George is a younger relative of the narrator, who would often run away from his home when he was a child and stay for weeks at the narrator’s house without speaking. He now lives in the city, and although the family misses him deeply, they do not visit with him often. The family believes that he is unemployed and belongs to a gang. On the train, the narrator looks forward to running into George in the railway station in the city, as George is often there. But when he does see George, they sit together without talking. George functions in the story as an embodiment of the family’s pain and trauma, his silence resonating with the narrator’s own pained silence at the end of the story. Yet George also serves as a symbol of resistance and refusal. He resisted containment even as a child, and as an adult, he still refuses to conform to white society’s standards. This combination of pain and refusal again resonates with the narrator’s character, as the narrator resists the city planner’s racism by kicking his desk, but hurts his own foot in the process.
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George Character Timeline in Journey
The timeline below shows where the character George appears in Journey. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Journey
...The quieter of the two children reminds the narrator of a younger family member named George. When George was a child, he would run away to the narrator’s house. He would...
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...to wait for death in the station when he was growing up. He looks for George, who is often in the station. The narrator’s right foot hurts, and he feels sick....
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Back in the present, at the railroad station, George is sitting next to the narrator. They wait together, not talking much. The narrator does...
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...poorly, the family asks about other parts of the trip. The narrator tells them that George is okay. A family member mentions that she heard that George is in a gang,...
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