Commentary: Maiden Voyage

« as the author says 'stable doors', and the outside of it is really emphasized with the description of this landscape which is also apparently hot as hell since the narrator is claiming that 'the soles of my shoes began to burn and I looked round vainly for some shady place', and accentuates the difference between the two different cultures, the European one et the Chinese one.

However, even though this place is described as being dangerous and not really safe, it's still looking peaceful and beautiful, ' I enjoyed the dreamlike stillness and wanted to stay out for as long as possible', in fact we can conclude that the narrator is just enjoying the freedom of being able to do finally whatever he wants. The city is not far away from where the narrator is, he can see the walls of it  which are beyond the sea, 'the city walls stood up like cliffs' 'turrets and bastions and ruined cottages, crumbling into the sea'.

The simile that is used to describe the walls is here to really show that the walls are really imposing and enormous.   In this extract, we are aware of the presence of only three characters; the narrator, which is in fact the author as a young boy,  Mr.

Butler and Mr.

Roote.

Mr.

Butler, by siggesting, 'I don't think', and giving advice, 'you ought', but not commanding, makes the reader feel that he is respected and place him in the position of a tutor or and an old trusted servant.

The narrator is logically then under the responsibility of Mr.

Butler and Mr.

Roote, but doesn't respect the advices which are given to him, he seems to be a spoiled young boy which doesn't like the presence of any kind of authority and prefers the loneliness, he says 'I hated to be dependent on other people. They would never want to do what I wanted to do.' It's this way of being that made him break the rules, even though he knew he was doing something wrong.

We can see this as he says 'I let myself quickly out of the back hate and walked along the sandy lane', with the use of the word 'quickly' which shows that he's doing it furtively because he doesn't want to be caught.   By 'escaping' from this villa, the narrator is now in a position of danger since he was told that 'foreigners are not very popular here', which directly creates an element of conflict.

But he feels that he has to do it because this villa is like a prison to him, indeed he feel 'imprisoned', so the only way to enjoy his stay is to go outside even though he has to break some rules.

As he stepped outside, the whole action has changed, it feels like. »