Motif Analysis

“Genocide rips society apart.” - Danny M. Cohen

Destruction is a common motif throughout the story of Train. There are many examples of physical destruction such as the bombing of Berlin, the shattering of two of the cars of Ruth’s porcelain train, and the demolition of the Broden's’ house first by the Nazis, and then by the bombs. There are also emotional examples of destruction, like the loss of Tsura’s trust in Marko, Elise’s family, and Kizzy’s childhood. The six characters themselves are metaphorically destroyed by the Holocaust, losing important parts of themselves like innocence, trust, confidence, and for Elise, mental health.

All of these examples can be summarized as an eradication of different races and religion, progress towards peace, and history itself. Quotes relating to destruction such as, “Ruth hadn’t repented for her sins. And now the confession box was ash” (323), “Nothing worked anymore” (72), and “Ruth stared at the rubble and ashes and the space that, just over an hour ago, had been her family’s home” (226),  add to the story by creating a mood of hopelessness, and help readers understand how powerful the impact of the Holocaust was on various aspects of life.

The emotional damage makes the most powerful impact on the characters in Train. While the physical wreckage caused changes in where the characters lived, and in what they owned, the emotional breakage changed the characters’ personalities and worldviews.

Elise is a character who experiences both physical and emotional destruction in Train. Elise’s family unit is physically destroyed by the Nazi, leaving her with a dead brother, a father fighting for her brother’s murderers, and a despondent and emotionally distant mother. Though these events have a powerful effect on Elise’s life, the guilt, or emotional damage, she feels from not visiting her brother Victor before he was killed by the Nazis and supporting his killers stay with her throughout the events of Train. She imagines Victor accusing her of abandoning him, saying things like, “You didn’t come see me” (292), “Elise, I waited for you. It was my birthday” (300), and “Do you remember me?” (326). Elise’s guilt causes more harm than the physical damage to Elise, causing her to drive away Ruth, her closest friend, and cut herself.

   Ruth also experiences both emotional and physical damage in Train. Ruth’s family and home are destroyed, but the emotional harm that she experiences from watching her brother being taken away stays with her. After Ruth completes Alex’s scavenger hunt, she says that “her brother’s game was meaningless”, and that she couldn’t imagine Alex returning home (354). Ruth’s loss of faith in Alex shows that her emotional damage causes her to lose hope in the symbol that guides her through the events of Train, and connects her to her brother. Ruth loses her brother when the Nazis arrest Alex, but she loses him a second time when she finishes his scavenger hunt.

   Danny M. Cohen summarized the emotional and physical damage in Train in an interview, saying, “Genocide turns the world upside down. The Holocaust turned these characters’ lives upside down. The characters who are the happiest at the beginning, they all end up being broken in some way. Innocence becomes cynicism. They are broken and cynical, and the see the world in a more complex way. “ This connects to the motif of destruction, explaining how destructive the Nazi regime was on citizens of Germany and beyond, and how powerful the carnage was