Defining Travel

            Pico Iyer delves into the reasons in which a person travels in his insightful yet passionate article, Why we travel.  He claims people travel for reasons far more complicated than one may think, traveling to explore ourselves, to learn about other cultures, and to step out of our comfort zones. Although Iyer writes meticulously when describing his love of travel, he incorporates many logical fallacies.  Throughout the article, Iyer can be found contradicting himself, forming incorrect assumptions about the places he travels too, and writing to inspire a certain demographic that fits only his specific definition of a traveler.            

            When Iyer travels he attempts to immerse himself in the culture of the people in which he is visiting. He has come to learn that he is an object of scrutiny “as much as the people [he] scrutinizes” (Why we travel, 3).  He contradicts himself because he claims he blends in and immerses himself into other cultures but then he points out that he stands out in the crowd, causing the natives to wonder about his exotic background just as equally as he wonders about theirs.  He also contradicts himself because he neglects to bring up the issue of race and the fact that at many travel destinations it is physically impossible for one to blend in due to their skin color. Although he contradicts himself at times, Iyer writes consistently about his love for traveling even if it is to a movie or “even a visit to the candy store” (Why we travel, 4). He never mentions anything negative about the act of traveling and constantly encourages readers to find themselves on their next travel experience.

            Throughout the article, Iyer writes in a way that seems bias towards an American point of view, assuming that all other cultures wish to learn about ‘the all great American’. For example, he brings Michael Jordan posters to Kyoto without questioning the fact that people living in Kyoto may not have an interest in decorating their homes with pictures of great American athletes. He could have brought more useful items like medicine or educational books in his suitcase. On a similar note, Iyer arrogantly assumes that the people in foreign countries associate him with President Bill Clinton or the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. He makes a cultural assumption when thinking that he is their “only contact with the world outside” (Why we Travel, 2). He is not considering the idea that the people that he visits may have access to technology like cell phones, Internet, television, or newspapers that can connect them to the outside world. In addition, he forms the assumption that all nations and countries welcome him into their lives with open arms. He describes his experience of visiting North Korea and makes the North Koreans sound ignorant when explaining that “they simply assume that you, as they do, receive orders every morning from the Central Committee” (Why we travel, 1) but he neglected to consider that they may be educated on how Americans live.

            Lastly, Iyer writes to inspire a specific type of demographic rather than a broad audience. He writes to favor people that aspire to travel, people with a high enough income to travel, and those who think America is the supreme culture. However, he writes in a way that causes a person of any background to want to experience the joy he feels when traveling. All people have emotions and Iyer certainly touches upon the love emotion when discussing the art of travel. Although, a person living in a third world country would not be able to relate as well to Iyer’s writing because they may not have the money to travel and they may not appreciate all of Iyer’s cultural assumptions and logical fallacies relating to travel.