Colegio San Agustin Makati

Senior High School

1st Sem - A.Y. 2020-2021

Subject/ Course: 21st Century Literature Learning Cycle: Cycle 4

Name: Julia Ericka C. Bayocot Section: 12J Date Accomplished: September 15, 2020

The Great Epiphany

Nadine Gordimer’s Train to Rhodesia is truly a ride to the inevitable journeys of life that
reveal a tormented epiphany, the distorted reality that must no longer be avoided, kept in the dark,
or ignored. In this story, one of her earliest works as it has been published in 1952, she explores
the root of life in a small South African village where the train, with hundreds of different people
with different destinations on it, briefly pauses and takes a stop before continuing on with the
journey. The brief encounter of the main character with a man selling a lion figurine brings out the
hierarchy of society and the reality behind a gap that was more than just an arms-reach away.
Through the Marxist criticism, this tale looks into the unjustifiable line drawn between the higher
class and those that struggle in the bottom level of this hierarchal society. The Train to Rhodesia
is not a mere story of experiences in reality, but the very tale that lets its readers experience reality
in all its gory, disturbing realness that slowly draw the line between the rich and the poor.

In the beginning of the story, Gordimer set the mood as she introduced the train’s arrival
through the tense readiness that engulfed in the air. This can be observed through the line “A stir
of preparedness rippled through the squatting native vendors waiting in the dust;” As she did so,
she highlighted the presence of the stationmaster, a man to guide the train of people to its brief
pause that was soon to be an awakening, an epiphany. While the character of the stationmaster
would pass as a predetermined exposition character that simply invited the audience into the
story, it is symbolical through the stationmaster’s blind representation and leadership of the
society, the symbolical meaning behind the train, in which only the titled, the bourgeoisie, and
those considered noble in the highest classes of the modern world were truly paid attention to.
This implication, however, is a gradual realization that is slowly built for the readers to come to
terms with, along with the character herself, as the mood surrounding the nature of the story is
made. As part of the introduction and exposition, the seemingly concealed detailed description of
a wooden animal held in a sack by a man of fueled readiness showcased a sense of
foreshadowing as this description would spark the conflict of the story. It can then be implied that
the man with carved wooden animals belongs to the lower class of society as the story explicitly
describes his noble job as a vendor. This is evident in the line, “A stir of preparedness rippled
through the squatting native vendors waiting in the dust; the face of a carved wooden animal,
eternally surprised, stuck out of a sack.” As the story is set in Africa, street vendors are considered
to be low-wage workers. This is supported by a study made by The Conversation focusing on the
economic situation in South Africa back in 2019 where they found that the most low-wage workers
were garbage collectors, domestic helpers and cleaners, and street vendors, above all. As the
train neared the station and eventually came to a stop, the man (street vendor) was established
to be a main character of the story as he begins to interact with other characters in the story, the
first interaction described in the story. This first interaction between the two main characters of
the story is observed through the line, “Here, let me see that one—the young woman curved her
body farther out of the corridor window. Missus? Smiled the old man, looking at the creatures he
held in his hand.”

Upon the arrival of the train and the interaction of the man and the woman, the story
established the clear line between the woman’s status in society and the old man’s. This, then,
allows the readers to imply that the woman belongs to a higher class in society, much higher than
the old man described to be a street vendor since the actions and lines that her character is acting
on shows that of the interest to purchase an item. Her intention to buy the lion wooden carved
figurine is evident in the lines, “No, no, she urged, leaning down towards him, across the height
of the train towards the man in the piece of the old rug; that one, that one, her hand commanded.”
and “How much, they asked from the train, how much?” With that, one can associate that the
mere fact the woman intends to purchase an item would imply that she is able to afford it, thus,
allowing for the conclusion that she is in a position in a society that is above the old man’s or can
be considered as the Bourgeoisie in the story.
 As these events were unfolding, the simple yet meaningful description of the conversation
of the old man and woman unfolding with the height of the train, more than arms-reach worth,
being emphasized shows that this height that separated the old man and the woman was the very
gap between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariats. Having established that the story revolved
around an economic nature, due to the exchange of goods occurring, the Marxist idea sees the
symbol of the train’s height and its reason to separate the man and the woman as an artistic
manifestation of the gap between the rich and the poor prevalent in modern society, especially in
Africa. To add onto its focus on the economic aspect of society, the act of bargaining was also
greatly emphasized in the story when the woman refused to buy the lion for three-and-six as she
found its set price far too expensive for a wooden animal. The act of bargaining is known to be an
existent reality in the world of business wherein buyers tend to ask of lower prices with the
expectation of the product with the same caliber of quality to be sold to them. Through the Marxist
approach, this then, can be seen as the reflection of a society that is geared to toward a “High
Quality-Low Price” mindset, a common term used in the economic facet of society to describe the
dominant mindset that a customer keeps in mind when purchasing different goods.

“No, never mind, she said, leave it.” As the act of bargaining left both the woman and the
old man at the spectrum of defeat given that the woman refused to purchase the lion for the given
price of the man, the woman returned to her seat to which began the slow yet steady flashes of
realization. Just as she returned, she could not help but think about the lion that could have been
and how a work of such refined artistic skills, effort, and passion would look in her own home. The
woman pondered on thoughts and ideas by saying, “But the wooden buck, the hippos, the
elephants, the baskets that already bulked out of their brown paper under the seat and on the
luggage rack! How will they look at the home? Where will you put them? What will they mean
away from the places you found them? Away from the unreality of the last few weeks?” While she
was left with her thoughts, the sound of the bell that signaled the near of the train’s departure was
introduced in the story. While it gave a signal to an event in the story, it is also symbolical of the
woman’s realization coming into the forefront of her mind which is the slow realization of her role
as a member of the higher class and how she affects the or influences, even in small way, the
entire life of a proletariat to which it is evident that there is an injustice and gap. During this event,
the story goes back to the old man as he started chasing after the train with all his might to call
out the to the young woman’s husband and offering to sell the carved wooden lion for one-and-
six, a price far too little to compensate for his effort and talent to create the piece. It is through this
particular event when the fairness, or lack thereof, in treatment of the Bourgeoisie towards the
proletariats is evident since it showcases the reality that those in the lower class are forced to
submit to people in the higher class in order to survive and is often due to the power that these
Bourgeoisie possess. This only emphasizes how proletariats does not fare well in economic or
political aspects given the restricting, abusive, and authoritative power that the upper class has
over them. When the man had returned to the train to see the young woman, the weight of a
wooden lion on his hand, the woman stared at him in shock. This is not because of her excitement
to see that her husband had gotten her a gift, however, this is the shock of torment as she had
realized that her husband had played a game on the man and used “bargaining” as a means to
rob the old man of the recognition of his noble job and the art he had poured his soul and heart,
and perhaps the small capital that he has into making the wooden animals. “One-and-six Baas!
So there’s your lion.” The man said as this showcases the bitter reality and supremely unjust
treatment of the bourgeoisie toward the proletariats wherein the upper class always seemingly
have their way given their access to different opportunities. While the man had been at ease on
the train that kept moving forward to an awaited future, the old vendor was running with all his
might to catch up to the train with an uncertainty of what shall unfold in his life. This representation
used by Nadine Gordimer in showcasing the unfair means to obtaining an economically stable life
depicts the literal side-by-side difference of the life of the rich and the poor, and shows how one’s
social class determines all that is good or bad in their lives. This shows how the old man struggled
and opted for any option that could give him the slightest opportunities at life while the young man
and woman, representing the upper class, fare better in life due to the opportunities that are
granted to them by their social class and status in life.

As the woman took the lion, barely being able to look at it as the brutality and abuse of her
actions towards a man who was simply trying to make a living has sunken in, she buried herself
in the thought of this and stayed in a state of sorrowful silence throughout the ride as the story
explains by stating, “She sat down again in the corner and, her face slumped in her hands, stared
out of her window. Everything was turning around inside her. One-and-six. One-and-six. One-
and-six for the wood and the carving and the sinews of the legs and the switch of the tail.” It is
through this epiphany of the woman the Nadine Gordimer reveals the realization, the
acknowledgment rather, of the widened gap between the rich and the poor which has led to
unjustifiable actions that treat proletariats insignificantly. Because of the difference in social class,
there is also an attached level or equated amount of respect given to a person to which this story
emphasizes how those who are higher up in the spectrum of economy and the societal hierarchy
based on money abuse their power and capabilities to treat those who are below them as inferior
beings as it has been stated in the story that the man bargained with the old man “for fun”. Into
the quiet and seemingly ending journey, the story ends with, “The train had cast the station like a
skin. It called out to the sky, I’m coming, I’m coming; and again, there was no answer.” This seeks
to reiterate a line from the first part of the story which can now be understood as a message and
a call to the audience to listen to the cries of those who are in the lower class, the proletariats,
and the less fortunate in order to attend to their needs in a just and fair manner, ensuring to
abolish the attachment of social classes and hierarchy in order for them to pursue their jobs, as
low-waged as they may be, with the best of their ability and capacity.

Analyzing this story by Nadine Gordimer with the use of Marxism, it is evident as to how
she artistically and intellectually created a story that mirrors the horrors that society faces today
through the use of a single and simple element, the wooden lion, that binds the story together and
perfectly showcases the effort put into work by those that are working on a daily basis to survive
in life. Yet, they fare poorly in the game of life, the economy and politics, as society battles them
with unjust rules and built-in classes that threaten their capability to make a living. With only the
widened gap between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariats, Gordimer was able to depict in such
a subtle, simple, yet meaningful manner as to what this distance apart through the distance on
the train and this gap has resulted to by showing the loss of the old man as he sold his hard
worked goods for a smaller price all for the sake of surviving while the characters labeled as the
Bourgeoisie were portrayed as happily free-willed individuals that find adventure in places where
respect should have been given. While the story depicts the upper class as somewhat selfish
individuals, it does not fail to add a touch of humanity into the story by allowing the woman to
realize that she has abused her social class in a manner that belittled others. In this artistic touch
of the story, Gordimer presents a blissful simplicity as she creates an ending of both losses, the
old man’s and the woman’s grave conscience and acknowledgement as a result of her status and
realization.

Given the symbolisms that are distinct to the world of economy and social classes, The
Train to Rhodesia was able to encapsulate emotions, thoughts, feelings, especially
acknowledgement that must be touched on when discussing an issue that is deeply rooted in the
heart of reality. Through the clear representation of the old man as the proletariat and the result
of this social class into his loss of income, dignity, and respect for his noble job, Gordimer exposes
the accurate reality that modern world faces today with the increased rates of poverty wherein
people belonging to this unfortunate class strive to find every possible means to survive on a daily
basis. The area of the story that did not fail to connect economy, sociology, and politics to art is
found in the realization of the woman towards the end of the story where she acknowledges the
tiniest details of the wooden lion, as if trying to repay the old man in a way that he would never
receive, yet in a manner that would change the woman’s life and her perspective of the world for
the rest of her life.

In this modern world, this work of Nadine Gordimer is to be seen in the light of awakening
and a call to act upon the injustices caused by the line drawn between those who belong to the
classes of society. The Train to Rhodesia is not a mere story of experiences in reality, but the
very tale that lets its readers experience reality in all its gory, disturbing realness that slowly draw
the line between the rich and the poor. In fact, it is the first step taken by Gordimer to lessen this
gap and promote the proper treatment of respect, acknowledgement of nobility, and dedication of
a man/woman’s work despite a label imposed upon by society and a “class” that, sadly,
determines the worthiness of respect of an individual. By sharing the Marxist roots of this text,
there is an understanding of what it truly means and could change the way society as a whole
views itself. The Train to Rhodesia is a calling to a self-actualization and reevaluation of society’s
actions wherein it aims to tap into those whose hearts have gone cold in the long and ignorant
journeys of the train of life. Its essence and significance is rooted in the heart of reality and the
reflection of the harsh norms in society that people have chosen to accept rather than address
such as the gap between the rich and the poor as emphasized in the story and the Marxist theory.
With Nadine Gordimer’s work as a calling to act, this modern world must listen.
 Nadine Gordimer has opened a portal that exists between the reality and art yet mirrors
each other in a way that showcases those that need to be addressed, fixed, improved, and with
such a revolutionary work of literature, she was able to encapsulate the pain of a stolen dignity
and the beauty of acknowledgement and epiphany in order to combat the widening gap of the
upper and lower class.

Sources:

Derek Yu Associate Professor. (2020, January 26). Employed but still poor: The state of low-wage working poverty in South Africa. Retrieved
September 17, 2020, from https://theconversation.com/employed-but-still-poor-the-state-of-low-wage-working-poverty-in-south-africa-118018