Raiders of the Lost Ark Exploration Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Quote #4

"What you did was you take this staff to a special room in Tanis, a map room with a miniature of the city all laid out on the floor."

Indy has the benefit of wrapping his exploration up in the Hero's Journey, which means he gets handy guideposts pointing toward his goal. Real explorers, unfortunately, rarely had an X to mark the spot like this one. It's also a nod to the scientific and astronomical expertise of ancient cultures, whom we sometimes think of only as primitive pagans.

Quote #5

"Abner was sorry for dragging me all over this earth looking for his little bits of junk!"

Beyond the physical risks to exploration, there are emotional risks too. Marion is clearly peeved that her father wasted her childhood exploring the world, and doesn't hold much respect for what he's found. If you go out into the unknown, you may hurt those close to you as much as yourself. Globetrotting isn't always glamorous.

Quote #6

"Perhaps the Ark is still waiting in some antechamber for us to discover. Perhaps there's some vital bit of evidence that eludes us."

Belloq has missed the Ark here because he's a cheater, using a replica of the headpiece GPS instead of the original. Exploration in Indy's world means you can't take shortcuts. When you do, you end up fuming helplessly at German commandants.