Meeting Maung-Maung

In the short description of Pico Iyer, the author of "Meeting Maung-Maung," the following phrase is used: "Iyer lives in suburban Japan, encircled by strangeness, kindness, and very kind strangers at every turn." This coincides with what I've determined to be the theme of Iyer's essay: kindness. We are suspect to kindness from those that we do not know. Iyer is no exception in this story, as he is weary of his travel guide who demonstrates much kindness. He believes that Maung-Maung is only being nice for his money, or the opportunity to "pull out a knife or even bring in a few accomplices." However, Maung-Maung demonstrates his genuineness by showing Iyer his personal belongings of great importance, including his journal where he keeps letters from travelers and writes.

One effective use of language in Iyer's story is how he describes Maung-Maung speaking. For example:

• "I am a Buddhist," Maung-Maung reminded me gently
• "Yes," he said, turning around to give me a smile
• "Yes," he replied with a bashful smile

These pieces of sentences from Iyer's story serve to paint Maung-Maung in a way that to the reader is obviously kind, but to the author in the moment of the story, these mannerisms can be interpreted as kind or an act put on to catch Iyer off guard and take his money

Another way that Iyer effectively uses language in his story is the first line: "I first met Maung-Maung as I stumbled off a sixteen-hour third-class overnight train from Rangoon to Mandalay." This run-on sentence leaves the reader feeling weary, much like Iyer did at the time, making his doubting of Maung-Maung's kindness all the more relatable. Wouldn't YOU be suspicious if you were exhausted, and then came along a stranger who bared his soul to you? In a world where people paste on smiles, being true is a rarity, and while we know that rarities should be appreciated, the fact that such kindness is not society's norm makes us all the more suspicious.