How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
But, when he was thirty, he had become restless and began to disappear for days into the Amazon, trekking through the jungle. (2.10)
A major motivator for early 20th-century explorers was boredom. It's a good thing the world is already mapped out today, because now when people get bored, they play Temple Run 2 instead of trying to run to an actual temple.
Quote #2
And so, before plunging into the jungle, I set out to England to see if I could uncover more about Fawcett's zealously guarded route and the man who, in 1925, had seemingly vanished from the earth. (3.22)
Grann's quest stands in contrast to Fawcett's. In the modern day, Grann shows us that exploration now involves a lot more research and a lot less actual legwork.
Quote #3
Like many quest novels, [King Solomon's Mines] was patterned on folktales and myths, such as that of the Holy Grail. […] V. S. Pritchett noted that […] Haggard "installed a suction pump. He drained the whole reservoir of the public's secret desires." (4.35)
There have always romantic notions of exploration. People have a desire to discover something new, and this desire is at its height during Fawcett's era. Everyone wanted to be an Indiana Jones…before Indiana Jones even existed.