On a Chinese Screen · Chapter
XXXIV: Mirage explained
The chapter introduces a tall American man with bulging blue eyes and an embarrassed manner, who manages the B.A.T.
What happens
The chapter introduces a tall American man with bulging blue eyes and an embarrassed manner, who manages the B.A.T. in a Chinese city that serves as a gateway to Mongolia. He lives in a combined office, godown, and residence, but prefers his bedroom, furnished like a boarding house, where he reads only American magazines. Despite living in China for five years, he knows no Chinese and takes no interest in the local culture. His business involves risky journeys into Mongolia, but he finds them boring and is always relieved to return to his familiar bedroom. He is oblivious to the adventure and exotic life around him, only experiencing excitement through printed stories of derring-do in America or the South Seas.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional peak occurs when the stripling’s youthful audacity and pride in his strength reach their zenith…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Colonial Ennui and Isolation
The protagonist's boredom and lack of interest in his surroundings, despite living in a culturally rich and adventurous environment, exemplify the ennui and isolation of colonial expatriates.
- Futility of Western Superiority
The man's ignorance of Chinese language and culture, and his reliance on American magazines for excitement, underscores the futility and self-imposed limitations of Western superiority in a foreign land.
Characters to notice
- The Stranger
The tall American man with bulging sky blue eyes and an embarrassed manner, in charge of the B.A.T., who lives in a combined office, godown, and residence, preferring his bedroom and American magazines.
Key passages
“He has no small talk. He hunts for topics of conversation and, racking his brain to no purpose, in desperation offers you a whisky and soda.”
He is awkward in conversation and, unable to think of anything to say, resorts to offering a drink.
Highlights the character's social ineptitude and reliance on a standard colonial hospitality gesture.
“He has lived in China for five years, but he knows no Chinese and takes no interest in the race among whom in all likelihood the best years of his life will be spent.”
Despite five years in China, he has not learned the language and shows no curiosity about the people he lives among.
Emphasizes the theme of cultural isolation and indifference.
“He is bored. It has never occurred to him that he lives a life in which the possibility of adventure is at his doors.”
He is unaware that his own life is full of potential adventure, preferring to read about it in magazines.
Illustrates the irony of his situation and the theme of missed opportunity.
