Orphan Train

In Christina Baker Kline’s book Orphan Train, she uses a variety of different writing styles and techniques to impact the reader’s experience. What makes this book special is how Kline uses point of view in her stories. She writes from two different points of views and switches back and forth between the two. In this story, there are two main characters. There is Vivian, who is in her early 90s and then Molly, who is a teenager. Vivian and Molly are orphans which allows them to connect on another level. Throughout the story, Molly agrees to help Vivian clean out her closet and the more they clean it out, the more Vivian remembers from her childhood and the deeper she travels back into her past. Kline’s unique use of the point of view in the story is very important to the experience of the reader because this allows them to encounter more than one character’s emotions and journey.

The first person point of view, which is written from a character in the story’s perspective using “I”, can be identified in the story when Vivian would talk about her childhood from the past. As she talks about her childhood and trials which she overcame, the reader is able to live through her experiences and know how it feels to lose her family at such a young age, jump from home to home, and have her dignity taken away from her as she got older and older. Although the reader might have not experienced the exact same issues, the point of view allows the reader to feel the character’s feelings because you are reading from their perspective. Having a story written in first person puts the reader in the shoes of the character who is speaking, which is the reason it affects the reader’s emotions so greatly.

The third person point of view, which is written from the outside looking in and when the narrator sees and knows the actions, thoughts and feelings of multiple characters, can be identified in the story when the time period shifts back to the present tense and is more focused on Molly’s feelings and actions. When the story is being told in third person, the reader has the ability to go through a journey with more than one character. Although the third person storytelling is more focused on Molly, the story isn’t based around the feelings of Molly individually. Both Molly and Vivian’s actions and feelings are both expressed in the present day storytelling. The reader is able to experience what the characters are experiencing, which allows the story to be more effective because multiple experiences of the same event are conveyed.

In the story, as Vivian is on the Orphan Train talking to her new friend Dutchy, he says to her “We are headed toward the unknown, and have no choice but to sit quietly in our hard seats and let ourselves be taken there.” Dutchy saying this has an influence on the reader because it makes them feel as if he is talking directly to them. He says “we are headed toward the unknown…”, which instantly places the reader in the shoes of the character from which the point of view is being told from. If Dutchy were to have said “they were headed toward the unknown”, this would have not been as emotional and involving because the reader would not have felt included in the story. Incorporating the reader in the story enables the chance for the reader to relate and connect to the characters.

Julie P, a fan of Kline’s, has read the Orphan Train and fell in love. She says “ I was very impressed with her storytelling abilities, especially how she went back and forth between the present day and the past,  still being able to link together Vivian and Molly's characters.” Julie’s experience while reading the story was also impacted due to the different uses of point of views. Although there was a change in the point of view, Kline still found a way to connect the character’s back to one another. If Kline did not connect Molly and Vivian back to each other, this could have caused confusion for the reader, thus the connections of the character’s was very important.

Another reason Vivian and Molly have such a strong connection is they share many of the same experiences in life. As the story is being told in the present tense and written from third person point of view, it states “When Vivian describes how it felt to be at the mercy of strangers, Molly nods. You’re grateful for the slightest hint of kindness, and then, as you get older, suspicious. Why would anyone do anything for you without expecting something in return?” As Vivian is talking to Molly about her past, Molly is able to understand how she feels. She knows how it feels to constantly be taken advantage of, but was oblivious to it because she was so young and naive, and as they both grew older they began seeing how greedy and evil people can really be. This connects back to Vivian’s past and because the story is written from her point of view, the reader is able to go through her life experience with her. So, because the reader knows how Vivian feels, they are also able to understand how Molly felt since they both have the same experiences.

In conclusion, Kline’s book was definitely unique and stood out to many of the readers of it. Without the point of view being written the way it was written, the reader may have only been able to relate to one of the characters. Also, having the point of views switched back and forth from the past to the present keeps the reader engaged and interested to what will happen next. The reader is able to be in one character’s shoes and seeing their views on life, while also viewing other’s point of views and still being able to relate to the other characters. Kline did an amazing job keeping the story entertaining and leaving the reader at the edge of their seat, all while still connecting the character’s to one another made the story effective.