Though he remains ambivalent about this familiarity, he reminds himself of the loneliness of solitary travel, which he easily forgets when he’s settled and romanticizing adventure. However, the paradox is that loneliness is an integral aspect of travel for Ben, it’s intrinsic to the act, and travelling with a companion would destroy that essential experience. It seems that Ben’s choices revolve around solitude/travel and community/settlement, increasingly complicated by his assumptions about age-appropriate lifestyles.
