Martin Fletchers Portrayal of Religion in Almost Heaven...

In order to properly analyze Martin Fletchers portrayal of religion in his first book, the travel-based work of non-fiction Almost Heaven: Travels Through the Backwoods of America, it is essential to elucidate his general purpose and path in embarking on this literary and literal journey. Fletcher is a British citizen who had been stationed in Washingtons District of Columbia for several years prior to engaging on his trek across the U.S. As such, he informs the reader early on in the manuscript that he sought those places he had either reported about or heard about during his tenure as a reporter. One of his goals was to travel to places that were off the proverbial beaten track, cities and small town areas in which tourists do not visit, and which many Americans who do not happen to live there are not even aware of. As such, it is fairly apparent that his goal is to find as many people and events taking place in these areas that are non-traditional as possible the fact that many of them happen to pertain to religion only emphasizes their exotic nature, particularly to other conventionally conservative Europeans. In this respect, the reader can infer (if from nothing else than from the title alone) that the author will portray religion in a decidedly light-hearted manner although the author seems to even surprise himself in uncovering a religious conviction even he cannot deny at times. In attempting to write about a religious levity that shows up in seemingly