the accidental tourist summary

The Accidental Tourist

by Anne Tyler

• The Accidental Tourist Summary

The Accidental Tourist opens with Macon and Sarah Leary driving back home to Baltimore in the rain after a vacation at the beach. When Macon refuses to stop the car, Sarah suddenly announces that she wants a divorce. She accuses Macon of being incapable of comforting her, especially after the tragic murder of their 12-year-old son, Ethan . Macon is surprised. The book then flashes forward to after the couple has separated. Macon tries to adjust to the change, finding it strange to live in their family house all alone. In a somewhat compulsive way, Macon comes up with various "systems" of organization in order to manage the household chores. These habits are highly strange, such as washing the clothes in the bathtub while he showers. Macon, overcome by a grief he won't directly acknowledge, also struggles to keep a normal sleeping and eating routine.

Meanwhile, Macon tries to maintain a regular work schedule. His job is writing travel guides aimed at businessmen who are reluctant to leave their hometown. It is an ironic role for Macon, as he hates traveling and leaving his comfort zone in any way. Macon soon has to leave for a trip to England. Right before his departure, Sarah calls him to ask if she can come by and get her rug. They reveal to each other that they have both been struggling since the separation. On the way to the airport, Macon drops off his dog, Edward , at a kennel, where he strikes up a conversation with a young receptionist named Muriel Pritchett . In England, Macon has difficulty getting his work assignments done and itches to go home. When he returns to Baltimore, he picks up Edward and Muriel Pritchett tells him the dog was well-behaved, subtly flirting with Macon and giving him her business card. Macon can only think about Sarah, and he feels her absence as he walks back into his house with Edward.

Weeks go by and Macon is challenged by completing his England travel book. His boss, Julian, starts to call him, inquiring on his progress, and Macon promises he will have it done in a few weeks. Instead of working, Macon focuses his energy on his household systems, devising ones to ensure that he almost never has to leave the house to do grocery shopping. Despite being invited over for meals by his neighbors, who now know about his separation, Macon declines the gesture, feeling that he can trust no one. Much of his time is spent daydreaming about his former life and what went wrong in his marriage to Sarah. One night, when Macon walks down into his basement, he falls and breaks his leg. He ends up having to stay at his family house, with his sister Rose and his brothers Charles and Porter , while he recovers. We learn more about the Leary siblings and their shared tendency for strange organizational habits. We also learn about their childhood, and how the children were left to live with their grandparents by their volatile mother, Alicia .

Edward the dog increasingly starts acting out, eventually biting Julian when he visits Macon at the family house one day. Macon realizes he must do something about it and remembers Muriel Pritchett's business card. He calls her and they make an appointment to train Edward. At their meeting, Muriel is very forward and reveals many personal details about herself. Macon does not know how to interact with her, continually trying to bring the conversation back to training Edward. They continue with training lessons over the next few days. One night, Macon has a sexual dream about Muriel; the next day, when he sees her for the lesson, he abruptly kisses her and then instantly apologizes for it.

By October, Macon has finally made progress on his travel guide and goes to hand it in at Julian's office. Julian has slowly been hinting at his interest in Macon's sister, Rose, and requests to be invited over for dinner one night. He also asks Macon if he can start working on another U.S. guidebook.

As it turns into winter, Macon is able to remove his cast. Despite his recovery, he is continuing to stay at his family home rather than return to his old house. He takes off to New York City for a work assignment. While there, he goes to review a restaurant on the top of a very tall skyscraper. There, he has an anxiety attack—not only from the height, but also from the feeling of being very small and far away from everyone he loves. He calls his brother Charles for help and discovers that Edward has cornered Charles in the pantry. He has to call Muriel from the top of the building and ask her to go to his house to tame Edward.

The dog lessons continue and Edward shows improvement. Muriel increasingly shows her interest in Macon, which Macon tries to deflect. Muriel invites Macon to come to dinner with her and her 7-year-old son, Alexander , which Macon is unsure about, feeling that he is not ready to start another relationship. He drives to Muriel's house the night before the proposed dinner and tells her about the death of Ethan and his mixed feelings. Muriel comforts him and they end up sleeping together.

Macon starts to spend more and more time with Muriel, staying over at her house and becoming a surrogate father for the sickly Alexander. He enjoys settling into this new routine and the strange and foreign atmosphere of Muriel's working-class neighborhood. At the same time, he begins to notice more of Muriel's quirks that annoy him, such as her relentless talking and superficial interests. Macon's siblings start to become concerned that he is spending so much time away from them, wondering whether this new relationship is good for him. Macon finds out from Julian that he plans on proposing to Rose on Christmas.

Muriel and Macon's relationship progresses, with him meeting her parents and ingraining himself into her life more and more until he is practically spending all his time with her. Macon brings Muriel as his date to his sister Rose's wedding. There, he realizes the similarity between the flakiness of his mother, Alicia, and Muriel's own flightiness. Sarah is also at the wedding, and Macon is curious to learn if she has been dating anyone else. His concern with this makes him recognize his lingering feelings for his ex-wife.

In the following months, Muriel starts to pressure Macon to show more commitment to her. She requests to marry him in June, to which Macon replies that he's not ready, wanting to keep things more casual. She also begs to accompany him on his business trip to France, but Macon declines. Muriel suspects that Macon wants to leave her to go back to Sarah. Their two different attitudes to the relationship lead to the relationship's rupture, with Macon going back to live in his old house with Sarah. Macon and Sarah try to resume their former relationship, going on errands and seeing their friends together, but something has clearly changed between them.

When Macon is departing on his flight to Paris, he is startled to discover that Muriel is on the same plane. She has found out his travel information and has booked the same tickets, desperate to renew her connection with him. Macon allows her to follow him around to some degree in Paris, although he has committed to Sarah. One night, he hurts his back and is resigned to bed, unable to complete his assignments. Sarah shows up in Macon's hotel to take care of him while he is bedridden. She, of course, discovers Muriel's presence, and Macon must make a final choice between the two women. Considering how he has never been able to make his own choices in life, feeling always overwhelmed by the chaos of life around him, Macon chooses to leave behind the past and be with Muriel.

The Accidental Tourist Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Accidental Tourist is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Standing water in the road is compared to a wide lake.

A wide lake, it seemed, in the center of the highway crashed against the underside of the car and slammed it to the right.

How does Macon meet Muriel?

Macon meets Muriel when he hires her to train his dog.

How is Macon described in Chapter 1?

From the text:

He was a tall, pale, gray-eyed man, with straight fair hair cut close to his head, and his skin was that thin kind that easily burns.

Study Guide for The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist study guide contains a biography of Anne Tyler, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Accidental Tourist
• Character List

Essays for The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler.

• The Accidental Acceptance: Family and Modernity in 'The Accidental Tourist' and 'Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant'

Lesson Plan for The Accidental Tourist

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Accidental Tourist
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Accidental Tourist Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Accidental Tourist

• Introduction
• Plot summary

• CBSE Notes For Class 9
• Class 9 English Notes and Summary
• Supplementary Chapter 9 The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist Summary & Notes - CBSE Class 9 English Moments

According to the CBSE Syllabus 2023-24, this chapter has been removed from  NCERT Class 9 English (Moments) textbook .

Summary of The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist is a story which reflects the humorous travel experiences of the author. He encounters unexpected hassles while travelling that call for trouble and embarrasses him immensely. Read the prose summary of CBSE Class 9 English Prose Notes – The Accidental Tourist in CBSE English Notes Class 9 format here to explore in detail. We hope this summary will help students to understand this chapter easily and prepare for their English exam with confidence.

Students can also learn how to write an effective essay by going through the essays to increase marks in Class 9 English papers.

CBSE Class 9 English The Accidental Tourist Summary

The Accidental Tourist is an entertaining story written by Bill Bryson, where he reflects on his travel experiences humorously. He casually describes the various incidents that took place while he was travelling to different places. He often acts clumsily and finds it difficult to manage things systematically. He wonders how other people do their regular work easily without any difficulty. A couple of times, he fails to locate the washroom in the movie theatre and ends up standing in a narrow passage of the door that locks by itself. He has a hard time living a normal life like other people and wonders how others do it so effortlessly.

Once, the author was travelling to England with his family during Easter. After reaching Logan Airport in Boston, while they were checking in, he abruptly remembered that he had joined the British Airways’ frequent flyer programme. He recollected that he had put the card in the carry-on bag that was dangling around his neck. When he tried opening the bag, the zip was clogged, and he exerted pressure to open it. In the process, the zip snapped, and everything that was kept inside the bag started spilling all over the place. Meanwhile, the author also noticed that his finger was injured and trapped in the zip. He was terrified at the sight that his finger was bleeding extensively.

Further, the author mentions the unexpected troubles that he encounters while travelling. In one such instance, while travelling in an aeroplane, he leaned over to tie his shoelace. Unfortunately, he was stuck when the person sitting ahead of him fully reclined his seat. With great difficulty, he freed himself from that cramped position. In another instance, he spilt some soft drinks on his co-passenger. Although the flight attendant cleaned up the mess, the author spilt another drink on the same passenger again. The lady was completely drenched and annoyed at the author for the inconvenience he caused her.

However, his worst experience on a flight was when he was writing in a notebook, and he sucked on the tip of the pen. At that time, he was also talking to a lady. Later when he went to the washroom, he saw that the pen had leaked unknowingly and ended up colouring his teeth, tongue and mouth in blue colour ink. He ended up feeling awkward for being so clumsy. Although the author is a gentleman, he always ends up in some cumbersome situation. His wife was well aware of his clumsiness. So, whenever food was delivered on the flight, she would instruct her children to remove the lid off the food for their father so that they could avoid any mishap from happening.

Nonetheless, the author clarifies that such unforeseen situations occur, particularly when he is travelling with his family. Whenever he travels alone, things work perfectly as he quietly sits on his seat and avoids tying his shoelaces if required. He avoids making mistakes while he is travelling on his own. He admits that he has been careless in updating his frequent flyer card due to time constraints. On multiple occasions, he either forgot to request the air miles from the airline authorities, or sometimes the airline didn’t record it on time. Furthermore, he mentions that there were instances when the airline informed him that he was not entitled to use air miles. Once due to a mismatch in his name on the ticket, he could not use his air miles and was left ineligible to travel to Bali on a first-class ticket.

Conclusion of The Accidental Tourist

The chapter – The Accidental Tourist teaches students that it is important to be organised and systematic in our lives, especially while travelling. We should be well-prepared; otherwise, we are likely to encounter unexpected mishaps like the author. Here, we brought you the CBSE Class 9 English Moments Prose Summary of The Accidental Tourist that will help students to have a solid insight into the chapter.

Besides, BYJU’S offers a huge collection of resources such as CBSE Notes and CBSE study materials . They can download BYJU’S – The Learning App and also check out CBSE sample papers and question papers.

Frequently Asked Questions on CBSE Class 9 English The Accidental Tourist

Why is it important for a student to be organised in life.

For students, being organised is particularly important since it helps them learn how to prioritise activities, set and achieve goals and reduce stress.

How should one be conscious and aware during travel?

1. Don’t drink bottled water from unknown shops/people 2. Avoid the tourist trap locations 3. Travel in off-season 4. Choose proper accommodation

What is the meaning of ‘unforeseen situation’?

Any situation that is not anticipated or expected is called an ‘unforeseen situation’.

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Movie Reviews

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"Yes, that is my son," the man says, identifying the body in the intensive care unit. Grief threatens to break his face into pieces, and then something closes shut inside of him. He has always had a very controlled nature, fearful of emotion and revelation, but now a true ice age begins, and after a year his wife tells him she wants a divorce. It is because he cannot seem to feel anything.

"The Accidental Tourist" begins on that note of emotional sterility, and the whole movie is a journey toward a smile at the end.

The man's name is Macon Leary ( William Hurt ), and he writes travel books for people who detest traveling. He advises his readers on how to avoid human contact, where to find "American food" abroad and how to convince themselves they haven't left home. His own life is the same sort of journey, and maybe it began in childhood. His sister and two brothers still live together in the house where they were born, and any life outside of their routine would be unthinkable.

Macon's wife ( Kathleen Turner ) moves out, leaving him with the dog, Edward, who does like to travel and is deeply disturbed by the curious life his masters have provided for him. He barks at ghosts and snaps at strangers. It is time for Macon to make another one of his overseas research trips, so he takes the dog to be boarded at a kennel, and that's where he meets Muriel Pritchett ( Geena Davis ). Muriel has Macon's number from the moment he walks through the door. She can see he's a basket case, but she thinks she can help. She also thinks her young son needs a father.

Macon isn't so sure. He doesn't use the number she gives him. But later, when the dog trips him and he breaks his leg, he takes Edward back to the kennel, and this time he submits to a little obedience training of his own. He agrees to acknowledge that Muriel exists, and before long they are sort of living together (lust still exists in his body, but it lurks so far from the center of his feelings that sex hardly seems to cheer him up).

The peculiarity about these central passages in the film is that they are quite cheerful and sometimes even very funny, even though Macon himself is mired in a deep depression. Davis, as Muriel, brings an unforced wackiness to her role in scenes like the one where she belts out a song while she's doing the dishes. But she is not as simple as she sometimes seems, and when Macon gets carried away with a little sentimental generalizing about the future, she warns him, "Don't make promises to my son that you are not prepared to keep." There is also great good humor in the characters in Macon's family: brothers Porter ( David Ogden Stiers ) and Charles ( Ed Begley Jr.) and sister Rose ( Amy Wright ), a matriarch who feeds the family, presides over their incomprehensible card games and supervises such traditional activities as alphabetizing the groceries on the kitchen shelves. One evening Macon takes his publisher, Julien ( Bill Pullman ), home to dinner and Julien is struck with a thunderbolt of love for Rose. He eventually marries her, but a few weeks later Julien tells Macon that Rose has moved back home with the boys; she was concerned that they had abandoned regular meals and were eating only gorp.

This emergency triggers the movie's emotional turning point, which is subtle but unmistakable. Nobody knows Rose as well as Macon does, and so he gives Julien some very particular advice: "Call her up and tell her your business is going to pieces. Ask if she could just come in and get things organized. Get things under control. Put it that way.

Use those words. Get things under control, tell her." In context, this speech is hilarious. It is also the first time in the film that Macon has been able to extend himself to help anybody, and it starts him on the road to emotional growth. Clinging to the sterility and loneliness that has been his protection, he doesn't realize at first that he has turned the corner. He still doubts that he needs Muriel, and when she buys herself a ticket and follows him to Paris, he refuses to have anything to do with her. When his wife also turns up in Paris, there is a moment when he thinks they may be able to patch things together again, and then finally Macon arrives at the sort of moment he has been avoiding all of his life: He has to make a choice. But by then the choice is obvious; he has already made it, by peeking so briefly out of his shell.

The screenplay for "The Accidental Tourist," by Kasdan and Frank Galati , is able to reproduce a lot of the tone and dialogue of the Anne Tyler novel without ever simply being a movie version of a book. The textures are too specific and the humor is too quirky and well-timed to be borrowed. The filmmakers have reinvented the same story in their own terms. The movie is a reunion for Kasdan, Hurt and Turner, who all three launched their careers with " Body Heat " (1981). Kasdan used Hurt again in " The Big Chill " (1983) and understands how to employ Hurt's gift for somehow being likable at the same time he seems to be withdrawn.

What Hurt achieves here seems almost impossible: He is depressed, low-key and intensely private through most of the movie, and yet somehow he wins our sympathy. What Kasdan achieves is just as tricky; I've never seen a movie so sad in which there was so much genuine laughter. "The Accidental Tourist" is one of the best films of the year.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The Accidental Tourist (1989)

121 minutes

Kathleen Turner as Sarah

William Hurt as MacOn

Ed Begley Jr. as Charles

David Ogden Stiers as Porter

Geena Davis as Muriel

Amy Wright as Rose

Bill Pullman as Julian

Robert Gorman as Alexander

Bradley Mott as Mr. Loomis

Screenplay by

• Frank Galati
• John Williams

Photographed by

• John Bailey

Produced by

• Charles Okun
• Michael Grillo
• Carol Littleton

Based On The Novel by

Directed by.

• Lawrence Kasdan

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The Accidental Tourist

• An emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles.
• After the death of his son, Macon Leary, a travel writer, seems to be sleep walking through life. Macon's wife, seems to be having trouble too, and thinks it would be best if the two would just split up. After the break up, Macon meets a strange outgoing woman, who seems to bring him back down to earth. After starting a relationship with the outgoing woman, Macon's wife seems to think that their marriage is still worth a try. Macon is then forced to deal many decisions — Justin Sharp <[email protected]>
• After the murder of their young son, the marriage between Macon and his wife Sarah disintegrates, and she moves out. After a freak accident puts him on crutches, Macon goes to stay with his quirky siblings at the family home, where he meets the spirited Muriel, a dog trainer with a young son of her own, with whom he begins a friendship. When Sarah learns about this, she attempts a reconciliation and Macon is forced to make a decision. — Jwelch5742
• Macon Leary is the author of a travel book for people who want to travel with the minimum fuss and as little impact as possible on their lives. Arriving back from a working trip, his wife announces she can no longer deal with the fact that he is dealing with the death of their son the same way that he travels: with minimum impact. Macon subsequently meets the quirky Muriel, who it seems is just the opposite to Macon. — Murray Chapman <[email protected]>
• Macon Leary (William Hurt) is a Baltimore writer of travel guides for reluctant business travelers, which detail how best to avoid unpleasantness and difficulty. His marriage to his wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner) is disintegrating in the aftermath of the murder of their 12 year-old son, Ethan (Seth Granger). Sarah feels living with Macon she is losing the will to live and wants to reset her life. Sarah is also angry that Macon has no passion or loud emotions, he is very subdued. Sarah eventually leaves Macon, moving out of their house and into an apartment. Macon has a bad back that keeps resurfacing. Macon is pursued by Muriel Pritchet (Geena Davis), an animal hospital employee (Macon had met Muriel when he had to leave his dog with her at her hospital for care-taking, when he had to go away on a business trip. Macon was desperate as his regular animal shelter had refused to take in Edward due to his biting habit) and dog trainer with a sickly son Alexander Pritchett (Robert Hy Gorman) (Alexander is allergic to many many things and is almost always at the doctor's). Muriel is very chatty, while Macon is the quiet, reserved type. After he falls down the basement stairs and breaks his leg, Macon returns to his childhood home to stay with his eccentric siblings. Rose Leary (Amy Wright), Porter Leary (David Ogden Stiers) & Charles Leary (Ed Begley Jr.). Rose is super organized and has kind of like an OCD. Macon eventually hires Muriel to put his dog Edward through much-needed obedience training (as it was Edward which led to Macon falling down the basement stairs in his house. Plus Edwars also attacked Macon's employer Julian Edge (Bill Pullman) when he came to visit him at his sibling's house) (Julin also reminds Macon that he is running very late with his guidebook). Although Muriel at first seems brash and unsophisticated (she thinks Rose is Macon's ex-wife or something till he corrects her that Rose is his sister), Macon eventually finds himself opening up to her and trusting her (She is able to train Edward and befriend Macon in the process). Muriel had got married because she got pregnant, but then something went wrong during the pregnancy and Alexander was taken out by c section early. Muriel can never have kids again. Julian, meanwhile is attracted to Rose and joins the family for dinner to spend more time with her. One day Macon criticizes Rose's cooking (she had cooked the turkey at a wrong temperature), in front of Julian. Rose gets real upset and she thinks Macon wants her to take care of the boys forever and is thus trying to drive Julian away from her. Muriel continues to pursue Macon and invites him over for dinner at her place.. Macon is very resistant and tries to get out of it by saying something came up. But Muriel confronts Macon and he reveals that just last yr he lost his son in a holdup at an hamburger joint. Hence he is not ready to socialize yet, nor spend time with Alexander. Muriel quietly hugs Macon and wins him over. She takes him to her bed and they snuggle. Macon spends more and more time at Muriel's and gets more involved in their lives. eventually Macon moves in with Muriel Macon completes his book and delivers it to Julian. Julian tells Macon that he is going to propose to Rose. Porter talks to Macon and tries to warn him and say that Muriel is not good for him.. Macon wouldn't have any of it, and instead finds himself bonding with Alexander (taking him clothes shopping and saving him from school bullies). Macon wants to put Alexander into private school and this upsets Muriel as Macon is not sure if he is committed to her for the next 10 yrs or not.. Muriel tells Macon that he is not sure of what he wants and wants him to get himself sorted. Macon says he doesn't want to get married and this upsets Muriel even more. Rose gets married to Julian. Sarah is Rose's Matron of Honor. When Sarah's apartment lease is up, she moves back into their old home and suggests to Macon that they start over. Macon leaves Muriel, and he and Sarah set up house once more. Meanwhile Rose has moved back as she worried about her brothers without her to take care of them. Macon suggests Julian that Rose has OCD and he should give her some organizing job that she can immerse herself into. When Macon visits Paris for research, Muriel surprises him by showing up on the same flight and stays in the same Paris hotel, recommended by Macon in one of his travel guides. She suggests that they enjoy themselves as if they are vacationing together. Macon insists he is there strictly for business, and although he shows concern for how Alexander is doing, keeps Muriel at arm's length. During Macon's last night in Paris, Muriel asks to go with him, and despite an early flight she tells him he doesn't have to reply just now. Waking up in the middle of the night Macon decides to call Muriel but his telephone malfunctions. Macon gets up and while trying to fix the cord, hurts his back and becomes bedridden. Muriel knocks on his door waking him up but before he can decide what to do Muriel assumes he has gone already and leaves. Mustering the strength to go to the front desk, Macon phones Julian (and finds that Rose is now working for Julian and organized the entire office) to inform him of his back pain. Sarah comes to Paris (This was also organized by Rose), to care and make day-trips for him in order to complete his travel guide. Sarah proposes that after finishing the day trips if he is feeling better they can go sightseeing, reschedule the flight for a latter date and make the trip a second honeymoon to which Macon agrees. However, Sarah tells him that she has run into Muriel when she arrived and as such continues to question Macon about his attraction to Muriel, angering Macon. The next morning, Macon dresses while Sarah still sleeps, then wakes her to tell her that he is going back to Muriel. On his way to the airport, Macon spots Muriel hailing a taxi and tells the driver to stop. Thinking the driver stopped for her, Muriel bends to gather her luggage and catches sight of Macon in the taxi. She smiles, and Macon returns the smile.

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The Accidental Tourist Summary Class 9 English Moments

The Accidental Tourist Summary Class 9 English Moments is given below. By reading the detailed summary, CBSE Class 9 students will be able to understand the chapter easily. Once the students finished reading the summary they can easily answer any questions related to the chapter. Students can also refer to CBSE Class 9 English Summary notes – The Accidental Tourist for their revision during the exam.

CBSE Class 9 English The Accidental Tourist Summary

The Accidental Tourist Summary in both english and hindi is available here. This article starts with a discussion about the author and then explains the chapter in short and detailed fashion. Ultimately, the article ends with some difficult words and their meanings.

About the Author – Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She has published 22 novels. Her eleventh novel, Breathing Lessons, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988.

Short Summary of The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist is a humorous story in which the author reflects humorously his experiences as a traveller. It is a common opinion among the people that the world today is a small place because travel has become easy, but at the same time it also a fact that not everybody finds it easy to travel.

Summary in English

Here the author describes his lack of skill while travelling. He finds himself unable to manage things properly and wonders how other people do them without difficulty. A number of times he fails to find the washroom in a cinema-hall and ends up standing in an alley of the self-locking door. He also easily forgets the number of his room in a hotel. He feels that living in the real world is perhaps the most difficult thing.

Once on Easter the author went for a trip with his family. They were flying to England for a week. They were checking in at the Logan Airport in Boston. He remembered that he had joined British Airways’ frequent flyer programme and he had put the card in his carry-on bag. It hung around his neck.

The zip on the bag was jammed. He pulled at it with anger. His things like tin of pipe tobacco, magazines, passport, money, etc., spread over a large area. He looked at these things in great surprise. He cursed at his tobacco. He had injured his finger. There was a deep wound. He was confused. His wife looked at him in wonder.

The author was always confused in his air travels and caused confusion to others. Once he bent to tie his shoe lace, someone pushed his seat back, he got pinned to the floor and had to catch the leg of the man near him.

On another occasion he knocked soft drinks on the lap of a lady twice.

His worst experience was when he was writing his thoughts on a plane flight. He had his pen in his mouth. It leaked while he was talking to the lady in the next seat.

The author’s wife cautioned the children on the flight about the author. He would cut the meat but it would fly. But when he was alone he did not eat or drink.

The author did not get his flyers miles in that way as he couldn’t find his card in time. He must fly 1,00,000 miles a year. But he could only gather 212 air miles from twenty-three airlines.

This was because he forgot to ask for the air miles. Sometimes the airline didn’t record these. The airline clerk informed him he was not entitled to them.

In January he flew to Australia hoping to get about million miles. The airline clerk informed him he was not entitled to them. He asked the reason. The clerk said the ticket was in the name of B. Bryson and the card was in the name of W. Bryson. He explained that Bill and William were hardly different but she didn’t accept that. Thus, the author didn’t get his air miles.

Summary in Hindi

शुरुआत में, लेखक का दावा है कि वह वास्तविक दुनिया में रहने के लिए बहुत अच्छा नहीं है। वह कहता है कि उसे सबसे सरल चीजें करना मुश्किल लगता है जो दूसरे लोग आसानी से करते हैं। उदाहरण के लिए, जब भी वह किसी होटल में रुकता है, तो उसे कई बार होटल के डेस्क पर जाकर यह याद रखना पड़ता है कि उसका कमरा नंबर क्या है। वह सिनेमा हॉल में बहुत सारी मुश्किलों का पता लगाता है। उसका दावा है कि वह आसानी से भ्रमित है।

लेखक ईस्टर के दौरान हुई अपनी अंतिम पारिवारिक यात्रा की कहानी सुनाता है। वे एक सप्ताह के लिए बोस्टन से इंग्लैंड के लिए उड़ान भर रहे थे। बोस्टन में लोगान हवाई अड्डे पर, लेखक को याद आया कि उसने ब्रिटिश एयरवेज के अक्सर उड़ने वाले कार्यक्रम में दाखिला लिया था और वह कार्ड उस बैग में था जिसे वह अपनी गर्दन के चारों ओर ले जा रहा था। यह उसकी परेशानियों की शुरुआत थी।

बैग का ज़िप अटक गया था; लेखक ने इसे और कठिन से कठिन तब तक खींचा जब तक कि बैग का किनारा खुल नहीं गया और इसकी सामग्री फर्श पर बिखरी हुई थी। इनमें लगभग सौ पन्नों के दस्तावेज, उनका पासपोर्ट, अंग्रेजी पैसा, फिल्म और पाइप तंबाकू का 14-औंस टिन शामिल था। वह इस सोच से भयभीत था कि इंग्लैंड में तंबाकू कितना महंगा होगा। फिर उसने देखा कि उसने जिप पर अपनी उंगली काट ली थी और अब उसे काफी खून बह रहा था। सामान्य रूप से रक्तस्राव के साथ असहज होने के कारण, उन्हें लगा कि हिस्टीरिकल होना उचित है क्योंकि यह उनका रक्त था जो बहा रहा था। वह कहता है कि यहां तक ​​कि उसके बाल इतने भ्रमित और असहाय हो गए थे कि वह दहशत में चला गया। इस बिंदु पर, उनकी पत्नी ने शुद्ध आश्चर्य से उनकी ओर देखा: उन्हें यह विश्वास करना कठिन लगा कि उन्होंने जीवन बनाने के लिए यात्रा की थी।

लेखक का कहना है कि जब वह यात्रा करता है तो इस तरह के हादसे अक्सर होते हैं। वह एक हवाई जहाज पर एक घटना को याद करता है, जहां वह ठीक समय पर अपने फावड़े को बांधने के लिए झुका था कि सामने बैठे व्यक्ति ने अपनी सीट को फिर से दबाया था – लेखक दुर्घटना की स्थिति में फंस गया था और केवल पैर के पंजे में खुद को मुक्त करने में कामयाब रहा था यात्री उसके पास बैठा।

वह कहता है कि एक अन्य उड़ान में, उसने अपने बगल में बैठी एक महिला की गोद में एक शीतल पेय गिराया। जब फ्लाइट अटेंडेंट ने उसे दूसरा ड्रिंक सौंपा, तो उसने उसे महिला पर भी थूक दिया। वह कहता है कि उसे अभी भी समझ नहीं आया कि यह कैसे हुआ। उन्हें याद है कि उनके हाथ ने नियंत्रण से बाहर काम किया था – 1950 के दशक की एक डरावनी फिल्म में एक सस्ते prdp की तरह।

लेखक तब अपनी यात्रा के सबसे खराब अनुभव बताता है। एक उड़ान में, लेखक महत्वपूर्ण विचारों को लिख रहा था, और ऐसा करते समय, वह अनुपस्थित-मन से अपनी कलम के अंत में चूस रहा था। फिर उन्होंने लगभग बीस मिनट तक एक आकर्षक युवती के साथ बात की, जिसके बाद उसने टॉयलेट के लिए अपना रास्ता बनाया। वहाँ उसने देखा कि उसकी कलम लीक हो गई थी और उसके मुँह, ठुड्डी, जीभ, दाँत और मसूड़े गहरे नीले रंग के हो गए थे और कई दिनों तक ऐसे ही रहेंगे।

लेखक कबूल करता है कि पॉलिश और परिष्कृत होना उसका सपना है। सिर्फ एक बार के लिए, वह इस पर सब कुछ परेशान किए बिना डिनर टेबल से उठने में सक्षम होना चाहता है; खुद को कार में बैठने के दौरान अपने कोट को ठीक से मोड़ो और दरवाजे को बंद न करें जबकि आधा बाहर हो; और आइसक्रीम, मोटर तेल आदि जैसी चीजों के साथ इसे बिना दागे हल्के रंग का पतलून पहनें। वह कहता है कि अब जब वह अपने परिवार के साथ विमानों पर यात्रा करता है, तो उसकी पत्नी बच्चों से भोजन के बक्से से ढक्कन हटाने के लिए कहती है और उन्हें चेतावनी देती है कि कब वह मांस के टुकड़े काटता है। जब वह अकेले उड़ता है, तो वह न तो खाता है और न ही पीता है। वह बस स्थिर और शांत बैठता है, कभी-कभी अपने हाथों पर उन्हें नियंत्रण से बाहर जाने और दुर्घटनाओं का कारण बनने से रोकता है। उनके अनुसार, यह विधि, उनके कपड़ों को साफ रखने में बहुत प्रभावी है।

भले ही वह एक साल में 100,000 मील की दूरी पर उड़ता है, लेकिन लेखक को कभी भी उड़ता हुआ मील नहीं मिलता है। उसे यह काफी निराशाजनक लगता है, खासकर जब वह लोगों को प्रथम श्रेणी में बाली की तरह विदेशी स्थानों पर उड़ते हुए देखता है, जो अपने फ्लायर मील के लिए धन्यवाद। इसका कारण यह है कि जब वह जाँच करता है तो वह ज्यादातर इसके लिए पूछना भूल जाता है; और जब वह ऐसा करता है, तब भी एयरलाइंस इसे रिकॉर्ड करने में विफल रहती है।

उसे अक्सर यह भी बताया जाता है कि वह किसी भी फ्लायर मील का हकदार नहीं है। उदाहरण के लिए, ऑस्ट्रेलिया के लिए उड़ान पर, वह लगातार उड़ता मील की एक बड़ी संख्या हासिल करने की उम्मीद की थी। अपनी निराशा के लिए, क्लर्क ने उसे बताया कि चूंकि कार्ड एक डब्ल्यू। ब्रायसन के नाम पर है और टिकट बी। ब्रायसन के नाम पर था, इसलिए वह कोई भी मील हासिल करने का हकदार नहीं था। उन्होंने यह समझाने की कोशिश की कि विलियम और बिल का बहुत करीबी रिश्ता है, क्योंकि वे एक ही व्यक्ति हैं, लेकिन क्लर्क ने उन्हें खारिज कर दिया।

लेखक को इस तथ्य से इस्तीफा दे दिया जाता है कि शायद वह जल्द ही बाली से उड़ान नहीं भरेगा; लेकिन इस विचार में सांत्वना पाता है कि वह बिना भोजन के इतनी लंबी उड़ान से बच नहीं सकता था।

The Accidental Tourist

56 pages • 1 hour read

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Chapter 9 Summary

Macon recalls his grandfather’s descent into dementia. He dreams about his grandfather warning him about losing the center of his life. Macon initially thinks Grandfather Leary is referring to Ethan, but Grandfather clarifies that he’s referring to Sarah . Macon realizes that Grandfather’s mind began to go once Grandmother Leary died. 

Macon gets his cast removed and then promptly must leave for New York to begin his next guide. He takes the train, following his routines with his choice of clothing and reading material. He feels isolated from everyone else at the station, noticing that most people are traveling with others, and even the people traveling alone seem to be meeting someone at their destination. 

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The Accidental Tourist Short Summary in English Class 11

Back to: Tamil Nadu Class 11 English Guide & Notes

Table of Contents

Introduction

“The Accidental tourist” by Bill Bryson is a humorous story about the frustation of an explorer, and the ways he encounters chaos in his everyday life. The writer appears to be optimistic and humorous, who does not mind in highlighting his foolishness. His patience is also highlighted in this story as he doesn’t become intemperate (showing lack of self-control) after loosing the opportunity to visit Bali after the refusal of the airline.

Not a Good Living

The author begins by admitting that he is not very good at living in the real world. He describes his trouble and struggle in performing the easiest tasks, which other people seem to accomplish with great ease.

He visits the hotel desk multiple times to assure his room number whenever he stays at a hotel. Besides finding difficulties while staying in a hotel, he also finds trouble in locating lavatories at cinema halls. He admits that he is a confused minded personality.

Trip to England

He continues to narrate one of his stories about his family trip on Easter that they were travelling to England for a week and were checking in at the Logan Airport in Boston. He realised that he had joined British Airways’ flyer programme and the card was in the bag which he was carrying around his neck. It was the beginning of his difficulties.

He describes that the zip of the bag got stuck and the author had no other option left with him so he pulled at it harder. Suddenly the side of the bag flew open and the material kept inside it was scattered all over the floor. It consisted of his passport, a hundred pages of documents, English money, film and a 14-ounce tin of pipe Tobacco.

He was tensed on the thought of his tobacco that how expensive it would be in England. He then discovers a cut in his finger after he tried hard to open the zip of his bag. Because of his own confusion, the people around him also got confuse. Once he bent to tie his shoe lace and someone pushed his seat back. He got pinned to the floor and caught the leg of the man near him.

His Other Bad Experiences

Another instance of his bad experience was on an occasion, when he knocked soft drinks on the lap of a lady not once but twice.

His worst experience was on the day, when he was travelling on a plane flight and talking to a lady, sitting in the next seat. He had his pen in his mouth as he was writing his thoughts, and unfortunately the pen leaked resulting him getting embarrassed once again.

The author did not get his flyers miles because he lost his card on time. He must fly 1,00,000 miles a year but he could only gather 212 miles from twenty-three airlines. The reason behind all these confusions was because of his forgetfulness of asking for the air miles. Sometimes ,the airline did not record these and the airline clerk informed him that he was not entitled to them.

When he hoped to flew to Australia to get about million miles, the airline clerk informed him that he was not entitled to them, because the ticket was in the name of B. Bryson while the card was in the name of W. Bryson. Even after explaining that Bill and William are hardly different, the clerk did not accept that.

At the end, the author did not get his air miles

The Accidental Tourist Questions and Answers Class 11

The Accidental Tourist Summary Class 9 English

CBSE Class 9 English Notes students can refer to the prose summary of The Accidental Tourist Summary Class 9 English https://www.cbselabs.com/the-accidental-tourist-summary/ Pdf here. They can also access the CBSE Class 9 The Accidental Tourist Summary English Prose Notes while gearing up for their Board exams.

The Accidental Tourist Summary In English

The Accidental Tourist Summary English Class 9

Author’s forgetfulness The author finds that living in the real world is the most outstanding. Other people do things without any difficulty. But it is not so for him. A number of times he could not find the lavatory in a cinema. He also forgot his room number in a hotel.

Author makes mess at airport Once the author went on a big trip with his family. It was Easter. They were flying to England for a week. They were checking in Logan Airport in Boston. He remembered then that he had recently joined British Airways’ frequent flyer programme. He also remembered that he had put the card in his carry-on bag. It hung around his neck.

Contents of author’s bag out The zip on the bag was jammed. He got angry. He pulled at it in anger. The zip gave way. His things Jike the tin of pipe tobacco, magazines, passport, money etc, spread over a large area. He looked at these things in great surprise. He cried at his tobacco. He had got his finger injured. Blood was coming from it. There was a deep wound. He was greatly confused. His wife looked at him in wonder.

The Accidental Tourist Class 9 Summary English

Author pinned to the floor The author was always confused in his air travels. He caused great inconveniences to other passengers. Once he bent over to tie his shoelace. Then someone pushed his seat back. He got pinned on the floor. He had to catch the leg of the man near him.

The author knocks a soft drink on a lady On another occasion he knocked soft drinks on to the lap of a lady two times. The lady looked at him in surprise. She uttered an oath with ‘Oh’. This was not his worst experience.

When pen leaked while flying His worst experience was another. On a plane flight he was writing his thoughts. He had his pen in his mouth. It leaked while he was talking to a lady next seat. He went to the toilet. He saw that his mouth, chin, tongue, teeth and gums had got navy blue.

The Accidental Tourist Class 9 Summary In Hindi

How he flew The author’s wife cautioned the children on plane flights about the author. He would cut the meat. But it would fly. But when alone, he did not eat or drink. He would sit quietly. This would cut his laundry bills.

Why he couldn’t gather miles The author did not get his flyer miles in that way. He couldn’t find the card in time. He knew that others were flying first class to Bali with their air miles. But he couldn’t collect anything. He must fly 100,000 miles a year. But he had hardly gathered only about 212 air miles from twenty-three airlines.

This was because he forgot to ask for the air miles. Sometimes the airline didn’t record these. The airline clerk informed him that he was not entitled to them.

The Accidental Tourist Summary In Hindi Class 9

Reason for not gathering miles In January he flew to Australia. He hoped to get about a zillion air miles. But the clerk told him that he was not entitled. He asked the reason. The clerk told that the ticket was in the name of B. Bryson. But the card was in the name of W. Bryson. He explained that both Bill and William were hardly different. But she didn’t accept that.

Result of not gathering miles Thus, the author didn’t get his air miles. He won’t fly to Bali first class. He could never go that long without eating.

The Accidental Tourist Summary In Hindi

Summary Of The Accidental Tourist English Class 9

लेखक का भुलक्कड़पन लेखक पाता है कि वास्तविक संसार में जीवित रहना काफी विशिष्ट है। दूसरे व्यक्ति बिना किसी कठिनाई के कार्य कर लेते हैं। परन्तु वह ऐसा नहीं कर सकता। कई बार वह सिनेमाघर में शौचालय नहीं पा सका। एक होटल में वह अपने कमरे का नम्बर भी भूल गया।

लेखक द्वारा ऐयरपोर्ट में गड़बड़ी उत्पन्न करना एक बार लेखक अपने परिवार के साथ बड़े दौरे पर गया। ईस्टर का अवसर था। वे एक सप्ताह के लिए इंग्लैण्ड़ जा रहे थे। वे बोस्टन में लोगन हवाई अड्डे में प्रविष्ट हो रहे थे। उसे उस समय ध्यान आया कि वह तभी-तभी ब्रिटिश ऐयरवेज के बार-बार उड्ने के प्रोग्राम में सम्मिलित हुआ था। उसे यह भी याद आया कि उसने कार्ड को अपने बैग में रख दिया था। यह उसकी गर्दन के चारों तरफ लटका हुआ था।

लेखक के बैग का सामान बाहर बैग की जिप जाम हो गई थी। वह गुस्सा हुआ। उसने इसे गुस्से में खींचा। जिप खुल गई। उसकी चीजें जैसे पाईप तम्बाकू का टिन, मैगजीन, पासपोर्ट, धन आदि काफी दूर तक बिखर गई थीं। उसने इन चीजों को अत्यधिक आश्चर्य से देखा। वह अपने तम्बाकू पर चिल्लाया। उसकी उंगली घायल हो गई थी। उससे खून बह रहा था। घाव गहरा था। वह काफी परेशान था। उसकी पत्नी ने उस पर आश्चर्य से देखा।

Summary Of Accidental Tourist English Class 9

लेखक का फर्श पर लगना लेखक हमेशा हवाई यात्राओं में परेशान हो जाता था। वह दूसरे यात्रियों के लिये भारी परेशानियाँ उत्पन्न कर देता था। एक बार वह जूते के फीते बांधने के लिये नीचे झुका। तब किसी ने अपनी सीट पीछे धकेली। वह फर्श पर लग गया। उसे अपने समीप एक व्यक्ति की टांग पकड़नी पड़ी।

लेखक का एक महिला पर डिंक बिखेरना एक दूसरे अवसर पर उसने एक महिला की झोली में दो बार ड्रिक बिखेर दी। महिला ने उस पर आचर्य से देखा। उसने ‘ओह’ कह कर एक कसम ली। यह उसका बुरे से बुरा अनुभव नहीं था।

जब उड़ान के समय पैन लीक कर गया। उसका बुरे से बुरा अनुभव दूसरा था। वायुयान की उड़ान में वह अपने विचार लिख रहा था। उसके मुँह में उसका पैन था। यह लीक कर गया जब वह अगली सीट पर बैठी महिला से बातें करने लग गया। वह शौचालय गया। उसने देखा कि उसका मुँह, ठोड़ी, जीभ, दाँत और मसूढे नेवी के नीले रंग जैसे हो गये थे।

Accidental Tourist Summary Class 9

वह कैसे उड़ा लेखक की पत्नी लेखक के बारे में उड़ानों के दौरान बच्चों को सावधान कर देती थी। वह मांस काटता था। परन्तु यह उड़ जाता था। परन्तु जब वह अकेला होता था तो वह न खाता न पीता था। वह चुपचाप बैठता था। इससे उसके कपड़े धोने के बिल कम हो जाते थे।

वह उड़ान मीलों को इकट्ठा क्यों नहीं कर सका। उस अवस्था में लेखक को उड़ान मीलें प्राप्त नहीं हो सकीं। उसे समय पर कार्ड नहीं मिल सका। वह जानता था कि दूसरे अपने हवाई मीलों के साथ बाली तक प्रथम श्रेणी उड़ान भर रहे थे। परन्तु उसे कुछ भी नहीं मिला। उसे एक वर्ष में 100,000 मील उड़ना चाहिए। परन्तु उसे कठिनाई से 23 ऐयरलाईनों से 212 हवाई मील ही प्राप्त हुए।

यह इसलिये था कि वह हवाई मीलों के लिये पूछना भूल गया था। कभी-कभी ऐयरलाईन ने इन्हें लिखा भी नहीं था। ऐयरलाईन क्लर्क ने उसे बताया कि वह उनके लिये योग्य भी नहीं था।

The Accidental Tourist Class 9 In Hindi

मील इकट्ठा न होने का कारण जनवरी में वह आस्ट्रेलिया तक उड़ा। उसे खरब से ज्यादा हवाई मील प्राप्त होने की आशा थी। परन्तु क्लर्क ने उसे बताया कि वह इसके लिये अधिकृत नहीं था। उसने कारण पूछा। क्लर्क ने बताया कि टिकट बी. ब्रायसन के नाम में था। परन्तु कार्ड डब्ल्यू. ब्रायसन के नाम में था। उसने बताया कि बिल और विलियम एक ही थे। परन्तु उसने इसे स्वीकारा नहीं।

मील इकट्ठा न होने का परिणाम इस प्रकार लेखक को हवाई मील प्राप्त नहीं हुए। वह प्रथम श्रेणी बाली नहीं उड़ सकेगा। वह इतनी लम्बी हवाई यात्रा बिना खाये कभी भी नहीं कर सकता था।

The Accidental Tourist By Bill Bryson – Summary, Setting, Title and Questions and Answers

Table of Contents

The Accidental Tourist By Bill Bryson

INTRODUCTION

This is a story written by Bill Bryson about his adventures on planes. During these flights, he has had a number of negative incidents. He recounts all of these events, and we learn how he fails to enjoy his air flights and, despite being a frequent traveller, is unable to obtain an air card due to his negligence. Traveling has never been simple for him, he claims.

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The Accidental Tourist is a realistic fiction novel created in the United States. The book is unlike other works of American literature that aim to depict the moral landscape of postwar America. Anne Tyler, on the other hand, captures the moments that influence people’s lives. Tyler tells the story of a person’s struggle to cope with ordinary emotions. Her fiction isn’t historical, and she doesn’t try to blend modern society into it. Her writing style and subject matter are both straightforward but intelligent. Her story appeals to men since it includes a male protagonist who is fighting with his emotions. The Accidental Tourist is a subtle comedy and a love tale, but the focus is on personal emotional growth and healing as a result of bereavement. Tyler hopes to remind her readers of the goodness in regular people in her upbeat tale.

The title suggests that the story is about an accidental tourist who finds himself in uncomfortable or embarrassing situations while on tourist. When reading the text, one discovers that the tourist, Bill Bryson, travels regularly yet always ends up in an accident. He does not learn from his errors and continues to make the same errors. He forgets to put his frequent flyer card where it belongs, spills drinks while reaching for one, leaves a large portion of his coat outside while closing the car door, smudges his light-colored trousers several times without realising it, and many other seemingly insignificant things cannot be handled by him without making a mess. The title “The Accidental Tourist” is suitable since it’s entertaining to see Bryson get into accidents all the time at a time when travel is so accessible that it’s made the world seem small.

Value Points

✒️ The most difficult task for the narrator is surviving in the actual world. In a cinema, he was unable to locate the restroom and even forgot his room number.

✒️ He knew his card was in his carry-on bag, slung around his neck, at Logan Airport in Boston.

✒️ He yanked the bag’s zip in frustration when it became stuck. However, it eventually gave way, and the contents of the bag were scattered across a vast region.

✒️ The narrator found air travel to be quite perplexing. Someone pushed him from behind as he stooped over to tie his shoelace, pinning him to the ground.

✒️ Because the ticket was issued in the name of B. Bryson, he was not eligible for frequent flyer miles. W. Bryson’s name, however, appeared on the card.

✒️ The narrator was denied a first-class flight to Bali.

Bill Bryson travelled frequently by plane. His plane travels often leave him feeling anxious. In this lesson, the author discusses some of his travel-related experiences. He claims that he once travelled to England with his family. He was carrying a carry-on bag.

The difficulty began at the airport when the check-in personnel requested that he unzip the suitcase. He attempted to open the bag’s zipper but was unsuccessful. He tugged harder, and the rope broke. The contents of the bag fell out in a fluttering cascade. The newspaper clippings, various documents, pipe tobacco tin, magazines, passport, and coins were scattered over an area roughly the size of a tennis court.

Then he shares another event he has had. He claims that he once bent over to tie his shoelace on an aeroplane. Just as someone in front of him reclined his seat to its furthest extent, he found himself caught helplessly in the crash position. He was only able to extricate himself by tearing at the leg of the man seated next to him.

On a separate occasion, he spilled a soft drink into a lady’s lap. He repeatedly engaged in this mischief. However, this was hardly his worst flight experience. According to him, his worst encounter occurred during an aeroplane ride. He claims to have been writing in a notebook. he struck up a discussion with the lovely young lady seated next to him. He was sucking on the end of his pen. When he went to the restroom after approximately 20 minutes, he noticed that the pen had leaked, and his mouth, chin, tongue, teeth, and gums were suddenly navy blue and would remain thus for several days.

Despite his frequent flying, he never received an air card. Ile claims that he used to fly 100,000 miles a year but was unable to obtain an air card due to his negligence or other factors.

Setting and Structure

Like many of Anne Tyler’s works, The Accidental Tourist is set in Baltimore and focuses on ordinary persons and the events that define them. Anne Tyler takes the reader on a tour through pre-1985 Baltimore, while presenting the human struggle to endure life’s unavoidable realities, including family, death, and love. Twenty chapters make up The Accidental Tourist. The progression of storyline and themes mirrors the phases of mourning, which are denial, suffering, idealisation, and transference.

In the first five chapters of the work, Macon and the incidents that have led to his current mental state are introduced to the reader. His unstable upbringing with a flighty mother and “stodgy” brothers and sister, as well as his marriage to Sarah and the death of their son, Ethan, have all led to his existence as an orderly, emotionally contained man. Edward’s misbehaviour affects Macon’s life of inactivity once he breaks his leg and relocates to his grandfather’s house, despite the fact that he is satisfied with being completely cut off from the outside world. When Muriel begins to train Edward, Macon is compelled to dig under the surface of a different way of life as Muriel shares her own experiences to him. Macon begins to change, and his family begins to view him with suspicion. However, Muriel and Julian, his boss, accept his personal changes, and Macon himself eventually accepts them as well. Despite briefly returning to his spouse and home, he ultimately realises his improved personal power and vows to pursue his new life with Muriel. Macon’s ultimate decision in Paris is not simple, but it is conclusive indication that he has completed the emotional healing process.

Questions and Answers of Accidental Tourist

Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow in one or two lines.

I) The zip on the bag was jammed. So I pulled on it and yanked at it, with grunts and frowns and increasing consternation. I kept this up for some minutes but it wouldn’t budge, so I pulled harder and harder.

1.Which bag is being referred to in this extract? Ans: When Bryson and his family arrived at Logan Airport in Boston on their way to Europe, he had a carry-on bag slung around his neck. This is the bag that is being referred to in this context. 2. What had happened to the zip on the bag? Ans: The zip of the bag had become stuck, and despite Bryson’s best attempts, it was not possible to unzip the bag. 3. Why did Bryson want to open the bag? Ans: Bryson wanted to open the bag to take out his frequent flyer card and avail its benefits. 4. What happened when Bryson pull harder and harder at the zip? Ans: When Bryson pulled harder and harder at the zip, the bag gave way abruptly and its entire contents spilt over, creating a mess. Very Short Answer Type Questions I. Who was Bill Bryson? Ans. Bill Bryson was a frequent air traveller. 2. How did Bill Bryson find himself during his air travels? Ans. He found himself always uneasy during his air travels. 3. Where was Bill going when the zip of his carry bag broke? Ans. At that time he was going to England. 4. What happened when the zip of the bag gave way? Ans. Everything within the hag-newspaper cuttings, other loose papers, tin pipe tobacco, magazines, passport. English money-ejected on the road. 5. What happened to Bill’s finger? Ans. Bill gashed his finger on the zip and blood was shedding in a lavish manner. 6. Why did Bill lean over in the plane? Ans. He leaned over in the plane to tie a shoelace. 7. What did Bill do to the lady travelling with him on one of his plane journeys? Ans. He knocked a soft drink over the lap of the lady twice. 8. What happened when Bill’s pen leaked? Ans. His mouth, Chin, tongue. teeth and gums were now a striking scrub-resistant navy blue. 9. Who was the accidental tourist? Ans. Bill Bryson was the accidental tourist. 10. What type of person was Bill Bryson? Ans. He was a confused person. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS Q.1. What does Bill Bryson tell us about his habit of getting confused? Ans. Bill Bryson states that he is easily puzzled by the activities that others find enjoyable. He claims he cannot remember the details for long. He continually fails to remember them. When he is staying at a hotel, he must visit the front desk twice or thrice to inquire about his room number, as he describes. Q.2. What happened at London Airport when the author was going to England on a long journey with family? Ans. When the author was embarking on a lengthy journey to England, he encountered problems at the London Airport. His business card was in the carry-on luggage. When he attempted to unzip it, he was unsuccessful due to a jammed zipper. When he tugged it vigorously, it snapped and all of the contents of the bag fell to the ground. Q.3. Narrate briefly the incident of spilling a soft drink on to a co-passenger in a plane by the author. Ans. During one of his travels, the author spilled drink on the lap of the lovely lady seated next to him. The flight attendant attended to her cleanliness. The attendant handed him a replacement drink, which he once again spilled on the woman. The woman regarded him with a stupefied gaze. Q.4. What two reasons does Bill Bryson give for the absence of air miles cards with the hint? Ans. He claims to be a regular flyer. He must fly one million miles annually. However, he lacks additional air miles cards. Because he forgets to request air miles while purchasing a ticket. And occasionally, the air-station clerk provides an explanation for the unavailability of air miles cards. Q. 5. What is the ‘most outstanding thing’ that the writer, Bill Bryson, thinks he is not good at? What does this reveal about Bryon’s traits? Ans: The author Bill Bryson believes that living in the actual world is the “most outstanding thing” he is not good at. This demonstrates that he is so preoccupied with his own ideas that he fails to behave normally and causes accidents. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS Q.1.How would you describe Bill Bryson as an accidental tourist? Give two instances from the test. Ans. Bill Bryson was such a tourist who remained almost all the year round on an aeroplane. Many accidents take place with him. So he is called an accidental tourist. The two incidents from the text are mentioned below.

Bill Bryson was a tourist who spent nearly the entire year on an aeroplane. He is involved in numerous accidents. Therefore, he is termed an accidental tourist. The two events from the text are listed below.

i) When his carry-on bag’s zipper breaks, all of his belongings spill out. The newspaper clippings and other items tumble downward in a fluttering manner. The coins are tossed around randomly. The tobacco tin without a lid ejects its contents in a frantic manner. About the size of a tennis court, these creatures are dispersed across this area.

(ii) During one of his trips, the author spilled soda on the lap of a lovely woman sitting next to him. She was cleaned up by the flight attendant. The attendant handed him a new drink, and he once again threw it at the woman. The woman regarded him with an expression of astonishment. Q. 2. Bring out the humour in the story “The Accidental Tourist”. Ans: “The Accidental Tourist” is a humorous story of the various mishaps brought on by a confused and clumsy individual. The author who narrates the incidents, Bill Bryson, discusses his experiences in a humorous manner. In describing how he disorganised the contents of his carry-on luggage while searching for his frequent flyer miles card, he refers to the contents as “a hundred meticulously organised paperwork.” When he cuts his finger on the zipper and sees his own blood, he justifies his hysteria. The fact that he is pinning himself in a crash posture while tying his shoelaces is yet another humorous occurrence. When he thoughtfully sucked on the end of his pen, he turned his mouth, chin, tongue, teeth, and gums navy blue. He resembled a clown due to his ink-stained mouth. In addition, the ‘essential ideas’ he describes were simply reminders to purchase socks and carefully hold drinks. The tongue-in-cheek tone of the anecdote is enhanced by his wife’s request that his children open food containers for him. His inability to receive frequent flyer points because the name on the card did not match the name on the ticket is yet another humorous incident. His explanation for not travelling to Bali, namely that he cannot go so long without food, is really humorous.

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The Accidental Tourist Summary Class 9 English Explanation

Summary of the accidental tourist class 9 english moments with hindi summary.

"The Accidental Tourist" is a lesson written by Bill Bryson. The narrator says that he is bad at almost everything in the world. He narrates an incident that happened at an airport. While looking for the privilege card in his carry-on bag, its zip gets stuck, he ends up ripping it open and drops its contents (including his valued tobacco tin) on the floor. When he sees the blood on his finger, he becomes hysterical.

The Story is written by  Bill Bryson .

The Accidental Tourist Summary

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