Character Clues

Character Analysis

Direct Characterization

Most of what we know about the comrade comes from blatant exposition and observation on the part of the narrator. For example: "He was very shy and quite young […] He had no money" (1). Guess what? The comrade is… young, shy, and broke. There're no two ways about it.

Location

Sometimes location really reveals character, but in this case, what matters most when it comes to the comrade is that he is on the move. We understand that he has been persecuted at home and seeks safety and security, and we also understand that he has not yet found what he's looking for. It adds to his mystique in some ways—where will he land?—while also cultivating a sense of uncertainty and isolation in him, without ever coming right out and saying as much.

Speech and Dialogue

The story is short, but the comrade and the narrator converse briefly about the Communist movement. "But how is the movement going in Italy?" (4), the comrade asks, to which the narrator responds, "Very badly" (5). In such a sparse story, this dialogue is an important part of the way we learn about the characters. When the comrade responds with optimism anyway, we see that he is perhaps naïve and certainly optimistic, while we recognize a pessimism—and perhaps a bit of world weariness—in the narrator.

Props

There are basically two props in this whole entire super long story (j/k—it's one of the shortest stories ever): the square of oilcloth the comrade carries, and the art reproductions he carries as well.

So what gives? Here's the lowdown: The oilcloth has a note written on it by some Commie big cheese down at HQ asking comrades to help the kid along his journey because he's suffered. And from this, we know that the young man is a member of the Communist Party, that some bad stuff has happened to him, that he needs help, and that he has pretty much no means of helping himself, since this oilcloth is his ticket to food and passage on the train.

As for the art reproductions, they let us know that despite everything we just said about how hard the young comrade's life is these days, he still sees beauty in the world. He isn't completely downtrodden and glum; he's capable of not only taking in the sights as he travels/a.k.a. makes his daring escape, he's capable of appreciating and enjoying them. So for all the ways in which the oilcloth makes him seem kind of meek, the art reproductions actually kind of make him seem like a baller—or, at the very least, pretty resilient.