The Danger of a Single
Story.
Essay : Orphan Train
First read the Orphan Train and listen to Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talks “The Danger of a Single
Story.” Adichie states in her talk that “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to
dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.” Reflect back on the story of the two young women in Orphan Train. Why does this story matter? What is the value in the story that Christina Baker Kline has written?
Essay Assignment Requirements:
Introduction that introduces the text, the author, and the story (remember when writing about
literature, you assume your reader has read the book, so you don’t need too much plot
summary here—just the essential information).
Thesis statement that makes a claim about the value of this story. You can focus on the
characters, the foster care system, or both.
Body paragraphs should be written with clear topic sentences, quotes to support your claims,
and analysis that connects back to your thesis statement.
Conclusion that closes your argument about the value of the story.
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July 26th 2015.
THE ORPHAN TRAIN AND THE DANGERS OF A SINGLE STORY
Introduction
In the years 1854 – 1929, the “orphan trains” made regular runs between the East West cities and the farmlands of the Mid-West. The trains carried thousands of abandoned children into foster families or to be adopted. The success of many of the lives of the abandoned children was dependent on fate or chance. Christina Baker Kline is an editor, novelist and non-fiction writer. Her novel Orphan Train gives an account of the experiences that children who were abandoned went through as they were placed under the care of other families. In the story “Orphan Train”, Christina Baker Kline narrates a story about two young women who have similar fate as both have been through the hands of foster parents. The Orphan Train gives a good account and movement from the modern Maine and the depression era-Minnesota, highlighting second chances, upheaval, resilience and friendship common with the American mobility and lack of roots.
The story of two young women in Orphan Train is pertinent since it gives a rare incidence of two orphans who would later live together with each having their own account of their orphanage. The story highlights the importance of stories in learning, as a way of envisaging more regarding a particular event. It further points that stories can help to unravel deep lying secrets in the hearts of the people.
As a seventeen-year-old, Molly Ayer and Vivian Daly lived and worked together. Vivian Daly is an Irish immigrant who was sent from New York to Maine in the orphan train. She would return to New York, where she would later lead a quiet life, becoming a home to young Molly, an orphan. Molly would later interview Vivian as part of a school assignment and Vivian shared her life story with her. The story of Vivian served to enlighten Molly about the past life and experiences regarding the orphan train. On the other hand, Molly helped Vivian to transcend her past of isolation and hardships regarding her life as an orphan.
Molly is quite aware that she is an orphan and were it not for Vivian, she would probably be in a juvenile custody. However, as she worked in Vivian’s house, she discovered some gifts that were kept by her as a reminder of what she had gone through in her life. It was from these gifts that Molly realized she shared similar life story with Vivian. Molly’s discovery of Vivian’s historical possessions and the school assignment enabled her to know more about Vivian’s story. This highlights how a story can disengage some of the deep lying secrets in the hearts of an individual. “But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they appear (Angus).” Molly’s discovery of Vivian’s historical collections led her in knowing more about Vivian.
Furthermore, Adichie’s speech regarding the danger of a single story she highlights the creation of stereotypical thinking, where besides a story being true, it is always incomplete. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete” (Todd). This means, by listening to just one story, one gets a bleak picture of what the story talks about, thus making it incomplete. The story of the two women in the orphan story highlights Adichie’s views. In the story, Vivian had a single point regarding the orphan train story and by sharing her views with Molly; she developed a better understanding, which enabled her to solve her inner troubles. She was able to develop a broader understanding of the challenges that orphans underwent. The story asserts the importance of listening to more stories in order to enhance one’s views and understanding of a particular event and perhaps enable one to transcend past of isolation and hardships.
Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train is perhaps one of the most poignant, memorable and valuable story of two courageous women, who unite to tell each other of their past. The story gives a revelation for a yearning for a cultural identity and family history. It is human nature that everyone would want to identify himself/herself with his or her family and this was captured in the story about the two women. Furthermore, the orphan train highlights some of the challenges that orphans underwent while being placed in homes. The story gives an account of the little known US history, which occurred from 1854-1929. It is estimated that approximately 200, 000 children, who were orphaned or had parents who were unable to care for them, were transported from East Coast to Mid West to be taken by families (Warren).
In her story, Christina Baker Kline captures the physical and psychological torture that the children underwent. Her story about Vivian gives an account of the nature and extent of anguish that the orphans would later struggle to overcome in their early and later lives.
“As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine; the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past (Angus).”
The excerpt outlines the life of secrecy and psychological challenges that was led by Vivian, a similar fate that many orphans undergo while searching for the identity and family history. Many of the orphans including Molly struggle with such challenges. However, by sharing and expressing their feelings, such orphans are often relieved. The other important value in the Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train is that it teaches how people tell stories and what their stories reveal about them (Kline). The book addresses the themes of the elisions that are concealed by the outward appearance, the silences that cover the long-held secrets and the insidious and pervasive legacies…………………..
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