17 pages • 34 minutes read
Nadine GordimerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The train’s arrival at the station represents a collision of worlds: the impoverished and isolated world of the native villagers, and the sheltered, privileged world of the passengers on the train. The contrast is made especially stark by the fact that the passengers never leave the train as if they fear being abandoned in the village or being contaminated by the poverty of the residents. Their only contact with the native villagers is through the train’s windows, reinforcing the social gulf between them.
Yet, there is desperation on both sides of this gulf. The passengers reach out toward the native people and shout as much as the native people hold their wares up at the passengers. The passengers want to see and acquire these wares, but there is also a sense that they want to broaden their experience and make a human connection. They do not know how to do so other than through haggling. When the passengers who have reached their heads outside the windows look back at the passengers who have remained in their seats, the latter look sealed off and distant: “Those sitting inside looked up: suddenly different, caged faces, boxed in, cut off after the contact of outside” (44).
By Nadine Gordimer
Burger's Daughter
Burger's Daughter
Nadine Gordimer
July's People
July's People
Nadine Gordimer
Jump and Other Stories
Jump and Other Stories
Nadine Gordimer
None to Accompany Me
None to Accompany Me
Nadine Gordimer
Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time
Nadine Gordimer
Six Feet of the Country
Six Feet of the Country
Nadine Gordimer
The Conservationist
The Conservationist
Nadine Gordimer
The Moment Before the Gun Went Off
The Moment Before the Gun Went Off
Nadine Gordimer
The Pickup
The Pickup
Nadine Gordimer
The Ultimate Safari
The Ultimate Safari
Nadine Gordimer
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection