A train on the Pennsylvania Railroad during the 1920s

“Train” in this poem refers to the dining car in which Claude Mckay worked on the Pennsylvania Road . The rhythm of the poem represents the train moving progressively farther towards an urban city and as the poem goes on the characteristics of the environment and people in that environment are described. The train, in this poem, becomes a space in which everything is moving forwards, but where everyone is still trapped in that space no matter how far they go. Mckay implies that the train keeps moving forward even when the stress and chaos inside of it continues, and similarly, life goes on even when the circumstances aren’t ideal.

In New York, where the passengers are being let off the train, cabs are commonly used as a mode of transportation to get around the bustling city. In the poem, Mckay used cabs to signify the passengers getting into them and going home or “homeward-bound” as stated later on in this line. Above, is a picture of a cab car from New York in the late 1920s which Mckay or any of the passengers on the train may have taken home, wherever it may be.

A harlot is a prostitute. Mckay states that the waiters will go on to spend what they’ve earned on the train on prostitutes, cards, and alcohol. He describes their day as miserable and tiring, and to relieve the stresses of the day workers use women, gambling, and getting drunk to forget.

“Red-caps” in the poem, is referencing the people whom are about to get off the halting train. The term “red-caps” is almost like Mckay is giving the reader a head count of those who were on the train. In this case, Mckay is referencing the Pennsylvania Red Caps of New York , an independent baseball club that played in the Negros League in the 1920s. The red caps’ name was derived from their fame created in the Pennsylvania Station of New York, rather than the state name itself. In the poem Claude Mckay uses the term “red caps” to signify which station he is located at.

“Mutton” is the flesh of a mature sheep used for food. Like fish, sheep or lamb was a common food served on a dining car in the 1920s and 1930s.

A “glutton" is someone who is by nature greedy or possessive for food or drink. When Mckay uses the term “glutton” he is referring to the chaos in the dining car, particularly caused by the passengers on the train. The competition to get food is so high between passengers, that all manners and civility is forgotten. This word also makes a reference to the general social classes of this time period. It is focused towards the lower class, showing their tendencies and the way they are represented and thought of as “gluttons” towards the public.

A pantry is a room or closet in which dishes, silverware, food, and other necessities are stored. It is also known as a room where food is dispensed to those in need. In this case, a pantry hole must be a confined space of the dining car where the waiters went to process and take orders for the customers. It is most likely the place where the people on the train are “in line for food”. A pantry hole is small and sounds claustrophobic, especially when there are multiple waiters crowded into it at once. Like a pantry hole, the poem is constant, not allowing space for the reader to breathe as they read the poem.

“In line for food” is a reference made by Mckay to all of the people waiting for food to be to served to them while they are journeying on the tram car. Before this phrase, he states people were jammed in line for food, potentially meaning that there was only a limited amount and it was first come first serve. Normally, the phrase, “in line for food” sounds civil and organized. However, when put into context of this poem, the line for food and the entirety of the tram car sounds clustered and disastrous. It is the center of stress where different moods and personalities clash.

During the 1920s, dining car food included: lobster, chicken, seafood, brussel sprouts, and any other form of higher quality food, as opposed to before when one was expected to bring their own food onto a dining car.

This poem is written in the form of an English Shakespearean Sonnet, following the rhyme scheme of three alternating quatrains and one couplet at the end (abab cdcd efef gg). A train is a connected line of railway cars with or without a locomotive that typically rhythmically moves down the tracks. Like a train , the sonnet is written with a great sense of rhythm that makes the reader feel as if they are in a train speeding down the tracks hearing the common noise: chugga chugga choo choo! Mckay gives the reader little time to breathe or process as they read the poem, just like a fast-paced train that is hard to slow down. The poem feels like one is being thrown into the hustling rush of passengers and the tight, claustrophobic places within the train.