Travel Essays · Chapter
The Emigrant Train explained
The narrator describes his transition from a latent emigrant to a branded one as he boards the emigrant train at the Transfer Station.
What happens
The narrator describes his transition from a latent emigrant to a branded one as he boards the emigrant train at the Transfer Station. He details the sorting of passengers into cars for families, single men, and Chinese, the process of pairing up to purchase bed boards and cushions from a white-haired official, and the uncomfortable evening journey. The chapter includes scenes of music, card games, and interactions with newsboys, highlighting both the harshness and unexpected kindness of fellow travelers.
Themes in this chapter
Travel and Discovery
The chapter focuses on the narrator's journey as an emigrant, detailing the logistics, discomforts, and social dynamics of train travel across America.
Human Connection and Community
The narrator forms temporary bonds with fellow travelers, such as his bedfellow and the syndicate of three, and experiences both conflict and kindness from strangers.
Social Class and Inequality
The segregation of passengers into cars for families, single men, and Chinese, as well as the economic transactions for beds, highlight class and racial divisions among emigrants.
Characters to notice
- The English
The narrator, an Englishman, describes his own experiences and observations as an emigrant on the train.
- The Americans
The narrator interacts with various American emigrants, including a Pennsylvania Dutchman who becomes his bedfellow and an elderly man who objects to sentimental music.
- The Chinese
The Chinese are segregated into a separate car on the train, mentioned as part of the sorting process.
Key passages
“All this while I had been travelling by mixed trains, where I might meet with Dutch widows and little German gentry fresh from table. I had been but a latent emigrant; now I was to be branded once more, and put apart with my fellows.”
Until now, the narrator had traveled on mixed trains with diverse passengers, but now he is officially classified as an emigrant and separated from others.
This marks the narrator's transition into the emigrant experience.
“The official was easily moved to anger at the least delay; but the emigrants were both quick at answering their names, and speedy in getting themselves and their effects on board.”
The official became angry at any hesitation, but the emigrants responded promptly and boarded quickly.
Highlights the efficiency and urgency of the boarding process.
“I began to tremble lest everyone should refuse my company, and I be left rejected.”
The narrator feared that no one would agree to share a bed with him, leaving him isolated.
Shows the narrator's anxiety about social acceptance during the journey.
“It was truly strange to note how the talk ceased at that, and the faces began to lengthen.”
When the cornet player performed 'Home, Sweet Home,' the conversation stopped and people looked sad.
Illustrates the emotional impact of music on the emigrants.
“I have no idea whether musically this air is to be considered good or bad; but it belongs to that class of art which may be best described as a brutal assault upon the feelings.”
The narrator criticizes the song for being overly sentimental and manipulative, regardless of its musical quality.
Reflects the narrator's view on art and emotion.
“When I think of that lad coming and going, train after train, with his bright face and civil words, I see how easily a good man may become the benefactor of his kind.”
The narrator reflects on the newsboy's kindness and considers how simple acts can make someone a hero.
Praises the newsboy's helpfulness and character.
