Molly Ayer is a young, teenage orphan. She, like many orphans, bounces from house to house with no priceless memories from the foster homes. To escape her sentence of juvenile detention, Molly helps a widow by the name of Vivan to clean out her many possessions stored in her beloved mansion. In Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, Molly and Vivian find that they are not too different. “Orphan Train” is a very appropriate title for the story of two orphans connected by their lonely pasts. However, the title could also include a word or two that will make the reader quizzical and curious. Otherwise, the title could mention the second chances the two characters were given.
“Orphan Train” is a very applicable title for the novel. Molly Ayer is an orphan who does not know her place in the world. She doesn’t fit in with the strangers besting her. Although Molly is not the one riding the literal orphan train that Vivian does during the depression, it is proper to say that metaphorically,
…show more content…
Molly is riding an orphan train that continually starts then stops at different foster homes. Vivian, now in her 90’s, rode a literal orphan train from a New York orphan home to Minnesota where her future would too skip from abode to abode. Because the two main characters are orphans that will ride either a literal or metaphorical train, it would have been nice if the author had added a word or two to make the readers curious.
As the story goes on, Christina tells of the struggles Vivian and Molly encounter. Molly is facing a possible Juvenile detention sentence. Vivian grew up in a time when people only wanted to take children in if they would be extra working hands. Most orphans at her time weren’t even sent to school because they were needed around the house or in businesses. At the trains first stop in Minnesota, Vivian’s bus buddy Dutchy was handed off to a family of workers where he would probably never be treated as a son but as a hard working mule. To give more exuberance to the story, I think an option for another title would be “Bring Me Home”. I think this would also fit the story very well as it tells of orphan children’s desire be brought home, not a house but a home where there is love, food, and
education. Life is full of second chances. Luckily for Vivian and Molly, their lives were granted a few. Molly has a temper and scored herself a stay at a juvenile detention center unless she got 50 hours of community service. As if by a miracle, Vivian is willing to let Molly clean out her cluttered attic that contains stuff from her childhood to get her 50 hours. Not only does this experience get the juvenile teen out of trouble, but it also provides a mutual companion for the both of them; they now have each other. They both have a person that they can talk to who knows the loneliness they feel. Vivian was also given a second chance. When she was around the age of ten and in her second home in Minnesota, the person she was supposed to look up to, a person who was supposed to protect her, raped her. Her compassionate schoolteacher, Miss Larsen, let her live with her in her boarding house. While there, she was the center of attention. The landlord, Mrs. Murphy, loved her dearly. She gave her new clothes just about every day, supplied her with warm showers, a large roof over her head, and plenty of food. She also helped her find her new home. Her new home was the total package; the family was kinder than bees. They not only gave her a loving home, but they considered her to be more than an extra set of hands; they considered her as their very own daughter. First Niamh, a name that shows where she originated, then Dorothy, a name that meant nothing but the fact that she did not fit in. Finally, Vivian, a name that gave a second chance at life after the orphan train. “Orphan Train” is a suiting title for the novel. Vivian and Molly are both orphans that at some point in their lives ride the literal and metaphorical orphan train. However, there is so much more to their lives. There is so much to the lives of the orphans on the trains. To title the novel “Orphan Train” limits the reader’s imagination about what the story could be about. With the first glance at the title, it seems as though the story would be boring and pointless. The title doesn’t make the reader as curious as it could. The title could also mention something about how the orphans are given a second chance. Molly is given a friend who knows her loneliness and who gets her out of trouble. Vivian is given a loving home after 10 years of sorrow and hardship from the orphan train.
My book is about a thirteen year old girl name Raspberry Hill. She is a black African American girl that lives in the projects with her mom and they don’t won’t to live there. Her mom is a hard worker. Raspberry is afraid of being homeless again. Time back, her and her mom lived on the streets, lived in family houses and got kicked out. Raspberry doesn’t wants to be on the streets any more so this is why she has her mind stayed on money. She will do anything to get her hands on money. She will get down and dirty, skip lunch, skip school, clean houses and sell nasty rotten candy to the kids in school. When she goes to school she always has candy and pencils to sell to the kids in the school. She has 3 friend’s name Zora who has a single farther name Dr.Mitchell that’s in love with Raspberry’s mother, which upsets both of them, Mia who wants to be identified as black, but has African American and Korean parents, Ja'nae who stays with her grandparents but is urgently wanting to stay with her mom.
The narrative Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, tells the true story of a young boy’s dangerous path from Mexico to the United States, in hopes of reuniting with his mother. Along Enrique’s trek he sacrifices his safety, well-being, and even the possibility of his life to be with his mother once again. Lourdes, Enrique’s mother, gives up the ultimate sacrifice of missing her children grow up, causing their love and affection they once held for their dear mother to dwindle, all of which so she can provide money and security for her family. Sacrifice is a key theme in this narrative because without the difficult decisions made and the loss the characters so tragically endured, then they would not have been able to reap the reward of a reunited,
The war time childhood events Penny and Primrose encounter result in psychological traumas such as parental abandonment. These two girls in particular endure psychological trauma of isolation, neglect, and displacement that begins when the two girls begin walking with the other children to climb aboard the train. The two young friends set off at the ...
Ms. King masterfully downplays the importance of the little convent girl by not giving her a name, even the steamboat captain and crew members refer to her as "the little convent girl". As a result, the reader is led to believe that the story is not really about the little convent girl. She is merely the instrument chosen by the author through which the reader will experience a steamboat adventure. King further misleads the reader by offering paragraphs of information about the complexities of navigating the river, the habits of the crew members, and the skill of the steamboat pilots. On those occasions that the reader is provided bits of information about the little convent girl, King immediately misdirects the reader back to the overt theme of a steamboat adventure.
The main reason for the orphan trains was not to necessarily help the children but to clean up the streets. The children were treated horrible. They were forced to join in gangs to survive and live on the streets. These children were also known as "st...
“Tunnel” by Sarah Ellis is about a sixteen-year old boy who is looking for a job. He gets a job as a babysitter, and has to look after a girl name Elizabeth, Ib for short. Ib and Ken go for an exploration mission, as he calls it, ending up at a recognizable place from Ken's childhood. Ib enters this place, endangers herself, and requires assistance from Ken. Ken and Ib hear voices that will only disappear upon hearing Ken and Ib’s real name. Ken helps Ib, and they leave, trying to forget about the traumatic experience. This story was able to positively depict the elements of a short story through the point of view, theme, and the mood of the story.
The narrator, Twyla, begins by recalling the time she spent with her friend, Roberta, at the St. Bonaventure orphanage. From the beginning of the story, the only fact that is confirmed by the author is that Twyla and Roberta are of a different race, saying, “they looked like salt and pepper” (Morrison, 2254). They were eight-years old. In the beginning of the story, Twyla says, “My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick.” This line sets the tone of the story from the start. This quote begins to separate the two girls i...
Jeanette had somewhat of an usual childhood compared to other kids in the United States. Where most kids don’t have to worry about if there are going to school or the money problems that come up, nevertheless Jeannette has to worry. Jeannette have to deal with her self center mother , her eccentricity father , her older sister that does not protect her and her brother that give up almost everything for her. Jeannette overcome it all and become the strong woman that all reader will believe she is .
It was hard for her mother to have a baby at a young age herself and try to make ends meet was not easy. She needed to lean on others for help, which she thought at the time was right thing to do, but got caught up on her new family. This is why Emily had so much resentment towards her mother. This story is a great example of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. The story does great job showing the mother’s anguish over her daughter, and a depressed teen that needed her mother and is struggling to overcome a very unhappy childhood.
A breathtaking saga of a young girl’s tragic memories of her childhood. As with Ellen, Gibbons’ parents both died before she was twelve-years-old, forming the family. basis of the plot and themes of this novel. The fond memories she possessed of her mother and the harsh ones of her father are reflected in the thoughts and actions of Ellen. The simplistic and humble attitude that both Gibbons and Ellen epitomizes in the novel is portrayed through diction and dialogue.
We have all heard the African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The response given by Emma Donoghue’s novel Room, simply states, “If you’ve got a village. But if you don’t, then maybe it just takes two people” (Donoghue 234). For Jack, Room is where he was born and has been raised for the past five years; it is his home and his world. Jack’s “Ma” on the other hand knows that Room is not a home, in fact, it is a prison. Since Ma’s kidnapping, seven years prior, she has survived in the shed of her capturer’s backyard. This novel contains literary elements that are not only crucial to the story but give significance as well. The Point-of-view brings a powerful perspective for the audience, while the setting and atmosphere not only affect the characters but evokes emotion and gives the reader a mental picture of their lives, and the impacting theme along-side with conflict, both internal and external, are shown throughout the novel.
The author, Christina Baker Kline uses a variety of different writing styles in the story “The Orphan Train” there are two stories that flip back and forth which makes it a bit confusing as well as engaging. In addition, she flips between two different points of views, first person and third person. “We are headed toward the unknown, and have no choice but to sit quietly in our hard seats and let ourselves be taken there.” The first person point of view here has an intriguing effect as the author has put the reader in the character’s shoes. The other fascinating part of her writing style for this novel is how she goes from present day to the past. One telling the story of Vivian when
With the main character Celie, she overcomes her hardships with her childhood and marriage to achieve complete happiness. Her childhood consists of a father that rapes her and gives her kids away. He also gives her away to a man known as Mr. ___. He too beats her and does not allow her to see her sister, Nettie. Celie falls in love with another woman who allows her to start her life over. Shug Avery gets her away from her husband, Mr. ___, and allows her to start her own financially independent life, as a pant producer. The only thing Celie lacks in order to ac...
...satisfied and comforted. People in the tail section were utterly exhausted and lost their hope after experiencing a host great turmoil. The most serious and crucial problem I found in the movie is that a manager from the head section regularly visits the rear section and take some children with her. In the latter half of the movie clearly demonstrates how the children are being ‘abused’ with several purposes. Immature children with short stature go into the engine, the heart of the train, and modulate the saw teeth not to be mingled with each other. At the place where they have to lower their heads and close their legs, the innocent children were being sacrificed for the unknown people. Children with pure spirits became the victims of the pleasure and fortune of the greatest number of people. Who on earth would pledge the rights of the children and their parents?
The Orphan Girl even finds a small wooden shack for the two to live in. The shack is decorated and furnished, however it is old and everything is breaking. The Little Tramp opens the door, and a piece of wood falls down. The Little Tramp Sits in a chair, and the chair breaks. This pattern continues and the repetition is intended to show the audience that the rigid reality these two characters face. No matter how hard they work and how much they strive for success, the dream is too far out of their reach. For the Little Tramp and the Orphan Girl its one step forward, 2 steps back. This is evidence of the inequalities that the middle and lower classes face. The American ideals that these characters strive for, such as freedom and opportunity, are not realistic. We live in a world where we should be able to gain success by working hard, but sometimes your hardest isn’t