The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux & the McDonaldization of Foreign Lands

McDonald restaurants in Peru, Taco Bell in Sweden, and Cheese-Its in Honduras, America have become a culturally imperial country. Everywhere from Mexico to Bulgaria, America has a large influence on other countries. This is seen by the sheer fact that people are watching localized versions of MTV and watching the newest James Bond movie.

In the book, The Mosquito Coast, by Paul Theroux, the father is an eccentric fellow whom defies the norms of society; he does not send his children to school, buy internationally made products, nor does he use pesticides. Throughout the story Allie is constantly having battles within his own mind, and becomes mentally unstable. Allie is an inventor, but when it came to technology he often contradicted himself. For example, he bartered the natives for some gas to operate the motor, which allowed him to take the boat upstream. This concealed his fate, which was ultimately death. One day the father decided to pick the family up and move to Honduras. Throughout the book father made irrational decisions, he purchased the town of Jeronimo without even stepping foot on the land.

At the town of Jeronimo that father created his major invention, the Fat Boy, which was a large freezer. The invention was the first of its kind, but proved unsuccessful due to the toxic chemicals. In the end, the box exploded, ruining the houses and polluting the river. This was due to the chemicals inside the tubes.

Cultural imperialism can be seen in many parts of the novel, including the fact that the father brings American crops, exhibits god like powers, the children create a mock town in Honduras resembling America, and the food within the country.

Before heading to Honduras, the family brought a variety of goods from America, this included plant seeds, and other items such as ammonia and other chemicals. When the family sets up their home in the town of Jeronimo, the father insists that they plant American crops on Honduran soil. These plants are not meant for the area, and are genetically modified so that they can resist damage caused by the mildew and weather. The Foxes also set up a labor system much like America - they have the Creoles and Indians do most of the labor. There is a major contradiction: the father claims he is against sweatshops, thus does not buy products made outside of the United States, yet he abuses his own children, and the children of the Indians and Creoles. The children rarely received a break, and if they did, it was when their mother was in control.

On the way to Honduras the children became friends with the Roper children, whom the father referred to as the Maywits. The children interacted together in Jeronimo, creating a camp in which they could escape from their parents. Father took the camp as an insult. The Maywits taught the Fox children about the natural resources of the surrounding areas, including a berry that when rubbed on the skin repelled mosquito's. The children learned how to make hammocks and survive in the jungle and wilderness. The Fox children were seen as arrogant, egocentric, and unintelligent by the Maywits.

There are numerous times within the novel that the father appears to be a dictator; the king, and even exhibit powers only reserved for God. The Foxes are extremely unreligious, which is paradoxical to the fact that he father often referred to the bible. The father controls the children and people of the town by having them climb the three story high freezer to complete the tubing. The father often has no or little respect for his wife and children, the family does not operate in unison. The father is viewed as the dictator and the remaining are his slaves.

The father often dictates what is good and bad, the children, not having any education, believe what he says and take it as the truth. This is seen when the father tells the children that processed food, aerosol cans, and junk food is bad. The father does not directly tell the children what is good, but there is emphasis on his inventions and how he created them. It is implied that things that are natural, pure, and wholesome are good. This is apparent when the father brings ice to the people, even though it was a sliver, he is implying that he has created it. Ice is natural, it was here before he was, God created ice. There is a scene in which their house detaches from the land and becomes a boat. The father describes the house as if it was Noah's Arch; it is the direction in which that house floated that ruined the father's life.

During the course of the novel the father often refused to use the natural resources within the country. This is a paradox to American culture which is use all of the resources, and do not care about the environment. This can be seen when the children offer him the Mosquito repellent and he denies, even though he is in pain from the bites and wounds.

During the course of the novel the mental well being of Allie Fox decreases considerably. He was eccentric in the beginning of the novel, but in the end he became insane. Once the family leaves Jeronimo and heads into the jungles, the further they go, the worse the father gets. There is this contradiction that the father thinks he is doing what is right, yet it is only hurting his family and relationships with the outside world.

The father's mental condition is best shown when the family's floating house encounters the Spellgood mission settlement. The father told his entire family that the United States was destroyed in a war, and that returning there was pointless. In essence saying they were in a better place.

When the family arrived at the settlement Charlie went in to talk to Emily and try to borrow their off-road vehicle. Charlie notices that the family is watching Star Trek and Feature Creatures as well as playing video games. It is important to note the Americanized household he describes. The settlement is located in the middle of nowhere, and far from influential cities or policymakers.

Once Charlie recovers the keys to the vehicle, it is too late. The father escaped the boat and set fire to their house and generator, causing a huge explosion. Gunfire took place, and the father is disabled. Charlie takes on the role of the father, and chains him up like he is a criminal. The father eventually dies, and is buried on the shore. In the end he was plagued with insanity, which was the cause of his death.

Technology played a factor in the father's imperialistic mannerisms, it is not often that you find an inventor who hates technology, nor is not proud of his Harvard scholarship. After leaving America the father craves technology in the end; wanting such luxuries as a flushing toilet or drinkable water. The noel views technology as useless, the people in the jungle are a prime example. They live without flushing toilets and waterwheels. Technology is viewed as a comfort mechanism not a necessity as it is viewed in the United States.

In many respects the father hates American popular culture; he despises it and thinks very poorly of abusers of popular culture. He pokes fun at overweight people, foods such as hamburgers, and magazines. Fox does not reject all aspects of the culture, just the ones that are convenient for him. It is okay for him to wear baseball hats and smoke cigarettes, because, no, that is not American.

Within the novel the father identifies two types of people: scavengers and savages. Savages were the immigrants from Central and Latin America who worked on Polski's farm. These people are the scum of the earth to Allie; they abuse the resources of the country and are not humane. This is seen when Charlie walks out into the field and sees them with the scarecrow and cross. They are viewed as creatures from another planet. Scavengers, on the other hand, were a group of people who did what they have to do to stay alive. He criticizes these scavengers, but in the end, his family became a scavenger, as they would beg, even force, settlements and towns on their way to give them food. They were much like a seagull flying on the beach looking for food.