City of Orphans

Maks’s experiences on the elevator and the elevated train are enlightening and exhilarating. These brief brushes with the emerging modern world temporarily transport him out of his present situation. The ride on the elevator was not his choice, but the train ride represents a rare moment when he can make a choice out of pure independence, releasing himself from a deterministic loop. The tip money gives Maks with a chance to choose, and it is invigorating. It provides yet another opportunity for him to rise above the tumult of the streets and whiz through the city to his destination without the fear of attack. He is afforded a different view of the city he knows so well. The buildings racing past symbolize the passage of time. Maks’s family is racing towards imminent disaster. Time is also sprinting into modernity, revolutionizing the way humans move from place to place.

Maks’s observations in the dormitory are his first chance to put into practice the sleuthing techniques taught to him by Donck. As he takes in the dreariness of the girls’ lodgings, he must push aside the sorrow he feels over Emma’s condition to gather details that may help her in the investigation. He learns the real work of a detective is not just gathering information but learning how all the pieces fit together. That the dormitory is mostly unsupervised and out of the line of sight of Miss Foley means a thief would have ample time to enter and plant the evidence in Emma’s bed. When Maks shares the conclusions with Donck, Donck is pleased with his young protégé’s work and praises his intelligence. However, Maks struggles to accept this fact about himself. He has never had to consider his intelligence as a virtue. His worth has mostly been defined by his ability to work and make money for the family. The idea that he could be valuable for his mind is a new concept and will be an important one in his development.

The usually optimistic Maks fall into a deep depression as he leaves the flat. Donck’s praise should have bolstered him, yet he sinks to the lowest point mentally since the narrative began. The darkness of not just his plight but the plights of all those around him flood his conscience. Once again, his identity in his family and community brings him out of the mire and sets his mind to the task of saving Emma. The anxiety and immediacy fuel him with adrenaline, and he now feels he could fight off Bruno or any member of his gang. Some children invite him to stop and play, and he laments their innocence—that they do not yet know how hard the world can be. He is undeterred even by a Plug Ugly member waiting at his corner as he bolts superhumanly to the steps of his flat.

The news of Willa’s kidnapping is momentarily deflating, yet Maks wastes no time in formulating a plan. Yet again his family is paralyzed with fear and feelings of inadequacy to help, so it falls to Maks to react. Knowing a trap is set outside the building, he must find another way to leave the building. The rooftop that has so often been a place of mental escape for him now becomes his literal escape route. The image of him leaping from building to building is heroic and hopeful, as he bounds over the tops of buildings in a profound moment of freedom. Maks can tower above all the chaos and calamity of the city and almost take flight just as he imagined. The urgency with which he sets out to rescue Willa is familiar: He is just as fervent in her extrication as he is in Emma’s. Willa is now a family member, not just a friend.