The Tale of the Unknown Island - 1609 Words

A Critical Analysis of ‘The Tale of the Unknown Island’ by Josà © Saramago. | EN4903 | By Mr Drew Eaglesham | A Critical Analysis of ‘The Tale of the Unknown Island’ by Josà © Saramago. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Kirkus in 2010 called this story ‘a mischievous and thoughtful satire on ruling elites and bold dreamers, cast in the form of revisionist fairy-tale.’ This review could easily be applied to another story of Saramago’s, ‘Centaur’, and beautifully sums up the style of the author. ‘The Tale of the Unknown Island’ by the Nobel Prize winning Portuguese author Josà © Saramago was first published in the original Portuguese in 1997 and later in English in 1999. Set in†¦show more content†¦These examples show both the author’s and the protagonist’s challenge to the order of things and the complete belief the character has. The best example of this is on line eight when the king says that he ‘shall not give you the boat’ the man replies ‘with calm assurance’ ‘you will’. ------------------------------------------------- If the conflict between the man and the order encompasses the first half of the story, then the second half tells of love and the relationship between the man and the cleaning lady. It begins on page three line thirty-one ‘she had just then decided to follow the man’ it shows that the belief of the man and his success in claiming the boat from the king had stirred the woman into following him. The story builds on their relationship on page six line ten as the woman starts to think of the man in a very homely way having cleaned the boat while the man was gone looking for a crew she worries about the provisions on board the boat as the man ‘will turn up saying he’s hungry, which is what all men say the minute they get home’ appropriately describing the boat as their home. The problem with the love developing in the story is the man’s inability to see that all he needs he has in front of him. We can see a metaphor for this on page four line three ‘this is indeed how destiny tends to behave. It is right behind us, it has already stretched out its hand to touch us on the shoulder’. Only on page seven we can start to see aShow MoreRelatedThe Odyssey And The Hitchhikers Guide To The Odyssey992 Words   |  4 PagesOdysseus and Arthur Dent, described by Homer and Douglas Adams, both possess heroic characteristics and display these as they venture though their worlds. The two characters face similar challenges, and while they handle their quests differently, the tales are similar in the way that they follow the steps of The Hero’s Journey. Both The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Odyssey follow the hero’s journey trope, including the ordinary world, crossing the threshold and trials. 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