The Innocents Abroad · Chapter
Dan, Bashan, and the Waters of Merom explained
The narrator describes a ride through Bashan to Dan, reflecting on the smallness of Palestine compared to the United States, the historical and biblical significance of the region, and the desolation of the landscape.
What happens
The narrator describes a ride through Bashan to Dan, reflecting on the smallness of Palestine compared to the United States, the historical and biblical significance of the region, and the desolation of the landscape. He recounts Joshua's battle at the Waters of Merom and Barak's victory over Sisera, while also satirizing the exaggerated tales of Bedouin danger from Wm. C. Grimes.
Themes in this chapter
The Past vs. the Present
The narrator contrasts the biblical grandeur of places like Dan and Bashan with their current desolate state, and reflects on the smallness of Palestine compared to modern America.
Satire of Tourism
The narrator mocks the exaggerated descriptions in Syrian travel books and Wm. C. Grimes's dramatic tales of Bedouin danger.
Home and Belonging
The narrator compares the biblical expression 'from Dan to Beersheba' to American phrases, reflecting on the concept of distance and home.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Reflects on the scale of Palestine and the historical events of the region.
- Wm. C. Grimes
Mentioned for his exaggerated accounts of Bedouin encounters.
- Dan
One of the party; the narrator refers to the group's travel.
- Jack
Implied as part of the traveling group.
- The Doctor
Implied as part of the traveling group.
- Young George
Implied as part of the traveling group.
Key passages
“This puddle is an important source of the Jordan. Its banks, and those of the brook are respectably adorned with blooming oleanders, but the unutterable beauty of the spot will not throw a well-balanced man into convulsions, as the Syrian books of travel would lead one to suppose.”
The spring at Dan is a key source of the Jordan River, with oleanders along its banks, but it is not as overwhelmingly beautiful as Syrian travel books claim.
The narrator satirizes the hyperbolic descriptions in travel literature.
“From Baltimore to San Francisco is several thousand miles, but it will be only a seven days' journey in the cars when I am two or three years older.”
The distance from Baltimore to San Francisco is thousands of miles, but will soon be a week-long train trip.
The narrator contrasts ancient travel times with modern rail travel.
“He never said he was attacked by Bedouins, I believe, or was ever treated uncivilly, but then in about every other chapter he discovered them approaching, anyhow, and he had a bloodcurdling fashion of working up the peril.”
Grimes never actually reported being attacked by Bedouins, but he often dramatized their approach to create suspense.
The narrator criticizes Wm. C. Grimes's sensationalized travel writing.