Chapter summaries Alexandra Petri's US History Alexandra Petri

Chapter 63: Ayn Rand’s Little Engine – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter recasts the classic children’s story The Little Engine That Could as an Objectivist fable narrated by Ayn Rand. A train carrying toys to children breaks down. A Shiny New Engine and a Big Strong Engine each refuse to help, asserting that they owe nothing to “parasitic” toys. A small female engine agrees to pull the train over the hill, but only for selfish reasons: to prove a point to herself. At the summit, she unhitches the toy cars and watches them roll back down. The toys are later dismantled for practical materials, which the narrator presents as a happy ending. The chapter lampoons Objectivist principles—altruism as weakness, rational self-interest as the only moral guide—by applying them ruthlessly to a beloved children’s narrative.

Key Events

  • The little train, carrying toys for children, breaks down on a hill due to mechanical failure and “spiritual rot” caused by its altruistic errand.
  • The toys (called “parasites”) appeal to a Shiny New Engine, which refuses help, declaring it owes them nothing.
  • A Big Strong Engine also refuses, stating it only hauls logs (productive work) and that children should make their own toys.
  • A small female engine approaches. Despite initial hesitation, she says, “I think I can, therefore, I can,” and hitches herself to the train.
  • She pulls the train to the top of the hill, then unhitches it, allowing it to roll back down, because she will not complete the “immoral” errand.
  • The toys are later dismantled; their materials are repurposed for practical items such as track repairs and pewter spoons.

Character Development

  • Ayn Rand (Narrator): Presented as a rigid, contemptuous voice who inserts footnotes and philosophical asides, dismissing empathy as “weak” and celebrating selfishness as virtue.
  • Shiny New Engine: Embodies uncompromising self-interest; refuses help without apology, proud of its work as a passenger train.
  • Big Strong Engine: Similarly rejects the toys, but adds a productivity argument—only logs (real value) are worth hauling. It “authorizes” its abandonment.
  • Little Engine: The closest to a “hero,” yet her motivation is entirely selfish: to prove she can do it. She ultimately sabotages the rescue, revealing that even helpful acts must only serve the self.
  • The Toys/Dolls: Represent altruism’s supposed futility; they are passive, weeping, and devoid of independent value. Their dismantling is treated as a correction of waste.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Objectivism vs. Altruism: Every engine rejects the plea for help because altruism is framed as a parasitic demand. The shininess and strength of the first two trains symbolize the virtue of refusing to be a “second-hander.”
  • Parody of Children’s Literature: Petri inverts the moral of The Little Engine That Could—instead of persistence for others’ benefit, persistence is only justified by self-interest. The “happy ending” (dismantled toys) mocks Objectivism’s cold utilitarianism.
  • The Train as a Symbol of Productive Achievement: Trains are praised for “pursuing their own particular excellence.” The broken-down train’s altruistic mission is seen as a corruption of that purpose.
  • The Narrator’s Voice: The overbearing, pedantic tone (including footnotes and corrections of onomatopoeia) satirizes Rand’s own authorial style and philosophical dogmatism.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter ties together two threads from Alexandra Petri’s US History: the critique of ahistorical, ideology-driven storytelling and the absurdity of imposing one rigid philosophy onto every situation. By rewriting a staple of childhood reading through the lens of Objectivism, Petri exposes the real-world consequences of Rand’s ideas—namely, the rejection of community, compassion, and interdependence. It also serves as a comic pivot within the narrative, showing how economic and political philosophies can be debunked by simply pushing them to their logical extremes.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. How does Petri use the original children’s story to critique Objectivism?
    Petri retains the structure of The Little Engine That Could but reverses its moral. In the original, helping others is celebrated; here, each engine that helps is ridiculed or framed as a failure, and the only “successful” train abandons the toys. This inversion highlights how Objectivism’s rejection of altruism clashes with everyday cooperative values.

  2. What role does the narrator’s voice play in the satire?
    The narrator (Ayn Rand) constantly interrupts the story with footnotes, authorial corrections, and dismissals of “weak” emotions. This exaggerated, intellectual tone parodies Rand’s own writing, making the philosophy seem pompous and out of touch with human experience.

  3. Why does the Little Engine let the toys roll back down the hill?
    She states that she helped only to prove a point to herself; completing the altruistic errand would violate her rational self-interest. Her action demonstrates that even seemingly good deeds, within Objectivism, must be purely self-serving. Petri uses this twist to show the philosophy’s hostility toward any form of social obligation.

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