A Disillusioned Traveller : A Close Reading of Graham Greene s The Lawless Roads

Abstract

This thesis is an analysis of Graham Greene s The Lawless Roads. The aim of the analysis is through close-reading the text to acquire a better understanding of the multi-faceted protagonist in The Lawless Roads. With the use of recent travel literature theories Greene the traveller is examined in order to acquire a better understanding of his experiences, thoughts and ideas throughout the journey, and to explain why he acts, feels and thinks as he does. The thesis relates the book to Graham Greene as a writer and as a person, and consider the time and political climate within which the text was written. The Lawless Roads is examined as a piece of travel literature and the analysis is focused accordingly. The Lawless Roads portrays a sedentary traveller who suffers from cultural anxiety in a country alien to him. He compensates for his sense of estrangement and lack of understanding by adjusting his perception of the surroundings, not by changing himself.