controls his food choices, providing comic relief.
Key passages
“I finally warned the Missus that if we didn’t duck back to our room I’d probably have a heart attack from excitement; but she’d read in her Florida guide that the decorations and pitchers was worth goin’ miles to see, so we had to stand in front o’ them for a couple hours and try to keep awake.”
The narrator jokes that he might have a heart attack from the excitement of the hotel's decor, but his wife insists on viewing the paintings because the guidebook says they're worth it, so they stand there for hours, struggling to stay awake.
The narrator's sarcasm about the 'thrillers' and the forced sightseeing highlights his disillusionment with the supposed glamour.
“We visited Fort Marion, that’d be a great protection against the Germans, provided they fought with paper wads.”
The narrator jokes that Fort Marion would only be useful against an enemy that attacked with paper wads, mocking its outdated defenses.
This quip reflects the narrator's cynical view of the historical site, contrasting with the expected tourist awe.