Pico Iyer - Where Worlds Collide
Iyer Describes His Personal Experience With Los Angeles Airport
Mar 29, 2009
Pico Iyer’s essay “Where Worlds Collide,” first appeared in Harper's Magazine in August 1995.
The essay opens with a description of what foreign travelers from other countries experience when they first step off of the airplane and into Los Angeles International Airport. The preconceived ideas of seeing the beautiful sea and palm trees are shattered, when all they see are billboards and various signs posted everywhere. Iyer seems to be stressing the point of LAX, and all airports for that matter, as being a microcosm of society. That is, they tend to be artificial, yet self-sufficient worlds of there own. However, the airport still stands for new beginnings and dreams for the people who come from distant lands.
A Continuous Cycle
Iyer does well in shifting tones and the direction in which he wants to move the essay. He does this by discussing his own personal experience with LAX, and how it has impacted his life. Iyer was an immigrant himself, and seems to be reflecting on when he first arrived at LAX. He may be reminiscing on how it is still the same for others who arrive at this airport. Iyer provides detailed imagery of what all the aspects of the airport look like, and he provides even further detail into what activities many of the people inside the airport are taking part in--be it waiting for a coffee or simply talking on the telephone. These actions bring Iyer back to a time in his life which he will never forget and cherish forever.
LAX
LAX is presented as an allegorical place. This is done well by Iyer. It seems to stand for a society that is independent on its own. Also, it represents a gateway to other places in the world. Most importantly, it is shown as a place of dreams and innocence for the foreign travelers who arrive here. However, there is a sense of sorrow in certain parts of the essay. Iyer may be showing how those dreams can quickly come and go, just as people (and planes) arrive and depart from the airport.
In the end, the essay makes people want to visit LAX and experience all of these things Iyer discusses. He makes this airport out to be a mystical place--at least from the perspective of a newcomer to the United States. It appears that LAX stands for both the hopes and harsh realities that many people will soon embark on. One could argue that Iyer has paralleled his own life after LAX. In any case, he has put an interesting twist on how one could view an airport as having such deep and personal meaning.
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