Train Dreams Summary and Character Analysis

Characters:
Robert Granier- The protagonist of the novel. Robert is depicted as a simple, yet hardworking man who is always up for an adventurous job. Robert is not affected by loss and
is even used to the death of his coworkers. He ages throughout the novel from a newlywed to an old man. He is often alone after his wife, Gladys, dies. He also tends to be
nomadic, but he always returns to his home in Meadow Creek. Many of the lessons the
reader learns throughout the story are through Roberts experiences.
The Chinaman- Only seen in the first chapter. He is a laborer for the company that
Robert is employed at. However, the boss at the job feels the man is trying to cheat the
company and decides to kill him. He has Robert and a few other man try to throw the
man off a bridge, however, he escapes which scares Robert. He is supposed to represent
humans fear of the unknown because he is of a different culture.
Gladys Granier- Roberts wife who presumably is a house-wife. She is madly in love
with her husband, however they display it in extremely odd ways. For example, they
arent affectionate, and by todays standards would be especially prude for a married
couple. She dies after a fire burns through the entire town while Robert is away.
Kate Granier- Robert and Gladyss infant daughter who does not appear to ever
recognize her father early in the novella. She seems to have an attachment to her mother
though because she is her primary caretaker. After a fire that terrorizes her community,
her mother Gladys is killed, while she according to Robert has been raised by a pack of
wolves and has become a wolf girl.

Arn Peeples- An early coworker of Robert Granier who is known for his magnificent
strength and courage. He is a symbol of bravery and unlikelihood as he is killed on the
job by a tree branch.
William Haley- A man that a young Robert finds near the edge of a river who is dying.
He claims that he was robbed and hurt lethally and has some things to get off his chest
just in case. He was a pedophile, who was obsessed with his niece, Susan, who he
touched every night. He is a symbol of an abuser.
Susan Haley- William Haleys niece who is known for deep sleeps that are induced by
her abusive father. William is obsessed with her, and begins to rape her because she does
not awake from her sleep at night due to her harsh beatings. She eventually dies from one
of these beatings. She is a symbol of innocence and abuse.
Kootenai Bob- A Native American who befriends Robert throughout the novel. However,
he is always looked down upon because of his race. At one point in the novel, some white
men trick him into drinking alcohol, which is against his culture, rendering him
inebriated. He eventually walks to a train track where he lays down to rest and is run over
by a train. He is a symbol of deceit, fear of the unknown, cruelty those you are not
familiar with.
The Pinkham Family- Family that employs Robert after their son dies of a heart attack
on the job with Robert. This appears to be the only time Robert is truly happy after his
wife dies, because they pay him good wages and treat him well.
Peterson- A surveyor who goes on a hauling journey with Robert. He appears to be
extremely delusional, claiming his dog had tried to shoot him. Clearly a dog cannot

handle a rifle and shoot a human, so Peterson is a symbol for the crazy who are extremely
afraid of their surroundings and the unknown.
Eddie Sauer- An old friend of Roberts who is constantly losing his money to prostitutes
and gambling. He hires Robert to move a widow, Claire Thompson, in an attempt to get
the two together since they are both widows. He eventually ends up settling down with a
Native American women. He is a symbol of lust.
Claire Thompson- Woman who Robert is hired to pick up. She is clearly interested in
Robert. However, Robert who is sexually inept doesnt understand and rejects her
advances depressing her. She symbolizes loss and depression.
Wolf-Boy- The boy Robert sees in a show at the end of the book. His roar is at first
comedic, however, it then begins to control the audience and impress them mightily. The
book ends abruptly after this roar symbolizing the acceptance of he unknown.
Story Summary:
The story is set in Meadow Creek in the late 1800s to mid 1950s. Robert Granier
and his fellow co-workers are taking a Chinese man up a mountain to kill him. He has
apparently undermined the company and thus needs to be executed. He then escapes the
men and promises revenge on them. Robert is extremely frightened by this and rushes
back to his house to find his wife, Gladys, and daughter Kate. His wife is thrilled to see
him but doesnt display much emotion. The daughter barely recognizes her father which
saddens Robert. We then flash forward to Roberts job with Arn Peeples. Arn tends to do
all the adventurous work but eventually dies on the job. Robert then flashes back to his
younger years when he met William Haley and heard the story of his raping of his niece
and her eventual death. This permanently renders him not affected by death. He then

flashes back to how he met his eventual wife Gladys at church. They are both very prude
and extremely unaffectionate. It is then explained that Roberts wife and daughter were
consumed by a fire and were nowhere to be found and presumably dead. Robert became
extremely depressed and his only friend became a little red dog who he found happiness
in. Eventually the dog went out and never returned which also really hurt Robert. It is
also explained that Roberts only real friend Kootenai Bob was killed after becoming
drunk by accident for the first time and being hit by a train. Robert then began to make a
routine out of his summers working for the Pinkhams which really made him happy. He
then meets Peterson while on a job who is an extremely delusional man. He claims that
his dog handled a rifle and attempted to shoot him. Granier then heads back to Meadow
Creek where he begins to fear his dreams and isolate himself from the world. Then he
goes to visit his friend Eddie up north where he rides in a plane for the first time. He also
meets Claire Thompson who is clearly interested in him but Robert is too prude to realize
this. After returning home for the winter, Robert encounters a Wolf-Girl at his home at
night who appears to be his daughter. This supports the theory that while his wife had
died in the fire, a pack of wolves raised his daughter to be one of their own. She comes to
him injured, and Robert takes care of her but as soon as she heals, she leaves and leaves
Robert even more lonely and depressed. The novella then flashes forward to the 1930s
when Robert goes through a period of extreme lust. Always a prude, Robert never had
touched himself and began to do so in this chapter. He also feels extremely depressed and
lonely in this portion of the story. He eventually walks into town and sees many shows
that are for people that are for 16 years and older. He sees a wolf-boy in one show whose
howl transcends sound and the novella ends abruptly.

Major Themes:
Nature- Throughout the novel, nature, the Wild/West, and the unknown are conveyed
through a series of emotions. They can be a place of solitude, fear, or adventure. For
Robert, it is his home and experiences all three of the aforementioned emotions.
Solitude- Many characters appear to be alone throughout the whole novella, especially
Robert. In some ways this is a positive as he is able to focus on his work and he is exempt
from laws of society. However, he has no human interaction and is extremely lonely.
Animals- Animals are often portrayed as unknown in this novella except in the case of
the dog. The dog is Roberts best friend while the wolf-people are at first creepy but by
the end of the story they amaze Robert implying that animals should be respected and
cared for.
Hard Work- Robert and his coworkers often exhibit extremely hard work that never
seems to pay off as most die on the job. However, most are doing what they love showing
that work does pay off if you love what you are doing.
Dreams vs. Reality- We as a reader never really know which parts of Roberts life are
dreams and which are reality. We as the reader must believe everything is reality but we
must question whether or not the scenes with the wolf-people are real because it is not
reality to have a hybrid wolf person.
Outsiders/Insiders/Society/Unknown- This Novella embodies all four of these things as
Robert is at one point in the story an outsider or insider. Also there is extreme fear of the
unknown by all characters in this story. Lastly, while he is apart from society, Robert is
extremely lonely and depressed because of this.
Story Analysis:

The whole story is supposed to show that one needs to accept the unknown and
become accustomed to new things. Whether it be Robert accepting the wolf-people or the
constant fear of dying alone the message the author is trying to send is to live life without
fear of what you cannot control. Also, the author is trying to explain to the reader that one
should not let dreams consume reality like Robert in the novella in the later half of the
story. In addition, the author wants us to question society and their persecution of the
Chinaman and Kootenai Bob. Also the author makes a point that people should connect
more with nature and animals through the dog and the nature that surrounds Robert.
Lastly, the author wants the readers to understand that hard work pays off especially in
the case of Robert Granier when he works for the Pinkhams.