The Railway Children

Maintaining pride and dignity despite poverty is an important value shared by several of the characters in the novel. How does Mother attempt to maintain dignity despite her impoverishment? How does Mr. Perks attempt to maintain his dignity? Why do such characters seem to place such a high value on the idea of personal dignity above all else?

Justice is a complicated underlying thematic element in the novel. Mother speaks to her children about how the Russian Exile was imprisoned by his own government for attempting to alleviate the plight of the poor, and the children’s own father is serving a prison sentence in England for a crime he did not commit. What, then, is true justice in The Railway Children? In what ways are there differences between moral justice and legal justice in the novel, and how—if ever—are these differences reconciled?

The railway is such a prominent element in the novel that it is almost a character in its own right. What role does the railway play in the novel? Why is it important, and what does it represent? Consider the significance of the novel’s title—why are Bobbie, Phyllis, and Peter “railway children” first and foremost?

Christianity is alluded to several times throughout the novel. Mother urges her children to pray and speaks to Bobbie about how her faith sustains her in the face of injustice and suffering. What is Christianity’s role in the novel, both functionally and thematically? Why is Mother’s religiosity one of her defining characteristics?

Father is defined largely by his absence throughout the novel, and Mother and each of the children respond to his absence in different ways. How do different characters cope with Father’s absence? For example, how does Bobbie’s way of adapting and rationalizing his absence differ from Peter’s? What do their responses tell us about the ideal of fatherhood in the novel, and how does it compare with motherhood within the world of the family unit?

When the children wish to surprise Mr. Perks on his birthday, Mother warns them that there is a difference between friendship and charity, and that many people are resistant to receiving charity from others. Why is charity represented as sometimes problematic in the novel? How do different characters respond to it? Is there a “correct” way of offering and receiving help in the novel? Why or why not?

The Russian Exile’s presence in the novel is relatively brief but very central to many of the novel’s key themes and plot points. What does the Russian Exile represent? What moral values does he embody? Why is his bond with Mother so important to her? Why is Russia linked twice to the plot of the novel, both as the Exile’s homeland and as the country Father is accused of revealing state secrets to?

Consider the centrality of friendship in the novel. The children are often very eager to make friends with others, but they sometimes commit errors in how they go about trying to form bonds or in how they maintain them. What do the children learn about friendship over the course of the novel? Do their ideas about friendship change over time, and if so, how?