The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler at first glance depicts the struggle between two people to find happiness together. In actuality it shows the struggles a man faces with himself to find happiness in his own life. Tyler presents a character, Macon Leary, satisfied with just going through life unchanged. Anne Tyler in her novel The Accidental Tourist realistically explores the complex family relationships and the individual search for identity as revealed by Ethans murder, Macons isolation from his family and Macons search for meaning.
It is common among many American households to have problems. Certain problems occur from the absences of a parent or a parent hooked on drugs but in the Accidental Tourist this is not the case. The main character Macon and his wife Sarah lose their son. Their son is murdered and this event leads to their complex family issues. Biggs states that when a child dies suddenly and unexpectedly, so shocking and painful is the loss that grief devastates the family and threatens to tear it apart. (Grief Matters v.5 31-34). Ethans death causes the relationship between Macon and Sarah to be strained. This is not to say that their relationship was not already strained, Sarah stated When Ethan was born, he only brought out more of their differences (Tyler 16). This was because they choose to raise Ethan differently. Sarah wanted to let him be happy and free, while Macon wanted him to be more scheduled and structured. Their already struggling relationship is now even more troubled. After Ethans death Macon and Sarah take a vacation to run away from the pain but they couldnt escape it. Macon is not an affectionate person and could control showing his emotion but Sarah couldnt. Sarah took Ethans death the worst and she couldnt cope. Ethan did nothing to help her through the pain I dont know that you really care that muchdo you?(Tyler 3). Sarah takes her pain and frustration out on Macon and she states Macon, now that Ethans dead I sometimes wonder if theres any point of life (Tyler 3). The sudden death of their son has left such a deep emptiness in his existence that Macon passes on his detachment and non-emotional attitude toward all his loved ones. Ethans death strains their marriage so much that Sarah ends up wanting a divorce. Macon, I want a divorceI Just cant live with you anymore (Tyler 4). Sarah couldnt comprehend Macons response to their sons death and sees it as coldness and an inability to communicate deep emotions. She tells Macon that she would like to find a place of her own as soon as they get back from their vacation.
Macon went on watching the road, but his nose seemed sharper and whiter, as if the skin of his face had been pulled tight. He cleared his throat. He said Honey. Listen. Its been a hard year. Weve has a hard time. People who lose a child often feel this way; everybody says so; everybody says its a terrible strain on a marriage-(Tyler 4).
On top Ethans death Macon is forced to deal with another loss of a loved one. Macon does not know how to deal with his situation so he shuts himself off from the world. A Survey held that Perhaps the most tragic event experienced by a family is the death of a child and the effect it has on the parents (Bateman, V. 121-123). Macon proves this by isolating himself from humanity. He also tries to simplify life so that he can go through it without any changes or adjustments being made. He stayed in the house all day and made shortcuts to household chores. The house was empty and Macon soon realized that he was alone. Macon had thought the house would seem larger. Instead he felt more crowded. The windows shrank and the ceilings lowered.(Tyler 6). Macon isolated himself to escape the pain and reality of the world. Macons felt that his job in life was to sit back and watch life pass him by. He didnt want to get caught up in the natural flow of life where he can be controlled by forces out of his reach. He is dominated by his idea that within every man there is evil so he tries to avoid that evil. He is unexcited by life, its spontaneity and uncertainty and would rather sit back and watch the stream of life flow past him. He wanted to get away from that so he could remain unaffected and unchanged. Riches states evidence of the links between a child's death and parental grief. The parent usually feels disheartened and would isolate themselves from the world (Grief Matters v.8 54-57).
Macon grows up in a family where he is sheltered from the ways of the world. They live their lives through certain set patterns and systems. Since he was young there was always a patter he followed and he took that pattern with him and used it throughout his life. Macon is a writer of traveling guides for businessmen. Macon reveals this lifestyle through his travel guide books. It is in the contents of Macons travel guides that we best witness his mental and emotional developments as a character. Macons tour guides, the Accidental Tourist, are descriptions for Macons shifting view of himself and the world around him. In the early additions of the tour guides, Macon reveals his dislike for travel. This in his case is related to his inability to accept change in his life. Macon removes himself from his family both emotionally and physically and welcomes the idea of breaking his patterned life and enters an unpredictable life, full of many changes and many unknowns. As the author of pocket sized guidebooks for people who are forced to travel on business, Macon is forced to travel. In his early entries Macon would only sample American style food and his entries simply stated if the food was enjoyable or not. Macon starts to entertain the thought that travel may actually be enjoyable. Generally food in England is not as jarring as in other foreign countries dont know why some travelers complain about English food (Tyler 55). This shows how Macon is slowly changing and slowly finding happiness and joy in what he does. On one of his trips, Macon meets someone when before Macon hated to meet new people because it wasnt apart of his set pattern. It becomes more and more evident through Macons travel guides that he is beginning to open himself up to change. Macon is awakened one night by the sound of laughter and music and does not understand how people living in such chaos and uncertainty could be so carefree and happy. In conclusion, the tour guides and their shifting focus as well as different fields of perception, are structural devices, pointing to specific changes and to an unconscious desire to change.
In Macons search for his identity he meets Muriel Pritchett. He meets her when he has to go away on business and needs somewhere to board his sons dog Edward. She is strange and awkward to him but he takes a liking to her. Sarah makes him return to her when she is tired of living on her own. Sarah continues to badger him, by telling him what he thinks and what he should do. Now Macon has a choice to go back with Sarah and try to renew that relationship or he has the choice to start health relationship with Muriel. In the beginning it is hard for Macon to determine who choice will be. Sarah is still hurt and in pain because of the loss of their son. Macon realizes he may not be able to have her because of the way she feels. Macon still feels connected to Sarah but he is more compatible with Muriel. At the end of the novel, Macon leaves Sara and goes back to Muriel. This scene is important because how Macon has changed, and is now in control of his life. In this scene not only does Macon take a major action on his own for the first time, but he also finally begins to cope with, and accept his son's death.
Im sorry, Sarah. I didnt want to decide this, he said. He put his arm around her painfully, and after a pause she let her head rest against his shoulder. It struck him that even this moment was just another stage of their marriage. There would probably be still other stages in their thirtieth year, fortieth year-forever, no matter what separate paths they choose to travel. (Tyler 327).
Macon is reflecting back on his life, and he realizes that he had not taken steps very often in his life; come to think of it; really neverHe couldn't think of a single major act he had managed of his own accord."(Tyler 339). Macon realized that he has dedicated a great deal of time using systems and finding ways to organize and control the minor aspects of his life. He also realized that he has never put much thought into to taking control of the major aspects of his life. This realization caused Macon to wonder "Is it to late now to begin." Macon suddenly decides that it isn't too late and that he can be in control of the rest of his life.
The novel The Accidental Tourist written by Ann Tyler demonstrates that initially change is always difficult. However it may become less complicated when unexpected relationships form and things happen. At the beginning of the novel Macon is portrayed as an orderly character caught up in almost a time warp. Through each of his relationships Macon is able to significantly change. Each relation is a challenge, which forced Macon to look deep inside himself and develop into a different, yet stronger person. Macon faced change which increased his courage and faced challenges that others who where put in the same position chose to ignore.
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