A Distant Episode

The short story, A Distant Episode by Paul Bowles had potent imagery that made me feel as if I were there. This helped me understand the story in a great way. The setting of this story, even though extremely descriptive, seem very fictional. Of course, one of the most vital and illustrative moments in this literature was when Bowles describes the visuals of the sky and smells during the bus ride while driving west. He states, " Now facing the flaming sky in the West...air which began to smell of other things besides the endless ozone of the heights: orange blossoms, pepper, sun baked excrement, burning olive oil, rotten fruit." While reading this, I literally began to smell the things described. The Professor, and protagonist washes his face once he arrives at his hotel with the description, "...began to wash the grit from his face and ears." This gave me an idea of the terrain and how rough his travels might have been.

Imagery of a Sunset Desert

Professor seems to be traveling to this place, seemingly like Morocco, with a guide, the cafe keeper, who at first we believe to be familiar to him. With this visual and descriptive aid that the author gives us, we are able to quickly catch on to the rapid downfall that the professor faces in this unknown and unfamiliar city that seems far from home. He and this waiter go on this mission to find these camel udder boxes that the professor is interested in. During this journey, Bowles begins to use harsh commentary, clueing us in that things are beginning to go wrong. He talks about how there is an "odor of human excrement" and an attack from a three legged dog.

"The other" could be the Professor in this story. He is an outsider. He doesn't fit in to this world and seems clueless to a lot around him. He is asking questions a lot that need work to be answered. He stands out culturally and always seems significantly out of place. He seems confident at first, but gets clear as the story goes on that he becomes more fragile and intimidated within his unfamiliar surroundings.

A Distant Episode

I have felt like Professor at the beginning of the story in the past. I went on a teen tour to Thailand two summers ago. I arrived and had a ton of questions and had certain shopping needs. When I went shopping one night with a group, I got separated from who I was with and began to freak out a bit. Fortunately we did have a meeting spot, but for those ten minutes, all I could do was panic. I had locals trying to speak to me and sell me illegals and I had no idea what to do. I went from being pretty confident in a new country to panicking in my mind from one second to the next. Of course I didn't end up being a slave and carried off into the desert but for those ten minutes, I had this mindset that something really bad could happen.