The Accidental Tourist

	In the novel, The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler deals with many different subjects, such as love, grieving, change, family, and guilt. She addresses these subjects throughout the novel, in many different scenes. One of these scenes, which I found to be the most helpful in understanding the novel, comes late in chapter twenty, at the very end of the novel, when Macon leaves Sara and goes back to Muriel. This scene is important because how Macon has begun to change, 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.

One thing in this scene that helps us to see how Macon has changed comes on page 339. 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 never. His marriage, his two jobs, his relationship with Muriel, his return to Sarah-all seemed to have simply befallen him. He couldn't think of a single major act he had managed of his own accord."(339) In thinking this, Macon is realizing that he has dedicated a great deal of time using systems and finding other ways to organize and control the minor aspects of his life, however he has never put much thought, or attempted to take much control of the major aspects of his life. This realization prompts Macon to wonder "Is it to late now to begin." Macon decides that it isn't too late, and begins to take control by deciding to leave Sarah, and return to Muriel, who he really loves. For the first time Macon is doing something different from what everyone expects from him.

After leaving the hotel, Macon's bag begins to weigh him down, and is twisting his back out of line, finally he decides that there is not anything in it worth going through the pain of carrying it, so he leaves it on the curb and moves on. I think that Tyler uses this as a symbol of Macon's relationship with Sarah. It seems as though Sarah is weighing Macon down, and causing him pain by preventing him from being with his true love, Muriel. Just as his bag is weighing him down, and preventing him from getting home, where he really wants to be.