Travel Writing and Identity in Tristram ShandySay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Laurence Sterne uses unconventional structure and nonlinearity to disorient his readers. Sterne projects himself through the lens of Tristram Shandy and conveys his “conversation” with readers through parody and satire. True to his disorienting style, Sterne disrupts the patterns that defined the narrative in the first six volumes and changes direction significantly in one long digression; volume seven, which is an ironic attempt at travel writing. The seventh volume details Tristram's "Escape from Death" as he ventures across Europe, including his small digressions, such as the story of the two lovers, Amandus and Amanda. Tristram makes allusions to fictional stories by going to the locations of their events, such as the Lovers' Tomb, only to sadly realize that the location does not exist. His attempt to situate himself as a traveler in a literary context proves to be a humorous failure, as does his broader failure to situate his identity in the novel. The story of Amandus and Amanda's tragic but joyous relationship translates into Sterne's recurring theme of dualities. Sterne seems to advocate sensuality for its own sake, projecting the idea that joy and sorrow are the two sides of every man. Tristram Shandy's inclusion of the lovers' sentimental tale acts as a commentary on the dry and empty nature of the travel writing genre. Shandy's character lacks depth throughout the novel as her narrative offers little personal reflection and mocking the travel genre helps situate the character within her own narrative. Volume seven begins with a halting shift in the narrative; Tristram, while in the middle of telling the story of Uncle Toby's romance, shifts the scene away from the Shandy household in order to detail his own travels across the continent. Like Tristram, he consciously informs the reader that he will adopt the voice of a travel writer and provide a detailed account of his journey. Instead, it deviates from its preconceived focus and mocks the genre from every possible angle. Tristram introduces his adventure with the following: "Now I find it very false that a man cannot pass quietly through a town and leave it alone, when it does not interfere with him, but he must turn back and draw his pen at each kennel he passes through, simply by my conscience, for the pleasure of drawing it” (Sterne 387). Upon his arrival in Calais, Tristram parodies all the conventions of travel writing. He wonders if the sights he sees are worth describing, then illustrates Calais in a way that makes it look like any other place. He is more interested in people, even fictional ones, than in places, and boasts that "by grasping every handful, whatever its size or shape, whatever chance was offered to me on this journey, I transformed my plain into a city...I was always in company" (Sterne 430). He writes repeatedly about the innkeeper's daughter, Janatone, as a more enduring and influential figure than any what a historical monument; he values ​​it more because of its transitory humanity He writes: “…that everyone can measure them at leisure – but whoever measures you, Janatone, must do it now – you carry the principles of change within your framework. » (Sterne 394) begins to focus more on the physical movement of age and time, perhaps because he feels that death is upon him, but also because.that it is a recurring element of his anxiety throughout the text. Tristram's measurement of time reflects his non-linear narrative, they coincide with each other; this proves problematic for the development of the plot, but reinforces the idea that Tristram has difficulty asserting his "humanity" in the novel. The language and its means of conveying it become noticeably more mechanical as Tristram becomes more aware of its lack of placement in the plot. He claims that “talking about my book like a machine” helps him get “the most credit? ". Volume seven travels through two separate travelogues: one of Tristram as a young boy and one of Tristram in middle age, recording his recent travels. He provides a disorienting explanation after realizing that the plots were intertwined: "...I advanced together in two different journeys, and with the same stroke of the pen, for I came completely out of Auxerre in this journey. that I am writing now, and I am halfway to Auxerre in what I will write later” (Sterne 413). The exposition seems deliberately unnecessary, but it is only characteristic of Tristram's digressive-progressive nature. The author is still separated from these two sons: he is no longer in France, but has returned to his office to record these fairly recent adventures. Tristram is fascinated by this strange phenomenon by which experienced repetitions can create a duplication in memory. His allusion to travel writing is ironic in more than one way; he imitates the genre to deliberately go against its conventions when it comes to his actual travels, as well as his own physical situation in the novel. He attempts to fit himself geographically into the plot to compensate for the lack of identity that readers perceive in his character. Aside from the great tragedies that have occurred in his life, young Tristram Shandy is only a minor character alongside Uncle Toby or Walter Shandy. Just as the title suggests, the novel is essentially a factual document, riddled with mental constructs and thought processes supported by Tristram himself. Tristram's intense focus on fictional stories and characters connects his character to the emotions he seeks throughout the novel. . It offers countless references to short and seemingly insignificant subplots, usually introducing characters who are never subsequently mentioned. The story of the two lovers, however, turns out to be different, because in chapter 31, Tristram promises to go to the legendary tomb to “shed tears over it”. The story essentially details the forbidden love between Amandus and Amanda, lovers separated by their families and who, once reunited, drop dead from overwhelming joy. Interestingly, Tristram considers this story far more valuable than the “antiquities” revered by travelers. Immediately after the story, Tristram states that "there is a sensitive zone in the life of every gentle mortal where such a story brings more pabulum to the brain than all the Frusts, Scabs and Rusts of Antiquity, than travelers can concoct for" (Sterne 418). Keep in mind: This is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay. Tristram views history as more nourishing than the “roughnesses, crusts and rusts” that travel writers “cook”. up'; he takes an idealistic stance on the lovers' story, perhaps illuminating in him an emotional depth that was previously absent. Much to his annoyance, he arrives at the tomb, only to discover that it does not exist. There is ambiguity around Tristram's intentions in venturing into the tomb, similar to the.