Previous
Chapter 3: Caitlin
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Simple Gift, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Riches and Poverty
Redemption
Love and Family
Rules and Freedom
Summary
Analysis
The hobo hour. Billy awakes to the sound of a bottle crashing. Outside, he finds an old man (Old Bill) with long grey hair staring forlornly at the bottle of beer he’s dropped on the ground. The man doesn’t notice Billy. Billy remembers the cigarettes he stole from his dad—to annoy him, not because Billy smokes. He grabs them from inside and offers them to the “old hobo.” Saying that he should really give up smoking before it kills him, the old man nevertheless takes the carton and lights a cigarette. He and Billy share the “hobo hour” while they watch the sunrise together.
This poem introduces the book’s third main character, Old Bill. In a way, Old Bill seems to reflect a potential future version of Billy—both are unhoused and living on the margins of society. Billy’s interaction with the older man also reminds readers of Billy’s innately generous and caring nature; he looks for a way to assuage Old Bill’s suffering, even with a simple gift like cigarettes. Finally, Billy identifies Old Bill as an “old hobo.” People often use the word pejoratively to describe unhoused people, the mentally ill, and migrant workers, giving it a negative charge. Still, although he is not yet as old, worn, and unkempt as Old Bill, Billy’s current circumstances also qualify him as a “hobo,” a fact he acknowledges when he sits and shares the early morning hours with his new neighbor.
Themes
Old Bill. The old man’s name is also Bill, so Billy decides to call him “Old Bill.” The beer Old Bill dropped was supposed to be in honor of his birthday, and Billy thinks he must be younger than he looks, despite his stained, grey beard, long grey hair, and wrinkled face. Old Bill welcomes Billy to the “Bendarat Hilton,” or the Freight Yard, where Old Bill has lived, off and on, since March of 1994.
When Old Bill names the freight yard the “Bendarat Hilton” he recalls Billy calling his train car “Motel Bendarat”—another similarity between the two characters that seems to foreshadow that a relationship will develop between them. And while Billy values the freedom and self-determination that his runaway life affords him, he also sees in Old Bill the toll this kind of life can take. This reminds him that he must eventually find his own purpose in life—his own redemption—to make good on his desire for freedom.
Themes
Rich town. That afternoon, Old Bill tells Billy how Bendarat used to be the railroad hub of southwest Australia. Men worked in eight hour shifts around the clock in the Freight Yard, loading western-bound trains. But as the highways improved, more and more goods crossed the country in trucks instead. Now only a few workers remain in the Freight Yard, loading fruit from the local orchards onto the trains. They know Old Bill lives there sometimes, but they don’t bother him about it, since they know what it feels like to have nowhere else to go.
When Billy walked into Bendarat, school children called him “bum,” and Billy himself has identified Old Bill as a “hobo.” Both terms are pejorative, suggesting that living on the margins of society or being unhoused are personal failures. Yet, the history of Bendarat offers Billy (and thus readers) a pointed reminder of how precarious wealth and prosperity can be.
Themes
Before my time. Billy sleeps poorly that night, both because Old Bill makes a lot of noise—snoring, coughing, and swearing in his sleep—and because Billy has nightmares about growing old and desperate before his time.
Billy ran away from home to escape a life of terror and abuse. His new life grants him freedom and autonomy. And his preference for knowledge (by reading books) and relationships over wealth shows that he knows what things truly matter. Still, Old Bill offers him a pointed reminder that life on the fringes of society takes a terrible toll on a person and isn’t necessarily sustainable over a lifetime.
Themes
Get the entire The Simple Gift LitChart as a printable PDF.
Too early. Early the next morning, Billy makes a bowl of cereal and milk and carries it next door to Old Bill’s train car. It smells like sweaty socks and alcohol in there as Billy sticks his head in the door. Old Bill rouses from sleep just enough to tell Billy to “piss off.” Billy concludes that it’s too early for a “drunk” and maybe too early for everyone else, too. He leaves the cereal.
Although he’s the younger of the two, Billy immediately senses Old Bill’s hopelessness and takes the older man under his wing. He shows his kind and generous nature not only in sharing from his limited resources but also in not taking Old Bill’s early morning grumpiness personally. This act of sharing breakfast further deepens their friendship.
Themes
Bendarat River. In the afternoon, Billy explores the Bendarat River. He follows it downstream from a chattering, noisy waterfall to a long lazy bend, where he wades into the cold, clear water, undresses, and washes himself and his clothes. He swims in the deep water while his clothes dry on the tree branches. He returns to the “Bendarat Laundry” every other day to “wash the world away.”
In his old town, the local creek was Billy’s favorite classroom; in Bendarat, the river becomes his bathtub and his laundromat. But bathing and washing in the river isn’t just about physical cleanliness; connecting with nature also allows Billy to regain his sense of equilibrium and freedom in his life. His connection with nature enriches his life despite his literal poverty and helps him to stay grounded in his life outside the normal rules of society.
Themes
Old Bill. Old Bill thinks about meeting Billy. He was surprised to find such a young runaway in the Freight Yard. Billy’s generosity and kindness in sharing the cigarettes surprised him, too. That almost made Old Bill cry. After saying goodnight to Billy, Old Bill sat in his train car smoking and trying to sort through his memories of the past five years. But remembering is dangerous: if he does it too much, he’ll eventually end up thinking of Jessie and he won’t be able to stop. He quickly flicks the cigarette butt onto the tracks and watches the flame die.
This scene suggests that something tragic happened to Jessie, though it’s not yet clear who Jessie is to Old Bill or what happened to her. Regardless, it seems likely that they had a meaningful relationship—and that losing her has made life bleak and meaningless for Old Bill.
Themes
Caitlin visiting. Caitlin finishes her shift each night at ten. Normally, she goes straight home, where her dad waits up to make sure she arrives on time. But this night, she tells her parents she’ll be studying with her friend Petra, who agrees to cover for Caitlin if her parents call. Caitlin has a mobile phone she can use to check in with her parents if necessary to maintain the ruse—sometimes having rich parents who buy “useless crap” like that can be useful. She changes out of her work clothes and prepares to visit Billy with two coffees and two apple pies. Her parents taught her it’s rude to visit without bringing gifts.
Caitlin’s mobile phone—in a novel set in the late 1990s—subtly reminds readers of her family’s wealth. At this time, it isn’t something every teenager would have had. Juxtaposing her family’s literal wealth with their emotional poverty—her father doesn’t trust her, and her parents don’t give her the love and acceptance she craves—contributes to the book’s overall argument about the value of the intangible things in life over material possessions. And just like Billy builds his relationship with Old Bill with shared meals, Caitlin brings food to share with Billy.
Themes
Billy’s cave. In the Freight Yard, Caitlin politely knocks on the door of Carriage 1864. When Billy walks up behind her instead of opening the door, he startles her, and she almost drops the coffees. He invites her inside. The carriage has two long, leather-covered benches. Billy uses one as a bed and one as a shelf for books and other things he’s collected. The inside of the carriage is clean and warm, thanks to a kerosene heater Billy found, and it reminds Caitlin of a child’s hideaway. She thinks of it as Billy’s safe little cave.
Even in contrast to her family’s large, well-appointed home, Caitlin doesn’t find Billy’s temporary quarters in the abandoned freight yard off-putting. Rather, she notices how Billy has made the space clean, cozy, and inviting. This yet again reminds readers of the value of freedom and creating one’s own destiny (like Billy does) as well as the importance of the immaterial valuables in life, such as friendships and autonomy.
Themes
Picnic. When Billy heard Caitlin’s knocking, he panicked and crawled out the back window of the carriage, hoping to elude the police or Freight Yard security, or whoever else came to bother him. But outside, he realizes that anyone out to bust him wouldn’t have knocked. He creeps around behind his visitor and realizes it’s Caitlin. When he says hello and startles her, he worries about making a bad impression. But Caitlin accepts his invitation to come in and doesn’t show any distaste or discomfort over his living space. She makes herself at home and they share the apple pies and coffee, like two little kids on a picnic.
Billy’s enduring trauma—and his acknowledgement of the precarity of his current living—sends him into a panic when Caitlin arrives at his door. His freedom won’t be complete until he has a more settled existence, although he can’t yet see how to get there. Up to this point, he’s been both attracted to Caitlin and distrustful of her privilege. Yet, she continues to see and treat him as a worthy human being even after seeing his living situation.
Themes
Looking. Billy tells Caitlin about leaving home, his train ride to Bendarat, and how he spends his days in the library reading books and researching the meaning of names and his family history. He’s discovered an ancestor who was a Duke, and he marvels at how far his family has fallen in a few generations. He talks a lot because he's nervous while Caitlin listens attentively. She looks at him steadily, and her gaze calms Billy down. He looks back and sees the person behind the fancy gold watch and expensive-looking coat, and he like what he sees.
Billy’s comfort with Caitlin grows as he realizes that he can share his true thoughts and experiences with her without her judging him. The novel centers around the relationships that grow between Billy, Caitlin, and Old Bill, and this poem beautifully illustrates the foundation of these powerful bonds: acknowledging each other’s humanity despite the vast differences in their personal experiences.
Themes
Happen. Caitlin tells Petra about visiting Billy. Billy’s intelligence and depth of reading impress Caitlin. And then Petra asks the question on Caitlin’s mind: “What now?” Caitlin looks around her at her grounds of the expensive private school while she considers. As the lunch bell sounds, she tells Petra—and herself—that she’ll keep visiting until something happens. And all through her next class, she thinks about the things that could happen and the things she wants to happen with Billy.
When Caitlin talks to her friends about Billy, neither she nor readers can escape the sharp contrast between her life of privilege and his life of poverty. Yet, despite these differences, Caitlin values Billy’s character and experience. The book thus suggests that value lies not in wealth but in freedom, honesty, and companionship—things Caitlin hopes she might develop with Billy.
Themes
Going nowhere. Billy sleeps well after Caitlin’s visit, warm and cozy in his safe cave. He knows he will spend the next few months traveling the circuit of the library, McDonald’s, the “Bendarat Laundry” at the river, and Carriage 1864. He will be a “badly dressed satellite” with Caitlin as the center of gravity anchoring his orbit.
The title of this poem—“Going nowhere”—can sound either defeated or defiant. And Billy’s thinking clearly frames his intention to stay put as defiant. He isn’t staying in Bendarat for lack of options; he's staying because he thinks he might finally have found a place to build the relationships and life he’s longed for.
Themes
