The Innocents Abroad · Chapter
XLV explained
The narrator recounts his recovery from cholera in Damascus, the intense heat of the Syrian desert, and the absurd appearance of his fellow American travelers with their umbrellas and green spectacles.
What happens
The narrator recounts his recovery from cholera in Damascus, the intense heat of the Syrian desert, and the absurd appearance of his fellow American travelers with their umbrellas and green spectacles. He describes the village of Jonesborough (El something), the burial place of Nimrod, and reflects on the timelessness of the biblical landscape contrasted with the ridiculousness of modern tourists.
Themes in this chapter
Satire of Tourism
The narrator mocks the absurd appearance of his fellow American travelers with their umbrellas, green spectacles, and awkward horsemanship, contrasting them with the timeless biblical landscape.
The Past vs. the Present
The narrator juxtaposes the ancient biblical scenery and customs with the ridiculous intrusion of modern American tourists, highlighting the clash between antiquity and contemporary tourism.
Religion and Hypocrisy
The narrator reflects on the superstitious faith of the locals in the doctor's medicine, drawing a parallel to the multitudes who followed Christ for healing, and critiques the contrast between genuine faith and the travelers' lack of respect.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Suffers from cholera, rests in Damascus, and later rides across the plain; refuses to use his umbrella and green spectacles to avoid looking ridiculous.
- Dr. B.
Treats a child's diseased eyes, attracting a crowd of sick locals who worship him as if he were a god.
- The Doctor
Referenced as the 'poor human Doctor' who dispenses medicine to the superstitious and disease-tortured natives.
- Jack
Part of the party of eight travelers described as a 'fantastic mob of green-spectacled Yanks' with flapping elbows and bobbing umbrellas.
Key passages
“The women and children looked worn and sad, and distressed with hunger. They reminded me much of Indians, did these people.”
The women and children appeared exhausted, sad, and starving, and the narrator compares them to Native Americans.
The narrator draws a parallel between the Syrian locals and Native Americans, emphasizing their poverty and cultural differences.
“I imagined I could distinguish between the floods of rays—I thought I could tell when each flood struck my head, when it reached my shoulders, and when the next one came.”
The narrator vividly imagines feeling each wave of sunlight hitting his head and shoulders separately.
This hyperbolic description emphasizes the extreme heat of the Syrian desert.
“It is Daniel in the lion’s den with a green cotton umbrella under his arm, all over again.”
The scene of the American travelers is as absurd as the biblical Daniel in the lion's den, but with a modern, ridiculous twist.
The narrator uses biblical imagery to mock the incongruity of modern tourists in an ancient setting.