There are many things a man does not see here in Mexico any more, one of the major ones being happiness. This is a sad poor nation, sick and tired of being sick and tired, fed up. Captain Fellows though subject to poverty and sickness, is concerned by none of this. Unlike most he is a joyful man he does not complain about what he doesn't have, instead he is glad for what he does have, not showing any contempt. As he is chugging down the river in his small ratty canoes he sings loudly making it up as he goes, singing of good things, happily singing.
Captain Fellows is joyous despite all reasons he may have to be cross; he is poor, lives in a bungalow on the banks of a river, his face is marred and sunburned. He does not take anything for granted anything that he has; he gets along with nature like they are one together. The world is his playground, he is always at home no matter where he is at. Life had seemed to treat him well, the only place he'd be happier at would be in France even though he is living in a poverty stricken country living on a banana plantation.
This has brought up an aspect of the story that I had not thought about before. I like how you make the distinction between the way the people of Mexico as a whole feel and the way captain Fellows feels about life and their current circumstances.
ReplyDeleteYou have done a thorough job describing Captain Fellow's personality, and in doing so, brought up something interesting. The book always describes him as being a happy man, even though he lives in a poverty-stricken land that clearly has governmental problems. I pose the question: Is Captain Fellows happy despite living there, or is he happy because he lives there? Just food for thought.
ReplyDeleteJoel - I like your description that Capt Fellows is 'joyous.' However, it's important to note that he is a foreigner (American) and is actually thriving financially in an otherwise poverty-stricken area. He lives on the plantation he either owns/runs for the Central American Banana Co.
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