The Innocents Abroad · Chapter
Summer in Mid-Atlantic—An eccentric moon—Mr. Blucher loses confidence—The mystery of 'ship time'—The denizens of the deep—'Land hoh'—The first landing on a foreign shore—Sensation among the natives—Something about the Azores Islands—Blucher's disastrous dinner—The happy result. explained
The chapter describes the voyage from New York to the Azores, including the phenomenon of the moon appearing stationary due to eastward travel, Mr.
What happens
The chapter describes the voyage from New York to the Azores, including the phenomenon of the moon appearing stationary due to eastward travel, Mr. Blucher's confusion over ship time, sightings of marine life, and the first landing at Fayal in the Azores. It details the ragged locals, the Portuguese capote, and Blucher's panic over a dinner bill that turns out to be only $21.70.
Themes in this chapter
Travel as Education
The narrator and Mr. Blucher learn about ship time, local customs, and currency through direct experience.
Satire of Tourism
The portrayal of the ragged locals as beggars and the comedic misunderstanding of the dinner bill satirize the tourist's naive and often humorous encounters.
American vs. European Culture
The contrast between American expectations (e.g., the fort's perceived weakness) and Portuguese reality (the capote, the currency) underscores cultural differences.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Describes the voyage, the moon, and the landing at Fayal.
- Mr. Blucher
Worries about his watch keeping time on the ship; later hosts a disastrous dinner in Fayal, mistaking the bill for a huge sum.
- The Captain
Explains the mystery of ship time to Mr. Blucher.
Key passages
“We had the phenomenon of a full moon located just in the same spot in the heavens at the same hour every night.”
The moon appeared to stay in the same place each night because the ship was moving eastward at a rate that kept pace with the moon's orbit.
Explains the apparent stationary moon due to the ship's eastward progress.
“Blucher glanced at it and his countenance fell. He took another look to assure himself that his senses had not deceived him and then read the items aloud, in a faltering voice, while the roses in his cheeks turned to ashes: 'Ten dinners, at 600 reis, 6,000 reis!'”
Blucher was horrified when he saw the bill in reis, thinking it was a huge amount, until it was translated into dollars and turned out to be only $21.70.
Highlights the comedic misunderstanding of foreign currency.