Web design and content by the 8th-grade students of Bernard Zell
A student's guide to the novel inspired by hidden history.
Dark Skies and Epilogue
Chapter Summary
Tsura, along with Annet is taken by Nazis to a kitchen as a threat to the remaining protesters at Rosenstrasse. Though the Nazis only keep some of the women at Rosenstrasse for one night, Tsura is still questioned forcing her to lie about her identity. Back at the Jewish Community Center, Alex wakes up in pain remembering how the Nazis had beaten him for being homosexual. The pain continues when he remembers his love, Marko, is dead (or so he believes). Alex is finally released from the blood-stained room and is led to a truck as Nazi soldiers discuss his possibly short future. His little sister, Ruth, receives the final clue to the scavenger hunt from Elise. Ruth’s dad is released and her mom comes back. She starts to discover her brother's hidden identity but can't believe that Alex is homosexual. She then finds the porcelain train and is distraught that the Nazis deported Alex. Elise, on the other hand, now knows that Ruth is the same as her and she finally gives Ruth the clue that she had been withholding because of her jealousy. Elise’s mother kicks her own daughter out of the house for being with a Roma. After being kicked out of Elise's home, Marko wakes up in the cellar and Tsura comes in. Tsura questions Marko about his fight with the Nazi and his injuries. Marko won’t reveal anything because he is ashamed of his mistakes. Meanwhile, Marko’s little cousin, Kizzy, is at Auschwitz and has arrived at her barrack. She hears a familiar voice and discovers that her Aunt Jaelle is there. She learns her mother got ill and died while being transported to Auschwitz. Aunt Jaelle asked her about Tsura and Marko, but she knows nothing.
In the Epilogue, Tsura and Marko debate at the train station whether or not they should leave Berlin. They separate as Tsura stays in Berlin as Marko boards the train to London. “They’ll never know we were here.”
Chapter Analysis
A significant event in the epilogue is that Tsura stays behind in Berlin and Marko gets on the train to London. Tsura wants Marko to go to London, to be safe, and to be somewhere where he can be himself and not be scared of possible death. Marko tells Tsura not to leave him. Though he doesn’t always admit it, he likes having Tsura nearby as a safety net and as someone who understands him. They promise each other they will find each other after the war as many families did during the Holocaust. In a previous draft, Danny Cohen intended for Tsura and Marko to get on the train to London together. But he realized that Tsura would never do that, “she had to stay and fight”.
Another important idea is unconcluded stories. Tsura goes back into London and Kizzy and Alex are brought to Auschwitz. Danny Cohen decided not to finish these character’s ending for one reason. His reason deals with empathy towards Holocaust survivors. Most survivors never found closure post-war so why should these fictional survivors find it?
The scavenger hunt as a symbol is particularly important in the final chapter of Train. Ruth completes the scavenger hunt giving her some sort of closure, just like this chapter provides the reader. The scavenger hunt throughout the book symbolizes chaos and falling apart. But in the end, some characters find closure and some characters’ stories are left unclear.