Through hardships, the people you least expect can provide friendship, the most cherished gift. In the novel, The Orphan Train, Molly Ayer and Vivian Daly are navigating two separate, yet very similar lives, but when they cross paths they build an improbable, yet remarkable friendship. Molly Ayer, a seventeen-year-old girl, faces a series of undeserved challenges that lead her to closure and friendship. Molly has a decent life with her family until her father passes away in a car crash and her mother abandons her. She is sent to an extensive series of short-term foster homes that were all unpleasant. Her disruptive behavior hindered her from staying in a home for more than a year at a time until she found herself in Ralph and Dina’s home.
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Her mother, unfortunately, was rendered unfit to care for a child due to her mental state. Despite the magnitude of her misfortune, this was merely the beginning of her sorrows. Niamh was placed on the orphan train to find a new family, as if they could simply replace everything she loved. While she was traveling through the Mid-West, she met Dutchy, another orphan, whom she quickly realized was her soul mate. They were separated, but they promised to find each other later in life. Niamh was auctioned off to the Brynes family, who owned a sewing company. They purchased her similar to the way one purchases livestock leaving her feeling degraded and dehumanized. The way the bought her resembled how they treated her, like an animal. They never viewed as anything more than a dollar sign, let alone family. Thinking she had already lost everything, she was stripped of her identity even more whe they renamed her Dorothy. She was not the optimistic girl, who emigrated from Ireland. There was not a trace of Niamh left in her. In addition to all of this, the Byrnes kept Dorothy from school, her former, treasured …show more content…
Molly inquires Vivian, “Do you believe in spirits? Or ghosts?” Vivian replies, “Yes, I do. I believe in ghosts...They 're the ones who haunt us. The ones who have left us behind." Throughout the book, both Vivian and Molly’s ghosts emerge to the surface of their thoughts. In the literal unpacking of Vivian memories, she is visited my people from her past including her beloved, baby sister whose life was cut short by a tragic fire, her multiple, tentative families that stripped her identity, and Dutchy, her lover, the only person she ever loved “beyond reason”. Similarly, Molly’s mother, the one who abandoned her for a life of immorality, haunted Molly. This left Molly shipwrecked in the ocean of life, washing from family to family without any thing to grab hold of. On the contrary, Molly’s father left her a legacy of perseverance and hope through the gentle words he wedged into her memory forever. Unfortunately, Molly’s foster families were not able to encourage her like her father, leaving her scarred by their cold-hearted care. Vivian and Molly survived by memories of their past, clinging to their identity through the only unbroken thing in their lives, their necklaces. Vivian’s Claddagh necklace, given to her by her Gram, represents the simplicity of her previous life and her Irish heritage. She reminisces on the smell of the peeled potatoes, Gram’s costume jewelry, and Da’s out of
Her mother, unfortunately, was rendered unfit to care for a child due to her mental state. Despite the magnitude of her misfortune, this was merely the beginning of her sorrows. Niamh was placed on the orphan train to find a new family, as if they could simply replace everything she loved. While she was traveling through the Mid-West, she met Dutchy, another orphan, whom she quickly realized was her soul mate. They were separated, but they promised to find each other later in life. Niamh was auctioned off to the Brynes family, who owned a sewing company. They purchased her similar to the way one purchases livestock leaving her feeling degraded and dehumanized. The way the bought her resembled how they treated her, like an animal. They never viewed as anything more than a dollar sign, let alone family. Thinking she had already lost everything, she was stripped of her identity even more whe they renamed her Dorothy. She was not the optimistic girl, who emigrated from Ireland. There was not a trace of Niamh left in her. In addition to all of this, the Byrnes kept Dorothy from school, her former, treasured …show more content…
Molly inquires Vivian, “Do you believe in spirits? Or ghosts?” Vivian replies, “Yes, I do. I believe in ghosts...They 're the ones who haunt us. The ones who have left us behind." Throughout the book, both Vivian and Molly’s ghosts emerge to the surface of their thoughts. In the literal unpacking of Vivian memories, she is visited my people from her past including her beloved, baby sister whose life was cut short by a tragic fire, her multiple, tentative families that stripped her identity, and Dutchy, her lover, the only person she ever loved “beyond reason”. Similarly, Molly’s mother, the one who abandoned her for a life of immorality, haunted Molly. This left Molly shipwrecked in the ocean of life, washing from family to family without any thing to grab hold of. On the contrary, Molly’s father left her a legacy of perseverance and hope through the gentle words he wedged into her memory forever. Unfortunately, Molly’s foster families were not able to encourage her like her father, leaving her scarred by their cold-hearted care. Vivian and Molly survived by memories of their past, clinging to their identity through the only unbroken thing in their lives, their necklaces. Vivian’s Claddagh necklace, given to her by her Gram, represents the simplicity of her previous life and her Irish heritage. She reminisces on the smell of the peeled potatoes, Gram’s costume jewelry, and Da’s out of