t takes place and also shares in that it is the human condition for the reader as for this one man.
There is a tension in the novel from the beginning between the mechanistic and the natural, between the technological world and the world of nature, human and otherwise. This tension also reflects the underlying issue of probability versus fate, questioning whether this is a mechanistic universe of random occurrences or an organic entity governed by some guiding force we call fate. The conflict is apparent on the first page as the airplanes at La Guardia, planes that are massive examples of modern technology, are helpless in the face of the snow that swirls all around. Indeed, the possibilities are made more clear by the newspaper that features the headline about an air crash in Nevada. The plane itself may represent a sort of fate, and it takes off in a way that emphasizes the uncertainties that might come to pass:
I had never taken off in such a snowstorm before: no sooner was our landing gear off the white runway than there was nothing more to be seen of the yellow ground lights, not a glimmer, and a little later there was not a glimmer of Manhattan, it was snowing so hard. I could see only the flashing green light on our wing, which was swaying violently and occasionally jerked up and down; for seconds at a time even this flashing green light vanished in the mist and I felt like a blind man (4).
At the same time, Faber's dislike of other people is emphasized as he notes that he was glad to be alone and as he grows more and more disgusted with the stranger who keeps talking to him on the flight:
I don't know why he got on my nerves, there was something familiar about his face, a very German face. I thought about it with my eyes closed, but in vain. I tried to forget his pink face, which I succeeded in doing, and slept for about six hours, worn out as I was (5).
The life of Faber is a life of alienation and u...