what is the theme of the accidental tourist
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Answer:
Explanation:Before The Accidental Tourist has even begun, Macon and Sarah Leary have lost their son in a tragic and senseless way. This loss has directly led to their own relationship also disintegrating. Throughout the book, we see how the couple separately deals with their grief. For Macon, it is a particularly difficult struggle. Instead of trying to confront his pain head-on, he suppresses it with his many strange "systems" of organization that he implements, reflecting this resistance to fully dealing with his own emotions. Among all of the Leary siblings, there is this common reluctance to acknowledge the reality of death and loss. Macon is frustrated by the way no one has uttered Ethan's name since he was killed; it is not until his niece Susan speaks about Ethan that it occurs to Macon that others also mourn his son.
As the book progresses, Macon somewhat comes to terms with Ethan's death, realizing that the only way to truly heal from grief is not to forget Ethan but rather to imagine him as still alive through memory, co-existing in a parallel realm. Yet Macon's ultimate choice at the end of the book—to leave Sarah for Muriel Pritchett—also demonstrates that part of him wants to start anew and cast his old life with Ethan and Sarah into the past, in order to protect himself from more potential loss and have some sense of control over his destiny.