Orphan Train Photo Essay

1. Claire Jensen
Orphan Train
Christina Baker Kelly
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2. 2
"Vivian has come back to the
idea that the people who matter
in our lives stay with us,
haunting our ordinary
moments. They're with us in
the grocery store, as we turn the
corner, chat with a friend. They
rise up through the pavement;
we absorb them through our
soles. The things that matter
stay with you, seep into your
skin.”

4. 4
Masie weighed as much as a pile of rags, after all, it was
the Great Depression, we could barely afford food.
Logos appeal

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“My entire life has felt like chance. Random moments of loss and
connection. This is the first one that feels, instead, like fate.”

6. 6
The train flew
away like a bird in
the wind, carrying
hundreds of
orphans to their
new homes.
Rhetorical device

7. 7
Section
“Time constricts and
flattens, you know.
It's not evenly
weighted. Certain
moments linger in
the mind and others
disappear.”

8. 8
Animal furs
Silver mines
Learn from
your days as a
youth, as they
will fly as fast
as the wind. I
never thought I
would meet
someone as
special as you,
hold on to your
memories and
cherish the
time with your
loved ones.
Rhetorical device

9. Anglo-Americans Native Americans
“Turtles carry their homes on their backs.” Running her finger over the tattoo, she tells him what her
dad told her: “They’re exposed and hidden at the same time. They’re a symbol of strength and
perseverance.”

10. If we don’t find food soon, we will die of starvation, don’t you
want Masie to live past eighteen months?
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Pathos Appeal

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“I learned long ago that loss is
not only probable but inevitable. I
know what it means to lose
everything, to let go of one life
and find another. And now I feel,
with a strange, deep certainty,
that it must be my lot in life to be
taught that lesson over and over
again”.

12. Thesis
In the novel, Orphan Train, Baker reveals the theme
of the past haunting the present through the use of
vivid flashbacks while presenting the motif of
interconnectedness to convey the importance of
unexpected friendships.
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