English101Critical/AnalyticalEssayResponseFinal

HeidiNwosu
06/09/2016

The ultimate tragedy isnottheoppressionandcrueltybythebadpeoplebutthesilence

overthatbythegoodpeople.MartinLutherKingJr.
Loss and tragedycanbedefinedasnolongerhavingsomethingofvalue,thedeathofsomeone
or a significant life eventthatevokesthefeelingsofsorrow,grief,financialruinorfatality.Weas
people can be shaped by tragedy, but it is ultimately our decision to rise abovethesorrowand
carry on strong. The journey to fight this definition reshapes us as individuals and can change
the course of our lifetime forever. Christina Baker Klines novel, Orphan Train highlights the
idea of tragedy and loss being the ultimate restraint from becoming who we are. The effect of
adversity on an individualsbehaviourishighlightedanddemonstratedthroughtheprotagonists
strugglewithacceptance,theuncertaintiesoflife,andthewilltosurvive.

Survival requires us to leave our prejudices at home.It'saboutdoingwhateverittakes,

andultimatelythosewiththebiggestheartwillwin.BearGrylls
The exposition of the story showcases, Vivians strong sense of security in preserving her
personality and identity as a person. Her endurance for survival and acceptance among
different people set her apart from the many other children on the orphan train. The audience
learnsthroughVivianstroubledchildhoodandupbringing,thechangeinherthinkingandtactics
for survival. Her willingness to learn and the ability to forget the pasttoacertainextent,proves
her to be a strong individual in her time of struggle and need. Vivians lifehasbeenonan ever
changing cycle with new experiences and losses. Following the death of her family her
understanding of acceptance has been altered. Knowing that she is of Irish descent, and
knowing that society does not accept her with open arms, she creates a barrier to protect
herself and her feelings. She remains strong on the outside and continues to stay vulnerable
and fragile on the inside, but refuses to let it show to others. Her appearance makes her
experience with others all the more difficult. Throughout the story,continuousreferencestoher
red hair and freckles play an important role in deciding where she goes as an orphan. She
questionsherappearanceandwishesshecouldchangecertainaspectsofherselfinordertobe
able to assimilate into their modern society. The families that have chosen to take her in, see
her as a servant. Sleeping in hallways, and using outside restrooms is partofherdailyroutine,
and leaves Vivian wondering when people will see past her appearance and take her inbased
on who she is a person. Learning to fend for herself, at theyoungageofnineyearsold,Vivian
has grown in a brutal but mature manner. She learns to never bring her past into light and
focusesonthefuturetosurvivetheuncertaintiesthatisyettocome.


There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and
hurt.ErmaBombeck
ThroughoutVivianslifeshewasbalancingonalineofuncertaintyandprecariousness.Withher
being chosen to a family, she believes that her life is in order, forgetting the fact that she is
easily replaceable. The audience feels Vivians compressed sadness and the feeling ultimately
translates to the overall experience that Vivian has. Fighting to keep her placeVivianbegins to
conform to the ways of the people around her and starts to hide who she really is. This is a
result of the difficulties that she experiences when she was sentto theorphanageandthenput
on the orphan train. Vivians struggle with acceptance among people also translates to her
experiences and her parents death. Her behavior changes as each new experience comes to
pass. The one adaptation she has made that hasremainedconstantthroughoutherchallenges
is to never forget where she came from. In other words she always remained true to herself
even though she tried to suppress it. With this thinking Vivian makes continuous efforts to
remain in the Byrnes household, but ultimately all her efforts are in vain.Shegetsrelocatedto
another family due to the Byrnes misfortune in their business and inability to support the
workers. Vivian is placed in the care of the Grotes family, a dysfunctional unit who has no
financial stability and relies on the workings of their father.Duringhertimeatthe Grotessheis
not taken care of properly and goes to schoolsmellingunwashedand musty.She makesdo
with whatever is available and is left with most of the household duties. She feels abandoned
and forgotten, she feels as if she has been dropped into a misery worse than her own. As
discouraged and unwanted as she felt she stayed because she had nowhere else to go. Her
thoughts and her reality all come crashing down one fatal night when Mr. Grote wakes her up
without reason. Without any warning she experiences one of the worst events in her life. She
flees from the Grotes house to the one place she knows that she will be safe. Through this
misfortune her ability to trust people has declined, she is therefore heedful to all actions taken
bypeoplesheencounters.

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains itsown
seed,itsownlessononhowtoimproveyourperformancethenexttime.MalcolmX
Through all of Vivian's hardshipsand difficultiesthereisalessonhiddenbeneath.Herresponse
to each experience builds her up to be a stronger person overall. Her life begins to impact
people in more ways than one. Over the next couple of years Vivian has been raised by a
respectable familywhotreatsherproperly.Throughtthemshelearnsthepoweroflovebetween
others and is assured the feeling of acceptance among her family. She experiences many
hardships throughout her life all the way up to her old age, but her traumatic experiences as a
girl hasimpactedanunexpectedcandidate.17yearoldMollyAyeris agirlwhoexperiencedthe
loss of her parents at a young age as well. Brought together from unlikely circumstances they
begin to impact each other without realizing. Though Molly and Vivian have a huge age gap
between them, they teach each other a valuable lesson in life. Vivian was impacted by Molly
through her determination to encourage Vivian to open up about her past. By doing so she is
taught Vivian to accept the past for how it played out. No matter whatmisdeedsthat mayhave

occurred. She taught Vivian to forgive herself and to work harder to undo the wrongs that she
may have done. Vivian impacted Molly by opening up her home to indirectly teach Mollyabout
the importance of responsibility and valuinglifessmallmoments insteadofworryingaboutlifes
difficulties. Vivian accepted Molly for who she is as a person and didn'tjudgeherbasedonher
appearance. Molly rejected her ways of defiance and found a new comfort in Vivian. We only
develop true happiness within ourselves by developing tactics to survive difficult times and the
challengesofadversity.

In conclusion, the way we conduct ourselves through difficulties is how we learn to

define ourselves for something great. The tragedies itself do not define who we are, but the
purpose of our journeys through life. The valuable lessons we learn prepare us for the future
and the uncertainties that may come. As readers we are given an insight of the change Vivan
undergoes regarding her confidence in herself andherinternalstruggle tofeelacceptedamong
people. The determination she has to overcome her problems, showcases her will to survive
and the ultimate reward received when effort has been inputted. These lessons eventually
translated into her old age and she wasabletoimpactayoung womenandwasabletoreceive
a lesson in return. Newly reformed as a person and a survivor her determination becomes
directed to creating a new family for herself surrounded by those who love and respect her.
Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater
benefit.NapoleonHill