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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mighty Miss Malone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hope
Talent and Hard Work
Family
The Black Experience in America
The Great Depression
Summary
Analysis
It isn’t hard to get on a train in Chicago, since all a person has to do is walk down to the railyard and climb into a boxcar while the trains are at rest. But while this is less dangerous than jumping onto a moving train, it’s also stinkier, as Deza, Jimmie, and Mrs. Malone discover. Miss Carter advises them to breathe through their mouths until the train starts moving and fresh air circulates through the car. Deza watches Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan pass by the open door of the boxcar. It takes eight hours to get to Detroit. When the train stops in Battle Creek, Michigan, two White women climb into the boxcar, too.
During the Great Depression, desperate people made their way around the country for free by illegally hitching rides on freight trains. The most dangerous version of this involved, as Deza describes by way of contrast, attempting to jump on or off a moving train. Stowing away is less dangerous but no more dignified, and making their way to Flint via Detroit this way shows just how dire the Malone family’s situation is. Nor are they alone in their misery—countless people of all races are suffering the effects of the Depression.
Themes
As they travel, Miss Carter gives Mrs. Malone advice about staying safe in the camps where homeless rail-riders gather. Look out for bad people, especially those who might like to harm women or little girls like Deza. Miss Carter also advises Mrs. Malone to make it sound like they’re travelling in a big group and with male relatives, to not let anyone know their business, and to stay on their guard against being manipulated or defrauded. In Detroit, an old rail-rider helps Mrs. Malone locate a freight train bound for Flint. Then the Carters and the Malones part ways.
Mrs. Malone doesn’t want to stay in a homeless encampment—but then, as Miss Carter points out, very few people actually do. Most people end up there because there is nowhere else for them to go. The Malone family’s suffering is amplified by—and emblematic of—the suffering of so many Americans during the Great Depression. Readers should note how much of Miss Carter’s advice revolves around the need for women and girls traveling alone (or with undersized teenagers like Jimmie) to protect themselves from sexual violence. Still, there is kindness in the world, exemplified by the rail-rider who helps the family out in Detroit.
Themes
The train ride from Detroit to Flint passes quickly and uneventfully. Before Deza knows it, she, Jimmie and Mrs. Malone are standing in the Flint railyard. A helpful rail-rider tells them that it’s a half-hour walk to the downtown area but that the homeless encampment—where they can find a place to sleep and a warm meal in exchange for some work—is much closer. Mrs. Malone says they’ll spend one night in the camp. After that, they’ll be able to stay with Mr. Malone’s mother. Jimmie points toward the warm glow of the camp and says, “next stop, a place called Wonderful!”
Mrs. Malone holds out hope that her family won’t be stuck in the encampment for long, but readers should recall that Miss Carter already explained that this is everyone’s hope—and very few people’s reality. Still, without hope for a better future, it’s hard to see how Mrs. Malone, Jimmie, and Deza could do anything. They’ve lost their father, their income, their home, their community, and almost all of their possessions. There’s practically nothing else left to cling to. Jimmie gives voice to this hope when he quotes the family motto.
Themes
