Content Warning: This section briefly references death by suicide.

“The Far and the Near” reflects the historical context of the time in which it was written: the period between World War I and World War II, during the height of the Great Depression. The story captures the sentiments and experiences of individuals during this era of rapid industrialization and societal change. Wolfe’s story parallels these rapid societal changes in the engineer’s disillusionment and his clinging to his expired ideals. His life aboard the train was repetitive but comforting in its predictability. Stepping off the train into the real world upon retirement brings him immense regret and discomfort when he realizes that the world is not at all what he imagined it to be. He also reflects that he suddenly feels he is an old man and that he should have stayed somehow in his state of fantasy. Through his experiences, Thomas Wolfe suggests that the older generation during this period of industrialization was likewise confronted with a world they suddenly did not recognize and may have found unnerving.

Amidst this historical backdrop and emotional tone, Wolfe organizes his story along a linear chronology to emphasize the engineer’s relationship to the passage of time.