English 015 - Americans Abroad
Hovering
Hovering
Category: 06B: The Sheltering Sky | Meaghan Tanguay
Besides that fact that Mohammed walks in on the Lyles in bed together after Mr. Lyle claims they are son and mother, which is the creepiest moment in the book, the Lyles always travel with a cloud of creepiness stagnating over their heads.
It begins when Port first meets Eric Lyle and Eric goes off into a tangent about his life and all the things he has done, on page 59. Port is uneasy. He doesn’t know what to believe. Port has more than a suspicion feeling that Eric is lying.
Latter on Port is suspicious again when Eric is describing his “mother”. Eric laughs, “I’ve packed her off to bed, but she won’t sleep she won’t sleep until I get in. We always have communication rooms, of course, so that unfortunately she knows just when I go to bed. Isn’t married life wonderful?” (p60) Port is shocked and does know what to make of his comment.
Perhaps the totality of their creepiness is that the Lyles are always an ominous presence hovering close behind Port, Kit, and Tunner no matter where they go in Africa. In the town of Ain Krorfa to Ports surprise he runs into the Lyles again. Port cannot believe it, asking Eric, “What are you doing here?” (p117) Then “Port hurried upstairs to Kit and imparted the latest bad news” (p.118). Port cannot get rid of them; despite both Kits and Ports effort to make it perfectly obvious they don’t want the Lyles around.
Posted by on November 06, 2003 at 11:27 AM