In his work, “In The Metro”, Marc Augé, a French anthropologist studies the daily

routine of travellers on the Paris Metro by defining the metro as social space where he likens
subway lines to lifelines on which one acts in accordance to the codes, laws, and rituals that
constitutes that area of space. Augé provides readers with both an ethnography of the city of
Paris and a personal narrative of ideologies derived from his experiences riding the trains.
The entire work is situated in Paris, more specifically under the city and into the Paris
Metro where Augé’s focus is on metro travellers. He has a primary objective of communicating
the relationship between the metro and Parisian culture. To most fashion, romance, museums, art
galleries, and architectural marvels such as: The Eiffel tower signify the centerpieces of Parisian
culture but Augé in his work believes in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the culture
one needs go below Paris and into the underground train system. The expression; “Tourists climb
the Eiffel Tower to see Paris. Parisians know that to really see the city you must descend into the
metro” further highlights the importance of the metro when truly seeks a deeper understanding of
the culture. The Metro signifies a common ground where people of different social and economic
backgrounds are not separated thus aiding the work of an anthropologist studying generic
Parisian culture.
Augé’s research methods were unique to say the least; he carefully studied metro users
taking notice of the daily rituals and activities of a typical traveller. His research was centered on
the concept of “Time and Space”; he claimed, “Subway riders basically handle nothing more
than time and space, and are skilled in using the one to measure the other”. Augé’s belief was
that each point or line on the Metro was significant of an area of space, and during any given
time the typical subway rider can change characters into that of one that is defined by the area of
space in which he or she is located. The ability of humans to adapt themselves to any given
situation reinforces the aforementioned observation. The author being a frequent traveller on the
Paris Metro, attests to the impact of riding the trains saying; “At a given moment, each of these
itineraries defined the different aspects of my professional and family life on a daily basis and
imposed its repetitions and rhythms”.(6) He further states that the repetition involved in frequent
travels distinguishes regular travellers as they display certain “mechanical gestures” such as their
style of walking and general understanding of the metro environment. The concept of “Solitude”
is also one that is pivotal during the course of Augé’s research. He goes as far as defining the
metro as: “collectively without festival and solitude without isolation”. Augé describes a trip on
the metro as both individual and subjective with the trip only given reality by individual
itineraries. But the confinement that accompanies a metro trip is a shared theme amongst all
travellers hence making up an identity by which a community is characterized (p30 2 nd). Through
the concept of solitude Augé was able to isolate his subject and monitor distinct traits and
attributes of metro travellers.
Despite the creativity and rarity of the author’s chosen research method, other methods
could be seen as more effective and appropriate. The author could have considered conversing
with the passengers rather than studying repetitive actions thereby giving him a superior
indicator of the impact of the metro on Parisian culture from a more personal standpoint as
opposed to his chosen approach. Augé’s failure to converse with the travellers rendered his
ideology slightly biased as he made reference to himself several times during his work when
trying to convey the influence the metro has on an individual. An alternative research method
that could also have been applied would be stepping out of the metro and into the city of Paris to
study the actions of routine travellers when they interact with other civilians in different parts of
the city of Paris. This method would efficiently prove if the characteristics displayed when
frequent travelers arrived at different stops translated into the city. The translation of traveller
rituals into the city life would prove the metro to be indeed an influence on culture and not just a
temporary façade that holds only within the boundaries of the metro.
The success of this work in achieving the goals of the author comes under question as one
is made to understand that Augé’s primary objective was to create a link between the Paris metro
and urban Parisian culture. With that objective in mind most readers would find it hard to keep
up with the purpose of the work due to the author’s writing style. Augé writing during the course
of the work habitually drifts into lengthy anthropological theories which could distract readers
with a limited anthropology history. It also very difficult for one to juggle these anthropological
theories in the mind at the same time understanding the key concepts derived from the research
being done. “In the Metro” would not be a pleasant read for casual readers and also would not be
recommended for those who are in the very elementary stages of study in the field of
anthropology. This conclusion was not derived from failure by Augé to meet his objectives but
the complexity and manner the author chooses to achieve them. The work is in fact very
insightful and knowledgeable but could only be truly appreciated by those who are more
advanced in the field of anthropology.
Augé’s work possesses several strengths as it is very insightful and knowledgeable. One
of such strengths is the authors understanding of the city of Paris. The author being French born
has a rich understanding of Paris and the historical significance behind numerous subway names.
This experience gives readers an assurance of the author’s qualifications and an ability to trust in
his approach to research. He is also both informative and instructive in his work; he goes into
very specific details of the rituals of a typical metro traveller. Due to this, readers may find very
easy to understand the activities of a metro traveller helping one show greater appreciation for
the work. Though very insightful, Augé’s work does have weaknesses. One of such flaws is the
complexity of the read. The book is very hard to follow due to the author’s frequent drifts into
anthropological theory as previously stated. There were also errors of omission during the course
of Augé’s work; one of such was the author’s failure to mention substantial detail on the religion
of the metro travellers which is a key aspect of culture. He also abandons the long-term effect of
his observations; culture is usually formed from actions and rituals that help distinguish a group
of people from others. Augé gives a clear description of such rituals that occur during a typical
travel on the Paris metro but fails to make mention of how these rituals proceed to form a unique
culture. There were also errors of commission present in Augé’s work; one of such errors was his
constant mention of French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss and the theories associated with
him. This could be judged as an unnecessary mention due to the spontaneity every time he was
mentioned. It would have been more appropriate if the author gave background information of
Claude Lévi-Strauss helping readers with no experience in the field of anthropology grasp his
reference more effectively.
Marc Augé’s “In the metro” is a thought provoking work that gives a different approach
to the study of culture. The work gives interesting perspectives and enlightens one on the vast
influences of the metro on Parisian culture. Augé’s exciting and refreshing approach to research
makes “in the metro” a dynamic read as opposed to the status quo research techniques. His
experience from a lifetime of metro travels is evident in his writing as he captivates his readers
making he or she feel a part of metro travels. The work also has an interesting plot that would
invite readers outside the field of anthropology despite the load of anthropological theory that
come along with it. Although the read is very demanding, it adequately exhibits that there is
more to culture than language, religion, art, music, and other terms that spring to mind when the
term culture is discussed. The preceding qualities make Augé’s work stand out amongst others in
the field of anthropology therefore highly recommended to those studying in the field of
anthropology.