In the novel The Natural, Bernard Malamud uses the symbol of a train to represent Roy Hobbs' journey from a boyhood into a manhood. The symbol of the train is used three major times in the novel. The first time that the reader encounters the train as a symbol, Roy is riding it through a tunnel. The appearance of the train from the tunnel is a symbol representing birth into a new and different world for the young Roy. The train also appears in the novel whenever Roy becomes anxious or panicky and needs to regress back to the comforts of his childhood. Roy once again conjures up sounds of the train when Iris pushes him to take responsibility for himself not only as a baseball player but more importantly as a man .
The first image that the reader has of Roy Hobbs in the novel is him riding the train through the tunnel. The emergence of the train from the tunnel is a representation of birth. At the age of nineteen Roy is being born into a new world. This is the first time that Roy has left the comfort safety of the bucolic surroundings of his home. Roy is very nervous and unsure of how to act. " Eddie practically took him by the hand and led him to it. Did you hand him a dime after that or grunt a foolish thanks as he had done? He'd personally be glad when the trip was over, though he hated to be left alone in a place like Chicago."" (Pg. 6). This example illustrates how nave and frightened Roy is. Roy is unable to take care of even his most basic needs, like finding a bathroom. Another example of Roy's naivete is when the waiter hands Roy an ordering slip. "When the waiter handed Roy the pad he absently printed his name and date of birth - (Pg. 10). This again shows Roy's youthful greenness. In this opening scene on the train we glimpse Roy's first actual expierience and unfamiliarity with the real world. He is unsure of how to act and behave and is experiencing a great many things for the first time.