The Southern Thruway

Text

"The Southern Thruway" is a short story written by Argentine author Julio Cortázar. Originally written in Spanish ("La Autopista del Sur"), it was first published in 1966. The English version was released in 1973.

Summary

"The Southern Thruway" chronicles a massive traffic jam outside of Paris. The narrative focuses on a group of stranded individuals who unite to form a community to boost their chances of survival. Over the course of several months, they form close relationships within their tight knit group. This sense of community disintegrates in an instant when the traffic jam finally starts to move again.

Analysis

Cortázar uses heavy symbolism in this short story to convey important aspects about his characters and plot. One of his strategies is to refer to his characters by the name of their car model instead of their given names.

Characters

• Dauphine

Dauphine

The girl in the Dauphine slept leaning on the steering wheel, a lock of hair in her eyes. Before climbing into the 404, the engineer amused himself by watching her shadow, diving the curve of her slightly puckered lips. On the other side, smoking silently, the man in the DKW was also watching the girl sleep.  

Dauphine is a girl who captures the attention of two men at the beginning of the story. Later, she develops an intimate relationship with one of them, 404, and becomes pregnant with his child. This car model is named after the French word meaning "the female heir to the crown" (Stern). The Dauphine car garnered the attention of many people during the years between 1950s and 1960s, much like how the girl was pursued by two men at once. It also has a nice exterior and is pretty to look at. The attributes of the car perfectly describe Dauphine's role in the story.

Taunus

• Taunus

  ...at nine-thirty the food would be distributed, and the sick would have to be visited, the situation would have to be examined with Taunus.

  Taunus is appointed as the group's leader when the stranded people decided it would be in their best interest to form an alliance of some sort to help each other. He acts as their commander in chief throughout the story and is in charge of making important decisions for the group like providing and distributing rations and tending to those who have fallen ill. This car model (Ford Taunus) is named after the Taunus mountain range from Germany. Like a mountain, Taunus is stable, dependable, and grounded. These traits make him a good leader for the small community, and he quickly gains the trust of the people in it. The Taunus car was also made to be a family car, which alludes to his capabilities of looking after the group of people who are stranded in the traffic jam with him.
• Porsche and Ford Mercury

  

  Porsche

  The Ford Mercury and a Porsche came every night to traffic with food… Porsche kept coming and controlling the black market. Water and some preserves were never completely lacking, but the group's funds were diminishing, and Taunus and the engineer asked themselves what would happen the day when there was no more money to give Porsche.

Ford Mercury

Porsche and Ford Mercury are two cars that provide supplies that the people at the traffic jam lacked, though at the catch of expensive prices that kept increasing with each purchase. Because resources were dwindling, the leaders of each group had no choice but to turn to them despite the outrageous costs. These two car models are known for being luxury brands, popular with wealthy folk. The people in the Porsche and Ford Mercury act as the stereotype of rich people who drive these kinds of cars: they profit off of the unfortunate situation that the stranded people are in just for more money.

• 404

Peugeot 404

On one of those freezing nights the engineer heard the girl in the Dauphine sobbing softly… she let herself be drawn to the 404; the engineer helped her lie down on the back seat, covered her with his only blanket, and then with his overcoat.

404 is an engineer that wins the heart of the Dauphine girl in the story. Throughout the duration of the traffic jam, he's levelheaded and offers help to other people or comforts Dauphine when needed. This car model is known for being durable and flexible, which corresponds to his ability to stay calm and adapt to the situation he's in despite the obstacles that arise. The 404 is also a family car, alluding to this character's desire to stay as a tight knit group at the end of the story and his affinity for the people he's stayed with during the traffic jam.

• Simca

Simca

The engineer, who had followed with ironical benevolence the efforts the boys in the Simca had been making to be forgiven [for their earlier selfish behavior], thought it was time to give them their chance. With the pieces of a tent the boys covered the windows of the 404, and the "sleeping car" became an ambulance where the old lady could sleep in relative darkness.

The boys in the Simca are some of the youngest drivers of all the characters. In the beginning of the story, one of them is sent to scout food and water for the stranded group. He acts selfishly and hides the fact that he brought back water in hopes of not having to share it, only to be discovered by 404. For the rest of the story, the boys try to make up for this offense by doing countless deeds to help their group, from aiding the sick to looking for extra rations. In this aspect, they are very versatile people, like the car model that they drive. Simca cars are known for being roundabout cars and hot hatches. This means that they are good for short errand runs but are also high performance and practical. The car was also fun to drive, alluding to the boys' way of finding entertainment in the smallest of things, and being the moodmakers of the group as a way of improving the atmosphere given their situation. It is a good fit for the Simca boys' role in the community. The Simca car was also made for the working class; it is inexpensive and affordable. In the story, the boys are college students which would make this car model a fitting choice vehicle for them.

• 2CV

2CV

The two little nuns in the 2CV wanted so much to get to Milly-la-Forêt before eight because they were bringing a basket of greens for the cook… it had been decided that the farmer’s Ariane should be the general warehouse and the nun's 2CV a supplementary depot.

The two nuns assume the role of nursing and providing food for others throughout the story until one of them falls into madness. 2CV's French name is "deux chevaux", meaning two steam horsepowers. Hence, this car represents the two nuns to match the name. The 2CV car was originally made for the purpose of allowing French farmers a better mode of transport for their goods. This matches with the nuns' initial goal of delivering food to someone in Paris, before the traffic jam occurred. Gradually, the 2CV became an immensely popular model, earning the reputation of a "cult" car, with a following that seemed almost religious. Cortázar might have used the car's recognition as inspiration for characterizing the drivers in the 2CV as nuns.

Items

• White Butterfly

A big white butterfly landed on the Dauphine's windshield, and the girl and the engineer admired its wings, spread in brief and perfect suspension while it rested; then with acute nostalgia, they watched it fly away… where a hunter's hand tried vainly to catch it… and finally disappear to the right.

The butterfly in this scene represents the fleeting moments in life like the traffic jam in this story. 404 starts to see how temporary his small group was when the cars start to move again, and the different acceleration rates in each lane breaks apart the life as he knew it in the past few months. In just a few seconds, everything a person knows can be changed forever. The butterfly serves as a reminder that life is short. Like the hunter in the quote, humans try to grab onto these quick moments in life without knowing how quickly it will pass. A valuable lesson to learn from 404 is to always live in the present and enjoy every day to its fullest instead of worrying about the future before it's too late.

• Red Cross Flag

In any case, Taunus decided that the 404 would be the official ambulance; for fun the boys made a banner with a red cross and put it on the antenna.

The boys in the Simca try to make up for their selfish past actions of hiding resources from the group. In this instance, they assist the people who have fallen ill by revamping the interior of the 404 into a more comfortable location for the sick to rest. The sense of community is truly solidified with the boys' efforts of seeking forgiveness and offering aid to those who need it. This moment is marked by them making the red cross flag to use, as flags are also a symbol of a union or allegiance. A red cross specifically is a sign of humanitarianism, which shows how everyone in the group has truly grown to care for each other.

Ending

By the end of the story, the traffic jam starts to move again. Everyone scrambles into their cars, and slowly the groups of communities that formed during the months of being stuck on the road together start to break apart. 404 clings desperately to the remnants of what his group once was, and to the hopes that everything will stay the same. This desire contrasts how the characters wanted nothing more than to reach Paris throughout the story; they were miserable being stuck outside in their cars for months. It is at this moment that the realization that every interaction in those passing months, no matter how mundane, mattered. In that time, everyone in 404's group truly formed a genuine connection with each other. They comforted each other, took care of one another, and now everything is gone within a matter of seconds.

For further discussion

Re-read "The Southern Thruway" and discuss the following:

1. How does the prolonged isolation in the traffic jam affect the characters’ behavior and relationships? How do the characters adapt to their new reality, and what coping mechanisms do they develop?
2. What factors contribute to the formation of a temporary community among the stranded people? How do these relationships evolve over time? Does the experience of the traffic jam change the characters' perspectives on their everyday lives once the jam is over?
3. In what ways do power dynamics and leadership emerge within the group of stranded individuals?
4. How does the story reflect on the broader social and cultural implications of community and isolation in modern life?

Additional readings by Julio Cortázar

Along with heavy uses of symbolism, Julio Cortázar's writing has a unique flow to them in terms of chronology when unraveling the plot. Here are some of his works that might be of interest:

• "House Taken Over" ("Casa Tomada"), 1946. A short story about a brother and sister's home and lives being invaded by forces unknown to the reader.
• Hopscotch (Rayuela), 1963. A novel with unconventional storytelling; readers can choose which version of the story to read through with multiple endings.
• "The Continuity of Parks" ("La Continuidad de los Parques"), 1964. A murder mystery story with two realities that merges into one at the end, leaving the true ending up to the interpretation of the reader.