Literary map of Desert Solitaire

Running head: LITERARY MAPS
Literary Maps
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Literary map of Nova Express.........................................................................................................2
Literary map of Desert Solitaire......................................................................................................3
Literary map of The Color Purple...................................................................................................5
Literary map of Mao II....................................................................................................................6
Literary map of Fight Club..............................................................................................................8
Literary map of The Lone Ranger and the Tonto Fistfight in Heaven............................................9
References:....................................................................................................................................11

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Literary map of Nova Express
The book of “Nova Express” was written by William Burough (2013) who tried to
comment on the increasing control of the machines on the human lives of the society. The
characters who are explained in the book, such as that of the Sammy, the Butcher, the Brown
Artist, Iron Claws and Green Tony, among a host of others, are considered to be viruses. They
are seen to have invaded the human and taken control over the way they function and
communicate with each other. They have been termed as the Criminals of Nova and they
essentially represent the culture and the government around us in the society.
In this respect, it needs to be noted that the author, tried to show how the culture around
us has given rise to more control of the government and the machines. The human society is
essentially made up of customs and norms which guide the individuals in their daily living. They
dictate the kind of food they should eat, the dress which are considered to be appropriate and the
religion they should worship. All of these structure the living standard of the people who ascribe
to such societal values. However, one of the draw backs associated with such cultural norms and
traditions is that it has a preponderant control over the lives of the people. It is this very culture
which has given rise to a particular kind of government. The extent of authoritarian control of the
government and the various governing bodies is highly dependent on the kind of culture in which
is has been established. For instance, if the people of that particular society accepts the
dominating role of the government, then they would be satisfied with a more authoritarian form
of government. However, if the culture of the people allows them to enjoy more freedom in teir
personal sphere of activity, ten such cultures would give rise to a more democratic form of
government.

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One of the peculiar instances which was provided in this novel is that of the police order.
The author reiterated the fact that it was the primary responsibility of the police to arrest the
addicted junkies, the dissidents, the homosexuals and the criminals. In the event that such
criminals ceased to exist from the society, then the police would also cease to survive as their
very survival is dependent on the fact on how many criminals they are able to apprehend in a
day.
In this regard, it can be seen that the main theme of the “Nova Express” was that of
control exhibited by the very aspect of culture. The culture of any society is developed by the
activities of the individuals themselves. However, once such culture is established, it, in turn,
exhibits a significant control over the lives of the people, dictating to them the kind of life they
should lead and how it should be led. Thus, the novel is significant to understand the importance
of culture as centered in the society.
Literary map of Desert Solitaire
Edward Abbey (1990), an American writer, published Desert Solitaire as an
autobiography in the year 1968. The book is a travel account of Abbey as he goes exploring in
the Colorado Plateau area situated in the desert of Southwestern United States of America. He
describes the flora or the plant life he sees around him, the animal life and the individual
inhabitants in the place before the advent of tourism or industrialization.
The significance of the novel lies in the fact that the author, had chosen a desert
environment in order to talk about the flora and fauna. Any living organism needs nutrients,
sunlight, water and air to survive. However, from amongst these, the nutrients and water are hard
to come by in a desert. Deserts are hot or cold dry areas, surrounded by nothing apart from sand

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and rocks. This makes it quite difficult for the living organisms to survive in a desert
environment. As a result, the unique feature of any desert flora or fauna lies in their survival rate.
Their tenacity to survive in an inhabitable place makes them resistant to many harsh climates and
environments. They are considered to be fit to survive than the animals and the plants which are
found in other areas of the Earth.
However, the author has noted in his novel the difference that exists between such flora
and fauna to survive in the desert and the attempts of the living individuals to change the natural
surroundings to suit their needs. For instance, the desert plants and animals try to adapt to their
natural surroundings. The stems and leaves of the plants undergo modifications which would
help them to retain the water that they derive from the surface of the Earth. Moreover, the leaves
modify so that there is considerably less transpiration that takes place. Even with regards to the
animals who are more similar to the human individuals, have found a way to survive in the
desert. However, the author, has noted that the people who live in the deserts attempt to change
the landscape of the surrounding area which would guarantee their survival. For example, they
create artificial oasis in order to derive water from the surface of the Earth. This severely
challenges the balance of the environment, leading to damages in the climate and in the lives of
the flora and fauna.
One of the most noted factor which has led to severe impact on the desert atmosphere is
that of industrialization as a result of growing tourism level. Instead of maintaining the natural
environment of the desert, attempts have been made by the private organizations around the
world to capitalize on the desert landscape by converting them in to tourist places. As a result,
heavy construction has started in such areas which has led to the increase in the number of

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building and human beings. The number of the natural flora and fauna has been disturbed as a
result of this, leading to the change in the original desert landscape.
Literary map of The Color Purple
Many books and articles have been written and is still being written on the issue of
gender discrimination. A distinction has always been made between the two genders of the
society based on their biological differences. The novel titled “The Color Purple” was written by
Alice Walker in the year 1982 and it focuses on the lives of the women having an African-
American origin. Their hardships have been mentioned in this book in order to make the people
of the society aware about the various difficulties that arises not only as a result of gender
discrimination but also as a result of racial discrimination.
In the book, one of the most noteworthy character is that of Celie (Walker, 2011). The
character of Celie is found to be sexually exploited by her own father and verbally abused by her
own mother. This childhood trauma of Celie made her make a couple of bad decisions which
included instigating a man to physically assault his own wife. In this respect, it needs to be noted
that the author has stressed on the childhood trauma of Celie. She had grown up in an
environment where she was only abused, either physically or emotionally. She had never known
about any love. The on;y person Celie actually cared about was her sister Nettie who was
assumed to be dead later in the book. Even when Celie was married to another man, known as
the Mister, her misery did not change.
As a result, when she saw the son of Mister, Harpo, treating his wife with considerable
respect, she became jealous. She was not aware of the fact that even women deserved equal
respect from their male counter parts. She was surprised by the defiance shown by Harpo’s wife

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to his orders. Again, the author reiterates that Celie had never once in her life, defied the orders
of any man. Even when her own father has assaulted her or her husband continued with the
assaults, she had not thought about running away. She bore them their children and stayed in that
atmosphere, resigning herself to the fact that this probably is the way that every women in the
society lives.
The novel has holistically captured the realities of the human society. In the twentieth
century itself, in an advanced and liberal country like that of the United States of America,
gender discrimination was present in a glaring manner. While women around the world were
fighting for their political and social rights, many women in the rural areas were still being
subjected to bouts of gender discrimination like that of Celie. By describing the personal journey
of Celie, the author has been able to explain the manner in which such forms of gender
discrimination takes place. For instance, it is correct to assume that the primary reason for the
misery of Celie was her own parents and later, her husband. However, it is also equally
important to note that Celie herself had never taken any measure to free herself from such
situation.
Literary map of Mao II
Mao II was written by Don DeLillo in the year 1991. This book has tried to show case to
the audience the relationship that exists between terrorism and forms of art. The plot of the book
revolves around a novelist named Bill Gray who finds it impossible to complete his novel
(DeLillo, 2018). His assistant, Scott is desirous of the fact that the novel may never get published
as this would create an image of another ‘Bill’ who is different from the real one. However, in
his attempt to complete his novel. Bill decides to travel to Lebanon through Beirut in search of a
writer prisoner who would aid him in completing the novel.

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The major theme explored in this novel is how terrorism has inspired the spread of art.
Although, the author takes a critical understanding of the field of art, he is keen to explore the
sphere of terrorism. The terrorist activities involve the spread of misery and despair among the
common masses. Their lives are destroyed and their properties are in shambles. Furthermore, the
issue of terrorism has also been seen in the light of ‘crowds’. Whenever people gather together in
a particular place, it is known as a crowd. This aspect of crowd has been described in the book in
various forms such as when thousands of people gathered in the Yankee Stadium to witness a
mass wedding and when thousands of onlookers gathered to mourn the passing away of
Ayatollah. This feature of crowd is significant to understand because it is for these people that
the political situation arises.
The main objective of any individual, terrorist or terrorist outfit is to bring about a change
in the political and social situation of a country so that their own personal motives may be
achieved. They are under the delusion that with the aid of violent activities such as bombings and
killing of innocent people, they would be able to work for the greater welfare of the people. The
government of the other hand, is concerned with the maintenance of the livelihood of the people
and their properties. The government is the legitimate authoritative figure of any country and it is
has able to acquire its place in the community as a result of its acceptance by the common
masses. Such acceptance is not available in the case of the terrorist outfits.
As a consequence, the novel tries to enunciate how the different works of art try to
expose the terrors of terrorism. The attempt by Bill Gray to write a novel based on the accounts
of a writer who was in prison show cases his desire to get an accurate picture of the society. He
wanted to know the truth himself as much as he wanted his readers to know the truth. Thus, in
spite of him getting infected on his way to Beirut, he had no regrets as such.

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Literary map of Fight Club
Fight Club is a novel written by Chuck Palahniuk in the year 1996. The book traces the
life of an insomniac who remains unidentified till later in the novel. He develops his insomnia as
a result of his frequent travels and stress from his work (Palahnuik, 2005). When he tried to
approach a doctor regarding the severity of his problem, the doctor advised him to visit a support
group of testicular cancer patients. The primary objective of the doctor was to introduce the
narrator to the real world problems and how people try to make adjustments in spite of having
fatal diseases. In the support group, he met a woman named Marla who herself was an addict. In
the course of the novel, they become involved with one another and the narrator is finally able to
reach a conclusive ending with regards to his insomnia
In the novel, the character of the narrator assumes significant importance. The main
purpose of the writer was to talk about the aspect of dual personality or bipolar personality
disorder. The psychological angle to the novel imparted it a favoring taste for the readers. The
insomnia which was experienced by the narrator led him to develop an alternate personality for
himself by the name of Tyler Durden. The character of Tyler and the narrator together formed
the Fight Club where people were inspired to take out their frustration and fight each other.
However, several rules and regulations were imposed is that the fights would be played in a fair
manner. The rising popularity of the Fight Club led the narrator to establish some confidence in
himself. However, his relationship with Marla became more unstable as he believed that Marla
was involved with Tyler, who, in reality, was the alternate personality of the narrator himself.
The author wanted to stress on the fact that the daily stress felt by the people of the
society is harmful for their mental health. Many people are unable to cope with their stress levels
and hence, they find differing ways on how to handle it. The alternate character of Tyler was

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completely opposite to the real personality of the narrator. Tyler was more domineering,
confident and exhibited an aura of bravery whereas the narrator was shown in the light of being
delicate and confused. Furthermore, the ability of the character of Tyler to win Marla when the
narrator himself was confused about his feelings for her, led the readers to believe that Tyler was
real. It was not until much later when the narrator began to be suspicious about Tyler and Marla
that the readers figured out that something was wrong in their characters.
The author has beautifully portrayed the psychological angle of the novel. His main target
audience is the people who lead an extremely busy life. He wants to show case the different
difficulties that an individual might experience in the event that they are unable to get the
requisite amount of rest.
Literary map of The Lone Ranger and the Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Sherman Alexie, in the year of 1993, wrote a number of inter connected short stories and
together they came to be known as “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” (Alexie,
1996). The unique feature of this collection is that all of the characters are recurring in nature.
The stories have a particular aspect which connects them such as the personality of the
characters, their dreams and aspirations. It is this feature which has led many people to view the
book in the light of a long novel with many stories in between.
The name of the book has been taken from one of the stories mentioned in the book itself.
The story traces the journey of a Native American who willingly left his reservation in the region
of Seattle and settled back in the area with his ‘white’ ethnic girlfriend. The author attempted to
emphasize on the racial identity of the individuals in the effort to show case how important it is

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for the people to acknowledge their racial similarity with the individuals staying in their own
community. This story is an attempt by Sherman to show case the importance of racial identity.
In the twentieth century after the end of the Second World War, the state leaders,
especially of the western advanced nations of the world, like that of the United States of America
and the United Kingdom, made the pledge that all the individuals of the society would be treated
in an equal manner. This is significant in the light of the colonial history of the world. The
colonial times led to the generation of the idea that the ‘white’ ethnic people of the society were
racially superior to the ‘black’ ethnic population. Such white individuals had the necessary
civilizing skills and temperament while the black ethnic individuals were considered to be
barbarians and therefore, had no idea of how to civilize themselves. In this regard, the colonial
hangover is still seen to be present in the modern contemporary times. Sherman made an attempt
to show case this in the novel by speaking about the journey of a Native American.
In this context, it is important to understand that the Native Americans are often
discriminated against by the ‘white’ ethnic population of the country. Although the Native
Americans are the ones who have been occupying the land much before the immigrants, the
racial idea held by the people have changed the status quo of the society. The culture of the
Native Americans, their ethnicities, their language and traditions have all been marginalized by
the ‘white’ ethnic population in their attempt to establish their hold over the society. This aspect
of racial identity and the manner in which the people of the society are discriminated against
because of their skin tone, has been holistically addressed in the text. The author has tried to
make the people of the society aware of such inequalities in the hope that they would be
eradicated.

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References:
Abbey, E. (1990). Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. 1968. New York: Touchstone.
Burroughs, W. S. (2013). Nova express (Vol. 3). Adelphi Edizioni spa.
DeLillo, D. (2018). Mao ii. Éditions Actes Sud.
Low, D. (1996). Alexie, Sherman, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
AMERICAN INDIAN QUARTERLY, 20, 123-125.
Palahniuk, C. (2005). Fight Club: a novel. WW Norton & Company.
Walker, A. (2011). The color purple (Vol. 1). Open Road Media.