Thursday, September 10, 2009

Submarines, and Old Men

"It's his world, not mine anymore...perhaps the understands things I will never learn." (779)



The context of this quotation is a conversation between Steinbeck and a young sailor on the subject of submarines. Upon seeing a submarine Steinbeck instantly recalls the fear he felt while "crossing the Atlantic on a troop ship and knowing that somewhere on the way dark things lurked searching for us..."(778) However, the young man he is conversing with feels the exact opposite, going so far as to say that submarines promise "all kinds of --future."(779) While I was reading this portion of Steinbecks' Travels the movie No Country For Old Men came to mind, and a very particular scene in it. The clip is rather long, you only need to watch the first minute and forty-two seconds to understand the point I am trying to make.


The sherriffs disbelief at the progression of society and Steinbecks suprise at the young sailors hopeful take on the "dark creature[s]" have a very noteable parallel. That is, they both allude to the idea that the things that shocked or confused our fathers and mothers are no commonplace to us. How many of us have had to teach someone much older than us how to send an email, or simply shrugged off an abhorrence as a daily occurence as our parents sat in horror? So for Steinbeck, the insightful man that he is, mabye this road trip is more than just an itch? Steinbeck has already previously stated that he wants quality rather than quantity of years, a statement that could possibly mean that he doesn't want to grow old (when taken in context with the surrounding paragraph). This roadtrip, for Steinbeck, could possibly a chance to gain new life and a new perspective on the world. What do you guys think?

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