James Georgalakis's Short Story 'The Tourist'

The Tourist
In this age, it has almost become custom for young adults to take a gap year between high school and college or after getting their degree. The 12 months serve as a much-needed breather, where you can prepare yourself both mentally and economically for a new stage in your life – whether it is going to college or becoming a part of the workforce. For many people, this involves travelling – especially countries of the Third World are popular destinations. The purpose of these trips is typically to achieve some sort of self-realization: Many people believe that by travelling the world, they will discover a new side of themselves. Will staying in a foreign country actually reveal a completely new part of your personality? Or is it just

Instead of introducing the reader to a completely sympathetic character, Ron is both critical and a hypocrite: While he at one hand criticizes the western tourists in his hometown for visiting poor, third world countries just to feel better about themselves, he does the exact same on his own travels. Instead of trying to make a change in a world filled with inequality, the less fortunate countries are exploited for amusement. While we might be interested in them as long as it concerns their interesting history and beautiful scenery, as soon as we are faced with serious and dehumanizing issues in the country that need fixing, we run home to our own comfortable lives – exactly as Ron does after being confronted with real desperation due to social inequality. Ron is clearly unable to see his own privilege; instead of making the most of his life, he floats around aimlessly. Furthermore, Georgalakis is critical of the idea that travelling will make you a better person. While travelling and seeing countries and cultures much different from your own can certainly be a positive experience, not one of those things will help you change your life: The only one responsible for doing that is