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James, a Black boy who is probably about four or five years old, is the protagonist of “Boy on a Train.” During the story, he is traveling from Oklahoma City to the rural town of McAlester with his mother (Mama) and baby brother (Lewis). He spends most of the story looking out the window at the scenery, wondering what life will be like in his new town, remembering his father (Daddy), and comparing himself to the young white boys he sees in the farms and on the train. He wishes he could be like them, because he has a vague sense that their lives are better than his, but he doesn’t fully understand why. He knows that it has something to do with race—just like John’s son in “The Black Ball,” he slowly learns about racism by observing how people treat him and his family differently from white people. In the second half of the story, Mama tells him that he will have to be the man of the house, now that Daddy is gone. Crying and praying, she laments how difficult it is to survive under segregation. James takes his promise to protect Mama so seriously that he decides to “kill this mean thing that made Mama feel so bad”—even though he doesn’t quite know what it is. (He thinks it may be God.) Between racism and his father’s death, James is forced to confront serious adult challenges and emotions at a young age. In short, he will have to grow up fast, and he will miss out on the innocent, carefree childhood that the white boys he sees around him will get to have. While it’s difficult to know exactly how autobiographical “Boy on a Train” is, James certainly represents Ralph Ellison himself, as he also left Oklahoma at a young age on a train with his mother after his father’s death.
James Quotes in The Black Ball
The The Black Ball quotes below are all either spoken by James or refer to James. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Boy on a Train
Quotes
“See, Lewis, Jack Frost made the pretty leaves. Jack Frost paints the leaves all the pretty colors. See, Lewis: brown, and purple, and orange, and yellow.”
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The butcher had tried to touch her breasts when she and the boys first came into the car, and she had spat in his face and told him to keep his dirty hands where they belonged. The butcher had turned red and gone hurriedly out of the car, his baskets swinging violently on his arms. She hated him. Why couldn’t a Negro woman travel with her two boys without being molested?
The countryside was bright gold with Indian summer. Way across a field, a boy was leading a cow by a rope and a dog was barking at the cow’s feet. It was a nice dog, the boy on the train thought, a collie.
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He closed his eyes tight, trying to see the picture of Daddy. He must never forget how Daddy looked. He would look like that himself when he grew up: tall and kind and always joking and reading books. … Well, just wait; when he got big and carried Mama and Lewis back to Oklahoma City everybody would see how well he took care of Mama, and she would say, “See, these are my two boys,” and would be very proud. And everybody would say, “See, aren’t Mrs. Weaver’s boys two fine men?” That was the way it would be.
“You understand, son. I want you to remember. You must, you’ve got to understand.”
James wanted to cry, but, vaguely, he felt something should be punished for making Mama cry. Something cruel had made her cry. He felt the tightness in his throat becoming anger. If he only knew what it was, he would fix it; he would kill this mean thing that made Mama feel so bad. It must have been awful because Mama was strong and brave and even killed mice when the white woman she used to work for only raised her dress and squealed like a girl, afraid of them. If he only knew what it was … Was it God?
Yes, I’ll kill it. I’ll make it cry. Even if it’s God, I’ll make God cry, he thought. I’ll kill Him; I’ll kill God and not be sorry!
There were many advertising signs in the fields they were rolling past. All the signs told about the same things for sale. One sign showed a big red bull and read BULL DURHAM.
“Moo-oo,” the baby said.
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James Quotes in The Black Ball
The The Black Ball quotes below are all either spoken by James or refer to James. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Boy on a Train
Quotes
“See, Lewis, Jack Frost made the pretty leaves. Jack Frost paints the leaves all the pretty colors. See, Lewis: brown, and purple, and orange, and yellow.”
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The butcher had tried to touch her breasts when she and the boys first came into the car, and she had spat in his face and told him to keep his dirty hands where they belonged. The butcher had turned red and gone hurriedly out of the car, his baskets swinging violently on his arms. She hated him. Why couldn’t a Negro woman travel with her two boys without being molested?
The countryside was bright gold with Indian summer. Way across a field, a boy was leading a cow by a rope and a dog was barking at the cow’s feet. It was a nice dog, the boy on the train thought, a collie.
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He closed his eyes tight, trying to see the picture of Daddy. He must never forget how Daddy looked. He would look like that himself when he grew up: tall and kind and always joking and reading books. … Well, just wait; when he got big and carried Mama and Lewis back to Oklahoma City everybody would see how well he took care of Mama, and she would say, “See, these are my two boys,” and would be very proud. And everybody would say, “See, aren’t Mrs. Weaver’s boys two fine men?” That was the way it would be.
“You understand, son. I want you to remember. You must, you’ve got to understand.”
James wanted to cry, but, vaguely, he felt something should be punished for making Mama cry. Something cruel had made her cry. He felt the tightness in his throat becoming anger. If he only knew what it was, he would fix it; he would kill this mean thing that made Mama feel so bad. It must have been awful because Mama was strong and brave and even killed mice when the white woman she used to work for only raised her dress and squealed like a girl, afraid of them. If he only knew what it was … Was it God?
Yes, I’ll kill it. I’ll make it cry. Even if it’s God, I’ll make God cry, he thought. I’ll kill Him; I’ll kill God and not be sorry!
There were many advertising signs in the fields they were rolling past. All the signs told about the same things for sale. One sign showed a big red bull and read BULL DURHAM.
“Moo-oo,” the baby said.
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