Book 1: Chapter 1 Summary

Jim Burden is now a ten-year-old boy riding on a train from Virginia to Nebraska. Jim has lost both his mother and father in the last year, and he is being sent to live with his grandparents. Jim is in the company of one of his father's workers, Jake Marpole. A conductor tells Jim and Jake about a Bohemian family on board the train. When the train stops in Black Hawk, Nebraska, Jim gets his first look at the Shimerda family. There is a woman, an old man, two half-grown boys and two girls in this family. Jim and Jake are picked up by Otto Fuchs who works for Jim's grandparents. Jim describes the area as being nothing but land, and this impression comes from what he can see at night.

Book 1: Chapter 1 Analysis

Jim Burden's trip to Nebraska from Virginia...