Contemplation on the short story “The Trains” by William Saroyan

Solitude is a good friend but not an adviser.

                                          L. Kraynov-Ritov 

Solitude is the most unbearable feeling man has ever experienced. It is no use to try to avoid it. One should cope with it and not try to slip out of it.

After having read the story “Trains” by William Saroyan I’m confused and I just hesitate what to do- just leave it or keep on pondering over it. Let me cite a few lines out of it. ”The young man had returned home from a foreign country and immediately went to bed. After having a long sleep he woke up but a few minutes later he felt as homeless as before” To say that I’m glad for him that he found himself  at home again is another thing but the thing is that he felt ignored by his household. Who can make it plain for me? How it happens to be so. Have you ever exercises that strange feeling? To tell the truth I myself haven’t exercised it so far and I wish I would never. It’s a kind of bitter feeling to be ignored by your relations who display cool and not privy and unsociable behavior towards you.

“Ha funded hard to come into contact with his fellow-townsman, though a common and an easy practice for everyone to do in the world. He failed to speak about his canvas to anyone. It seemed as if the canvas had lost their previous sense of debt, the clarity of colors and distinctness of the outlines of the pictures which had turned into somewhat dim. ” Artists are said to possess rich inner world trying to find the essence of life in their created pictures. They lead their life on their own and enjoying it and later they depict it their pictures. They do it best of all trying to depict the real life in existence. Almost all the artists behave so, but he didn't.  He had given in emptiness and futility. Didn't he realize the significance of this world? It isn't a miracle at all but a very real thing. Maybe the world weren't so dark and colorless as he visions it if he hadn't looked at it through dark eye glasses. Maybe he had lost sense of vital existence of this world and now he so confused that fails to find it. Most probably that’s it. He always hesitated to give up that unbearable feeling of solitude and to run away but dared not instead of trying to find out an outlet of it or to set a goal and gain it. Man is created so. Many of them often pick the easiest way of escaping difficulties, from their own problems or solitude, yet fewer pick out the hard way of withstanding the difficulties and overcoming them. One should keep on fighting for every of his day of existence to rich the top time. Though the character of this story met someone or the only one in the end, nevertheless he was unable to sustain her and so he lost his chance again, maybe the last one. Identically it is so. But the decision was finally made. Really, yes you did hear it. It happened unwittingly without any efforts exerted.

'When the girl had left he turned on the light and started to pack his pictures. He wouldn't have enough time to do it in the morning.”      

By Suzy Tadevosyan, grade 10.

Translated by English club members
 Hambardzumyan Milena, Simonyan Gohar, grade 12