Vivian’s Journey through Life

Changes happen many times and in many ways throughout the course of someone’s life. Many times the change is easy such as switching a room with a brother of sister, but that was not the case for Vivian. Throughout the novel Vivian goes through multiple changes during her life. Many of these changes dealt with changing her name. Every times she changed her name something else also changed inside of her. Whether it was the way she looked or the way that she was treated. Throughout Christina Baker Kline’s novel, Orphan Train, every time Vivian changed her name something else also changed inside of her; such as, the roles she played with the different names At birth Vivian was giving the name Niamh power by her parents, and with that name she play a mother figure herself and her siblings. She only spent the first couple of years with her real family before she became an orphan. During her time with her real family she took the mother role and took care of her younger siblings. She was always preparing food for them such as in this case, “Mam wasn’t much of a cook even in the best of her health, and some days she didn’t bother to try. More than once, until I learned to cook, we ate raw potatoes from the bin” (Kline 20). This shows that the role of young Niamh was too not only take care of herself but also her siblings. She took this responsibility because she knew that her own mother was not going to get out of bed to take care of them. She also had to learn from her own mistakes because no one was there to help her learn. This role made her grow up fast because she knew that if she did not her siblings were not going to get fed or taken care of. It helped her because her responsibilities grew when she got on the train she took on the role of taking care of Carmine who was a little boy on the train with her.
This role continued for her when she was on the train because Niamh started a family with two boys, Dutchy and Carmine. As soon as she is on the train she starts to take care of Carmine by comforting him. “We become an odd little family, the boy—real name Hans, I learn, called Dutchy on the street—and Carmine and I in our three-seat abode” (Kline 39). This is good for Vivian because it means that she has someone to talk to and to take care of when she is on the train. It is also difficult for her because she knows that they will soon be sent off to different families. But she learns from the boys, especially Dutchy that there is always going to be somebody who cares about her. She learns that someday she will have a family to take care of on her own and that she is also capable of doing it. Her experience is not like the others on the train. She has other kids that she cares for and that care for her. Vivian had a difficult time when Dutchy and Carmine were selected by the families that took them. It was also difficult because the family that she was place in was not as loving and caring as they boys were to her on the train.
Vivian took on another role with the name Dorothy Nielson especially when she was the Byrne family. This names was given to her when she was picked from the train by the Byrne family. When she was with the Byrne family she was put on a set schedule. This schedule included her sleep hours, meal times, and when she was supposed to be sewing. This role was very different for her because she was not used to all the work labor. Every day she helped make clothes for the families business. Before the Mrs. Byrne decided to take her she said, “We are looking for a girl who is good with a needle” (Kline 71). Even before the Byrne’s took her home they told her what she would be doing for them. On the car ride back to the house the Mr. and Mrs. Byrne told her that she was going to be called Dorothy. The Byrne’s never wanted a kid they only really need a kid so that they did not have to pay someone to do the work. She was used for labor and that is it. Soon after she got to the Byrne’s the economy started to fail and Mrs. Byrne started getting rid of all of the workers. Vivian was one of the last ones to leave because they had to find her another home to go to. Once they found her another home they took her there right away.
In the Grote home her role changed back to the mother, but they still called her Dorothy. She knew going into this home that she was going to have to take care of the Grote’s kids. Before she got to the house she was told that she was going to be going to school and she was going to have to help out around the house. When they arrive back at the home Vivian is unsure about the whole situation. The family is not as welcoming as she thought they would be. “She still hasn’t said a word to me. She’s barely looked in my direction. ‘I’m just so tired,’ she says to no one in particular” (Kline 116). This shows that Mrs. Grote really does not want anything to do with her. She seems to be worried that Vivian will just be more work for her. Her time with the Grote’s was just like the other families she was with. They really did not show that they wanted her to be part of their family. Her time at the Grote’s ended in the middle of the night when she was raped by Mr. Grote. Vivian took off to the school and slept in the freezing cold until the next morning. This evented happened to help Vivian because the next home that she was placed in would be the one that she would stay with for the rest of her life.
Vivian role slightly changes when she is taken temporarily by her teacher, Miss Larsen. She is taken in by Miss Larsen because of the unfortunate events that happened while she was with the Grotes. At first Miss Larsen was unsure if Vivian was able to live with her because she lives at a boardinghouse where children are not allowed. Miss Larsen takes Vivian home with her and explains to her that the stay is only temporary. When the get to the home Miss Larsen landlady is very sympathetic and lets her stay (Kline 163). Vivian plays a role of a kids while she is here. She is not really taking care of anyone or fending for herself. When she gets sick and has to stay in bed all day she is taken care of my Mrs. Murphy, the landlady. She is not pushed around or beaten she just simply follows the rules and acts like if she were to life there like everyone else. Mrs. Murphy opened her home to Vivian and made her feel safe for the first time since she got off the train. It helped Vivian realize that there are still good people out there and that she just has to find them. This temporary home gave Vivian hope that she was going to find people that loved her. This was probably one of the best situations that could happen to her because it lead to the home that she would be in for the rest of her life.
The next role she took was one of her biggest because she was taking the name their daughter that passed away, Vivian. This role in her life was huge because she was taking their daughters name. “…I tell the Nielsons I will take their daughters name. And that is the moment, my old life ends and a new one begins” (Kline 199). In that moment, Vivian knows that she wants to take a different role that she hasn’t taken in entire life. She is taking a role as a daughter and it is something she has never had before. When she is with the Neilson’s she get sent to school and attends church with them. For the first time in a long time she has a family that cares for her for who she is and not for what she can do. The family has her help out in their store and when she got older they started paying her for her work. The Neilsons treated her like their own kid because they knew that is was the role that Vivian wanted. Even though Vivian tried cigarettes once they still help her and punished her like if she was one of their own. This is the life that Vivian always wanted. Vivian learns responsibility because she has to show the Neilson’s that she is capable of balancing work and school.
Lastly, Vivian role became a wife to the one and only Dutchy. Dutchy and Vivian met up again when she was on a trip to Minneapolis to see The Wizard of Oz. After the play was over they decide to go to a piano bar for a couple drinks. Vivian is slow to realize that the person that is playing the piano is actually Dutchy. After he is done playing he walks over and says, “’Are you – Niamh?’ he asks. And then I know. ‘Oh my God—Dutchy, it’s you’” (Kline 227). This is the night that Dutchy and Vivian reconnect and they do it instantly. At the end of the night they go home together in Vivian’s hotel room. That is the night that they tell each other what all happened after they got off the train and surprising their life was not that much different for one another. Over time the get married and Dutchy goes to fight for the country. While he is away they write back and forth to each other. This is the role that Vivian thought she would never have. She always though that she would never see Dutchy again. This role came to an end when she got a call saying that Dutchy was killed in the war. Luckily a friend of Dutchy brought Vivian all of the letters that she wrote to him back to her. It was the final foreclosure that Dutchy was gone for good.
Vivian always stepped into the role that she was given. Some of the roles that she had were not always the ones that she wanted, but in the end she had ended in the role that she wanted. She also had to cope with not having anyone that she could fully trust until she was placed with the Nielson. With the Neilsons she was able to live a life that most teenagers live. She was going to school and she had a job and up until that point she did not know if she would get there. Her life was very difficult, but in the she became the person that was teaching Molly about all of her experiences.