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Roundabout Train

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Roundabout Train is a tale of comeuppance in which a shiny new diesel train is made aware of his overblown sense of self-importance by an old “clickety-clack” steam engine. When a new diesel engine is scheduled to come to Tinytown on the morrow, the old steam engines are excited to welcome him and show him around; however, when he arrives, the diesel engine is too arrogant to value their experience. In order to teach him a lesson, the oldest steam engines sends him on a snipe hunt that teaches him humility. Clement’s use of line furnishes these anthropomorphic trains with facial features composed of mechanical details that complement and extend the text; therefore, at the end of the story, when the diesel engine has grown as an individual and matured, his transformation is not only evident in his speech and actions but also in his appearance. At the secondary level, Roundabout Train could serve as an easily accessible exemplar of dynamic characterization and the characteristics of the hero cycle explained by Peter R. Stillman in Introduction to Myth.

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