Train Dreams

Trains symbolize life’s journey and the inevitable passage of time. Grainier notes that “he’d started his life story on a train ride” to live with his aunt and uncle (24). Later, when Grainier and Gladys are living in the cabin in the woods, the narrative states that “many nights they heard the northbound Spokane International train” (8). The frequency of the locomotive running is indicative of the passage of time and how life moves forward unceasingly. On lonely nights long after the fire, he often hears trains in his dreams, which blend with “the sound of Spokane International fading up the valley” (76). In his dreams, when he rides the train, he catches glimpses of his childhood, so when he wakes to the sound of the locomotive, the link between past and present is reinforced. Because he dreams of his past and wakes to his present, the train, which runs throughout to connect the two times, represents his life’s journey and the passage of time.

Kootenai Bob’s brutal death on the railroad tracks also emphasizes how life goes on despite tragedy. Drunk, he falls unconscious over train tracks and “four or five came over him” before anyone discovered what had happened (55).