involves in conversation with the co-passengers, he acts as a mediator between the readers and the native.
In The Old Patagonian Express Paul Theroux writes:
(y)ears before, I had noticed how trains accurately represented the culture of a country: the seedy distressed country has seedy distressed railway trains, the proud efficient nation is similarly reflected in its rolling stock, as Japan is. There is hope in India because the trains are considered vastly more important than the monkey wagons some Indians drive. Dining cars, I found, told the whole story (and if there were no dining cars the country was beneath consideration). The noodle stall in the Malaysian train, the borscht and bad manners on the Trans-Siberian, the kippers and fried
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There is not another train in the world that has a tall stone jar in the bath compartment, where, before dinner, one can stand naked, sluicing oneself with scoops of water. The trains in any country contain the essential paraphernalia of the culture (emphasis added)... The railway bazaar, with its gadgets and passengers, represented the society so completely that to board it was to be challenged by the national character (p. …show more content…
“If a train is large and comfortable you don’t even need a destination; a corner seat is enough, and you can be one of those travellers who stay in motion, straddling the tracks, and never arrive or feel they ought to”(1) , writes Theroux in The Great Railway Bazaar. He talks about the insignificance of destinations here, inviting attention to the ‘being in a train’ experience. In a globalised world where inconveniences-which caters to the subject matter of travelogues- are vanishing, Theroux’s writings find place in the reading realm with its trajectory of danger and discovery. He takes trains from London to Japan in The Great Railway Bazaar, paddles across atolls in The Happy Isles of Oceania(1992), and returns to the railroad to travel from Cairo to Cape Town in Dark Star Safari (2003).Railways do not just provide a background or a theme, but become a functional and structural part of their plot and narration in his
“Long days. Open country with ash blowing over the road. The boy sat by the fire at night with the pieces of the map across his knees. He had the names of towns and rivers by heart and he measured their progress daily”
Reinhardt, Richard. Workin' on the Railroad; Reminiscences from the Age of Steam. Palo Alto, CA: American West Pub., 1970. Print.
passengersâ€like a city in a nightmare. The street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest and with its freshly painted shutters, well polished. brass and general cleanliness and gaiety of noteâ€'. The diversity between these two quotes shows how the higher and lower classes differed which reflect the Victorian way of life. However, if you look at the story in more depth, the reader begins to see a deeper meaning hidden in the words of the novella.
1 Keating, O. (2004). Are High Speed Trains are the best form of transport for Consumers and Society? Retrieved April 16, 2005, from http://www.o-keating.com/hsr/best.htm
The tone is set in this chapter as Krakauer uses words to create an atmosphere of worry, fear, and happiness in McCandless’s mind. “The bush is an unforgiving place, however, that cares nothing for hope or longing”(4). McCandless is on the path of death, which creates worry and fear for the young boy. “He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited,” (6). Alex is very excited and care free, which Krakauer used to his advantage in making the tone of Alex’s mind happy. The author creates tones to make the reader feel the moment as if the readers were sitting there themselves. Krakauer uses dialogue and setting to create the mixed tones of this chapter. As one can see from the quotes and scenery the author uses tones that are blunt and are to the point to make the reader feel as though the emotions are their own. Krakauer uses plenty of figurative language in this chapter. He uses figurative language to support his ideas,to express the surroundings, and tone around the character. To start the chapter he uses a simile describing the landscape of the area, “…sprawls across the flats like a rumpled blanket on an unmade bed,” (9). This statement is used to make reader sense the area and set the mood for the chapter. The use of figurative language in this chapter is to make a visual representation in the readers mind. “It’s satellites surrender to the low Kantishna plain” (9).
The paradise that Kubla Khan creates is a delightful playscape. At first, it seems a bit compulsively arranged, a bit overly luxurious, a bit too Disney. The "sinuous rills" adds a slightly ominous element to the Edenic paradise, a hint of what's to come. Already, though, there is a distinction implied between what is natural -- the "sinuous rills" and the "forests ancient as the hills" -- and what is clearly man-made, nature bent to mankind's service: the enfolded "sunny spots of...
...s another facet of the wild that astonishes him or her more. "He was standing on a cliff...into a kind of arena enclosing... Spruce Lake... and now he looked down on it hundreds of feet below him, its flat surface as still and black as obsidian, engulfed in the shadow of surrounding cliffs, ringed with a double ring of evergreens and reflected evergreens"(112). The simile utilized by Johnson helps the reader to understand the gloom and beauty of nature. Since the flat surfaces are compared to obsidian, a dark and shining rock, it is evident that Grainier considers nature to be both beautiful and powerful. The reflection of the evergreens in the shadows emphasizes the vastness of nature and its glory.
Oxlade, John. A brief history of German railways. 31 December 2003. 14 March 2014 .
Rail usage had been steadily growing and the usefulness of trains for transportation of people and goods was apparent as an advantage in war. Unfortunately, the many southern rail lines didn’t link well, lack of funds for repairs and the concerted effort of Union forces to render rail line unusable reduced the effectiveness of trains.
Rail in Chicago is essential to Railroads throughout the country of North America. Chicago is also the known for it’s center in the railways throughout America. In comparison to any other city in the country, Chicago offers more railroad tracks to the surrounding states. “Chicago today remains the busiest rail hub in the United States. Each day, nearly 1,300 trains pass through the region (500 freight and 760 passenger). Chicago handles one-fourth of the nation's freight rail traffic, each day handling 37,500 railcars” (About CREATE). Being the center for American freight Chicago also is known for it railyards. The railyards are gateways to the other rail tracks. It is home t...
The railway systems of the early industrial revolutions can be seen as one of the most progressive feats in history, it bridged many gaps, centralized transportation, created a technologically advanced society, brought about a new consciousness on how one should use and feel safe whilst using technology, introduced the perception that the mechanical aspect of life although daunting can outweigh the natural and organic. “ The railroad appeared as the technical guarantor of democracy, harmony between nations, peace and progress. According to them, the railroad brought people together both spatially and socially.”(Schivelbusch, pg 70)
One of the more romantic elements of American folklore has been the criss-crossing rail system of this country – steel rails carrying Americans to new territories across desert and mountain, through wheat fields and over great rivers. Carl Sandburg has flavored the mighty steam engine in elegant prose and Arlo Guthrie has made the roundhouse a sturdy emblem of America’s commerce.
The valley is described as a “desolate” place where “ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills into grotesque gardens”. (21) Ashes that dominate the area take the shape of natural greenery. The term “grotesque gardens” uses alliteration, with juxtaposition; to highlight the odd pairing of ashes and greenery. Ashes are associated with death while ridges and “gardens” represent the potential to flourish and grow in the promise and ideal of equality as in “the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams.” (143) The trees that once stood here were able to speak to man’s dreams, which allude to America, the land able to speak to man’s dreams and capacity for wonder. All this is replaced by grey ash that suffocates the inhabitants, restricting them to their social class. This presents a bleak image of hopelessness that surrounds the valley.
However, it was not easy for the railroad industry to promote their innovative new mode of transportation. With vision and ingenuity, the pioneers of the early American railroads were able to surmount all obstacles that stood in their way and led the Nation into a “transportation revolution.”
In One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez and "The South" by Jorge Luis Borges, many similar devices are used by the authors. Their presentations and their uses are sometimes similar and at times dissimilar. There is one device that is used by both authors that is one of the most prominent devices in both works--the train. The presentation and use of the train in both texts is different, but in both it is a method of transportation and an evil entity that is an active symbol of change.