45 pages 1 hour read

Mark Twain

The Innocents Abroad

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1869

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 32-37

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 32 Summary

For the first time in quite a while, all the passengers of the Quaker City gather together on board the ship. The ship sails along the strait of Messina, viewing the mythical site of Scylla and Charybdis and admiring the moonlit appearance of the Italian and Sicilian coasts. The ship then skirts the various islands of Greece.

The passengers receive the disappointing news that they must pass on to Constantinople rather than risk being quarantined at Athens. However, Twain and some other men steal into Athens at night, bribe some guards, and visit the Acropolis and Parthenon. On their way back, they steal grapes, and pirates patrolling the area chase them. 

Chapter 33 Summary

Twain sees the desolate and ruin-strewn appearance of Greece as symbolic of her present-day decay. He contrasts the glories of ancient Greece with the political and economic troubles of modern Greece.

The ship sails in the channel of the Dardanelles and then drops anchor in the Golden Horn. From there, Twain and three or four others go to Constantinople, an extremely crowded “circus” full of extravagant and colorful costumes, shops of all kinds, dervishes, beggars, and cripples. He visits the mosque of Hagia Sophia, finding it dirty and gaudy.

Related Titles

By Mark Twain

Plot Summary

logo

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mark Twain

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

A True Story

Mark Twain

A True Story

Mark Twain

Plot Summary

logo

Letters from the Earth

Mark Twain

Letters from the Earth

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain

Plot Summary

logo

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

Mark Twain

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Mark Twain

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

The Gilded Age

Mark Twain, Charles Dudley Warner

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

Mark Twain, Charles Dudley Warner

Study Guide

logo

The Invalid's Story

Mark Twain

The Invalid's Story

Mark Twain

Plot Summary

logo

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Mark Twain

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

The Mysterious Stranger

Mark Twain

The Mysterious Stranger

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

The Prince and the Pauper

Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper

Mark Twain

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Pudd'nhead Wilson

Mark Twain

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

Mark Twain

Study Guide

logo

The War Prayer

Mark Twain

The War Prayer

Mark Twain