# XXXV explained — The Innocents Abroad

> Chapter companion for The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain.

## What happens

The travelers sail through the Bosporus and Black Sea to Sebastopol, where they witness the devastating ruins of the Crimean War. They are warmly received by Russian officials, who offer them unusual hospitality and even suggest a visit to the Emperor. The chapter also humorously depicts Blucher's absurd relic-hunting and the travelers' habit of calling all guides 'Ferguson.'

## Themes in this chapter

### The Absurdity of War

The chapter vividly describes the utter destruction of Sebastopol and the futile, desperate fighting at the Malakoff, highlighting war's senseless devastation.

### Satire of Tourism

Blucher's comical relic-hunting and mislabeling, along with the travelers' habit of calling all guides 'Ferguson,' satirize the superficial and dishonest practices of tourists.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Describes the ruins of Sebastopol, interacts with Russian and English visitors, and comments on Blucher's relic collection.

### Mr. Blucher

Collects and mislabels relics, including a 'Fragment of a Russian General' that is actually a horse's jawbone, and gathers pebbles falsely labeled as from Mars Hill.

### Ferguson

The Turkish guide 'Faraway Moses' is called Ferguson by the travelers, much to his exasperation.

### Jack

Mentioned as the roommate whose passport the narrator uses after losing his own.

## Key lines

> Ruined Pompeii is in good condition compared to Sebastopol.

Sebastopol is even more destroyed than the famous ruins of Pompeii.

_Hyperbolic comparison emphasizing the extent of war damage._

> Fragment of a Russian General! This is absurd. Are you never going to learn any sense?

The narrator scolds Blucher for labeling a horse's jawbone as a piece of a Russian general.

_Highlights Blucher's dishonest relic-collecting and the narrator's frustration._

> All guides are Fergusons to us. We cannot master their dreadful foreign names.

The travelers call every guide Ferguson because they cannot remember or pronounce their real names.

_Illustrates the travelers' dismissive attitude toward local culture and guides._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/xxxv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters