Journey to the Sky: Analysis of Major Characters
"Journey to the Sky" explores the significant characters involved in an adventurous expedition to uncover the ancient ruins of Central America, particularly those of the Mayan city, Copan. The narrative centers around John Lloyd Stephens, an American lawyer and explorer whose determination leads him to these forgotten sites after learning about them from Colonel Juan Galindo. He is joined by Frederick Catherwood, an English architect and artist, who plays a crucial role in documenting their discoveries through sketches. Their journey is not without challenges, as they navigate civil unrest, treacherous landscapes, and health issues like malaria.
Other notable figures include Augustin, Stephens' devoted servant, and a troublesome muleteer who complicates their travels. The political backdrop features key players such as Rafael Carrera, a leader of a conservative uprising, and Francisco Morazan, a respected military leader. The expedition is further complicated by rival British explorers, Patrick Walker and Lieutenant John Caddy, sent to document the same ruins under the auspices of a British administrator. This rich tapestry of characters collectively illustrates the challenges and intricacies of 19th-century exploration in a culturally rich yet turbulent region.
Journey to the Sky: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Jamake Highwater
First published: 1978
Genre: Novel
Locale: Central America and southern Mexico
Plot: Biographical
Time: 1839–1840
John Lloyd Stephens, an American lawyer, diplomat, explorer, and travel writer. After practicing law for several years, the adventurous Stephens has traveled for two years in Africa, Europe, and Asia and written two well-received books on his travels. He comes across a report by Colonel Juan Galindo that mentions seeing some strange old buildings in the wilds of the Yucatán and Central America. He decides to find these ruins. He enlists his friend, Frederick Catherwood, as the expedition's artist. Equipped with an unexpected appointment as President Martin Van Buren's confidential agent to the Central American Confederation, this versatile and adaptable man sets out to find the Indian ruins. After landing in a country in the midst of civil war, then coping with treacherous terrain and a troublesome muleteer who deliberately misguides them, he and Catherwood at last find the ruins of Copan, an ancient Mayan city of worship, now overgrown with centuries of vegetation. Although beset by mosquitoes and hot weather, Stephens sets about the task of clearing idols and monuments, and Catherwood draws them. Later, he and Catherwood set out on a long trek across Central America to the ruins at Palenque. Despite bouts with malaria, mosquitoes, and other parasites, he and Catherwood manage to explore these ruins, as well as another set at Uxmal. Stephens dies in 1852 of malaria contracted while he is president of the Panama Railway Company, never having returned to the ruins he uncovered at Copan. His work there was largely forgotten until the 1940's.
Frederick Catherwood, an English architect. Officially signed as the expedition's artist, Catherwood was much more Stephens' exploring partner. After persevering with Stephens through the adventures of getting to the ruins at Copan, he continues to sketch the monuments and idols they uncover there for three weeks after Stephens has left, despite a severe bout of malaria and massive swarms of mosquitoes that force him to wear gloves while sketching the unfamiliar styles of architecture and sculpture. At Palenque, he works diligently, despite the parasites that are nesting in his foot, to sketch the strange glyphs as accurately as possible. At Uxmal, although feverish with malaria, he sketches a panorama until he drops at his easel. Catherwood makes a fortune by investing in a mine in California during the gold rush, but he dies in a shipwreck in 1854, on his way from London to New York.
Augustin, the servant hired by Stephens. He accompanies Stephens on all of his adventures through the rugged terrain of the war-torn land, until Stephens finally leaves Yucatán on a ship to Havana.
The Muleteer, the head mule driver hired by Stephens. A constant source of trouble, he several times refuses to work, demands more money, misguides the party, and once even attempts to have Stephens arrested. When, on the trip from Copan to Guatemala City, the muleteer becomes feverish, he and Stephens finally part.
Rafael Carrera, a young Indian who leads a successful conservative revolt against the Central American Confederation, defending the rights of the church. When Stephens and Catherwood leave Guatemala City, they do so with letters of protection signed by Carrera.
Francisco Morazan, the leader of the Central American Confederation troops in the area. A conscientious leader, he is considered by Stephens to be the best man in Central America.
Don Gregorio, a rich landowner in the village of Copan. A petty tyrant, he refuses hospitality to the travelers but develops a friendship with the Muleteer.
Colonel Archibald MacDonald, the British administrator of Belize. A supporter of Britain's imperial plans for Central America, he tries to undermine Stephens and Catherwood's exploration project by sending Patrick Walker and Lieutenant John Caddy to document the ruins at Palenque.
Henry Pawling, an American adventurer who joins the expedition on the road to Palenque. After Stephens and Catherwood leave Palenque, Pawling stays behind to make plaster casts of some of the ruins, which the governor of Chiapas eventually seizes, ordering Pawling to leave.
Patrick Walker and Lieutenant John Caddy, rival British explorers sent by MacDonald to document the ruins at Palenque. Although Stephens and Catherwood hear rumors in Guatemala City that the bodies of Walker and Caddy have been found naked and drained of blood, they leave for Palenque anyway. Stephens and Catherwood find evidence at Palenque that the British explorers were there. Indeed, Walker and Caddy do publish an account of their adventures, which is quickly eclipsed by that of Stephens and Catherwood.