At times The Accidental Tourist presents its self as a gentle comedy. This is shown by the characters humour: the ineffectual Macon and the Brash Muriel, Edward the Neurotic dog, the eccentric Leary's and Julian the playboy courting Rose the old fashioned romantic. There is the amusement value of situations like Macon's method of washing clothes, the impenetrable vaccination', and the disastrous thanks giving turkey. Anne Tyler sees the joke in the human behaviour, and presents it in a way that allows the audience to become engaged and laugh at the characters. But there is more to the novel than just jokes. Under the surface, it is an often sad book. Most of the characters seem lost, searching for something that eludes them- wether the memories of happiness or yearning to belong.
In the accidental tourist Anne Tyler depicts the views each character has on the world. In the sharpest focus throughout the novel is Macon's view, based on the need for control, the fear of change,......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 751
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |