The Accidental Tourist

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1985

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-20

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Chapters 5-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary

Macon is resigned to wearing a cast that consumes his entire leg. He has moved in with Rose and his brothers, Porter and Charles, for the time being, unable to care for himself in this state. Rose has always cared for others. Porter and Charles are divorced and living with her full-time. Rose is supported by their incomes while she maintains the house for them. It’s morning, and Rose helps Macon to the bathroom. The family sits down for breakfast and discusses what to do about Edward, who is waking Rose multiple times a night to use the restroom. Porter asks why Macon has Edward, to which Macon replies that Edward was Ethan’s.

Macon studies a portrait his grandfather commissioned of them as kids and recalls his upbringing. His mother would jump wildly and enthusiastically between interests and between men. When she married an engineer, she sent the children off to live with their grandparents in Baltimore, where they stayed. Macon notices his mouth in the portrait reminds him of Ethan’s.

After Porter and Charles have gone to work, Macon tells Rose that he enjoys how disconnected he feels from everyone else at her house. He laments that eventually, Julian or Sarah will figure out he’s no longer at the house and track him down. Rose suggests they don’t answer the phone in that case. Macon finds he enjoys thinking about Sarah regretting her decision to leave, imagining her visiting the house, unable to find him.

As Macon spends more time with Rose, he notices her own organizational idiosyncrasies regarding laundry and food preparation. One afternoon, one of Macon’s neighbors, Garner, stops by. Garner delivers Macon’s mail; he is relieved to know Macon is alive and informs Macon that Muriel dropped by. Garner tells Macon that he’s a difficult and hard-to-read person, citing Macon’s willingness to mow his own lawn and give away Ethan’s bike so soon after Ethan’s death. Garner suggests Macon try to let Sarah know that he cares.

At dinner, Porter ponders over his custody agreement, wishing he could do something with his kids besides going out to eat. After dinner, Rose does the dishes, unwilling to let anyone help because she has a system. Then, the siblings play a convoluted card game they made up as children. Macon catches a glimpse of the portrait again and fears that he’ll always be “The same as ever” (78).

Chapter 6 Summary

It’s early October, and Macon is disturbed by the sound of someone being accosted by a dog outside. He hobbles to the door to see Edward, who Macon thought was on a walk with Porter, pinning Julian to a tree. Macon tames Edward and invites Julian in. Julian is surprised to learn about Macon’s leg and his separation from Sarah.

Rose and Charles return from grocery shopping and greet Julian. Porter returns and curses at Edward, who lost him on the walk and spent the rest of his time out looking for him. Macon fetches the remaining pages of his draft for Julian. While Julian reviews it, Macon recalls his first meeting with Julian. Macon had written a dreary and critical piece about visiting a crafts fair for his local press. Julian thought the style and tone were perfect for a travel guide designed for people who don’t want to travel and reached out to propose the idea to Macon. Julian tells Macon that the draft is fine and that he wants Macon to begin writing on American cities again soon.

As Macon walks Julian out, Edward becomes riled up and bites Macon on the hand. Macon shows the bite to his siblings, who suggest he get rid of Edward. Macon recalls watching Ethan and Edward bond and play. It would pain him too much to get rid of Edward. He tells his siblings about Muriel and agrees to call her. Several days go by. Edward becomes more destructive and unruly, and finally, Rose pressures Macon into calling Muriel.

On the phone, Muriel is thrilled to have heard from Macon. She tells him about how she stopped by, her errand-running company, and all the ways she can train a dog. Macon asks her to come train Edward. Muriel tells him that he’ll be paying the friend price for the sessions. Macon is confused that she sees him as a friend, feeling like he’s losing control of the situation. At dinner, Macon’s brothers are surprised he actually called her.

Chapter 7 Summary

When Muriel arrives for Edward’s first lesson, she spends much of the time talking about her personal life, past jobs, hair color, and desire to travel. Edward takes to her guidance quickly, which frustrates Macon. Muriel asks about Rose, and Macon clarifies that Rose is his sister, not his wife. For the rest of the day, Macon and Edward practice the sit command. Macon’s siblings all join in to reinforce the behavior.

The next morning, Muriel teaches Edward to walk on a leash while rambling about her school days. Muriel instructs Macon to continue to practice with Edward. Macon practices walking Edward for the rest of the day despite the difficulties his broken leg adds, hobbling along on his crutches and trying to reinforce the training. Macon worries that his leg may be healing improperly and imagines Sarah driving by to inquire about his injury. As he and Edward walk, Macon observes the neighbors in their houses and on their porches. Macon realizes how mundane his own life is and how it mirrors the neighbors. That night, Macon dreams of Muriel coming onto him.

The next day, Muriel tells Macon about her ex-husband’s dog. The dog disliked Muriel so much that he ran off to her ex’s mother’s house at every opportunity until her ex-husband’s mother decided to keep him. Muriel tries to teach Edward to lie down, but Edward is particularly stubborn about this command. Muriel tells Macon to keep working with Edward on this one and that they’ll skip the next day. The next day, Macon tries to call Muriel about Edward, but the vet office tells Macon that she’s not working that day because her son is sick. Macon is surprised she has a son.

Rose takes Macon to drop off the rest of his work at Julian’s office. Julian wants Macon to stay and drink. Macon declines. Julian asks if Macon will ever invite him over for dinner. Macon says that his family doesn’t socialize much. Julian wants to walk Macon out, but Macon refuses.

The next day, Muriel returns. Macon asks how her son is. Muriel becomes defensive, upset that Macon knows about her son. Edward becomes angry at Muriel’s tone and lunges for her, but Muriel yanks the leash, holding Edward up by it. Edward begins to choke. Macon demands Muriel let him go. He angrily tells Muriel not to come again. Muriel leaves, warning Macon that Edward will intimidate the neighbors, bite people, and cause lawsuits. She insinuates that Macon likes it that way.

Chapter 8 Summary

Macon continues to work with Edward, making progress with walking and sitting, but not with lying down. Macon will have his cast removed soon, but his family has not asked him about moving out. He fantasizes about being in a full-body cast where people won’t necessarily know if he’s “in there” or not.

Julian drops off papers for Macon’s next book on New York. Macon locks Edward in the pantry. Julian is disappointed to learn he missed dinner, but Rose invites him to stay for coffee, to Macon’s displeasure. The phone rings, and, despite making a habit of not answering, Macon answers because Julian is watching. It’s Sarah, and she wants to meet up with Macon for dinner to talk. Meanwhile, Rose occupies Julian with conversation.

Macon meets Sarah at the Old Bay restaurant. He arrives before her, and when she shows up, she gives him just a light hug. Sarah asks about his leg and his hand. As they converse, Macon remembers little things about Sarah that he misses and loves. Sarah agrees with Macon about firing Muriel because of her treatment of Edward, commenting, “He always did have a sensitivity to change” (128) and mentioning that the dog needs routine.

Macon confesses that he’s had a terrible time living without Sarah. He surprises himself by asking for her to come back and proposing they try for a baby again. Sarah shuts him down. She argues that Macon and his family are set in their habits, weirdly close, and off-putting to others. She doesn’t want to start over on the same life she’s already lived. Sarah has had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that there are purely evil people in the world who would shoot a twelve-year-old in the head. She confesses she’s considered whether she wants to keep living.

Sarah cites Macon’s behavior after Ethan’s death as a reason for distancing herself. Macon quickly got rid of things that served no purpose and couldn’t understand why the neighbors didn’t want to take Ethan’s old belongings. Sarah tells Macon that she’s having an attorney send him papers and leaves emotional.

Macon hobbles out of the restaurant, lost in his thoughts. He’d hoped he’d be going home with Sarah but now must call a cab.

Chapters 5-8 Analysis

Chapters 5-8 shift the setting from Macon’s empty home to Rose, Charles, and Porter’s full one, a change that allows the reader to get to know Macon’s siblings and their idiosyncrasies. As the chapters unfold, it becomes clear how much Rose, Charles, and Porter’s habits mirror Macon’s. Rose alphabetizes every grocery with the help of Charles and Porter. They eat baked potatoes religiously. They follow a daily routine that seldom changes. They allow the phone to ring without answering it. In the evenings, they play a card game that only the four of them understand the rules to. The illustration of these habits shows the common thread between the four Leary children and contrasts the family against the rest of the world.

These chapters also expand on Edward’s personality and draw parallels between Edward and Macon, shown through the steady decline in Edward’s behavior that leads to Macon finally calling Muriel. What starts as Edward simply waking Rose multiple times a night to go out progresses into Edward biting Macon’s hand, pinning Julian against a tree, and destroying the screen door. In Chapter 8, Sarah comments on Edward’s behavior, saying, “What he wants [...] is a sense of routine. That’s all he needs: reassurance” (129). She also expresses that Edward is sensitive to change. These comments can be applied just as easily to Macon as they are to Edward, creating a parallel between the two characters. As shown in the first four chapters, Macon enjoys routines. Once he’s established a routine or system, it is difficult to break him out of it, like when Sarah tries to get Macon to pull over in the rain. Muriel also points out the parallel between Macon and Edward when she angrily leaves the Learys’ house. When Macon tells her to leave, Muriel seems frustrated with Macon’s stubbornness. She suggests that Macon would be fine with a dog “that bites all [his] friends” and “hates the whole world” (117). She calls Edward an “evil, nasty, angry dog” (117). This anger comes from Muriel after many attempts to get to know Macon. Her frustration at being thrown out is not simply because she feels Macon is not allowing her to train Edward but also because Macon does not allow her to know him. The words she uses to describe Edward represent how she feels about Macon in this moment.

Muriel is not the only person unsuccessfully trying to get Macon to let her in. Macon’s interactions with Julian and Garner also show Macon’s inability to let others into his life. Garner tells Macon that he’s “been sort of frustrating” (72) and describes how Macon reacted after Ethan’s death. Garner says the neighbors wanted to attend the service for Ethan and offer condolences, but Macon never held a service. Garner says that the neighbors were “all dying to [mow the lawn] for you” (73), but Macon did it himself. Garner goes on to say that even the way Macon “lope[s] on down the street with [his] head running clear in front of [his] body” makes it difficult for people to approach him. Julian is less forward in his approach but still finds it challenging to penetrate Macon’s walls. When Macon delivers the final pieces of his London travel guide to Julian’s office, Julian makes repeated failed attempts to bond with Macon. Julian asks to autograph Macon’s cast, but Macon says he prefers it white. Julian asks Macon to stay for a drink, but Macon refuses. Finally, Julian asks, “Couldn’t you just once invite me to a family dinner?” (114), showing his desperation to connect with Macon. Even then, Macon rebuffs this request. These patterns between Macon and the people in his life reveal Macon’s resistance to friendship and tendency to isolate himself from those around him.