A Day with a Tramp, and Other Days

"A Day with a Tramp, and Other Days" by Walter A. Wyckoff is a compilation of true stories from the author's time working odd jobs across America in the early 1900s. The collection shares Wyckoff’s experiences as he journeyed from Connecticut to California, shining a light on the lives of everyday workers and drifters of the era. These stories attempt to show the challenges and truths lived by laborers, and including the difficulties of social and money problems they faced as they tried to make it in a fast-changing America. The first story tells of Wyckoff's unusual meeting with a young wanderer named Farrell, who he calls a tramp which highlights how someone’s identity can change depending on their job situation. Themes of feeling alone, finding friendship, and being human are shown as Wyckoff and Farrell spend a day together, thinking about their pasts, what they hope to achieve, and problems in society, like trying to find real work when there is a lot of poverty and people aren’t sure what will happen. Their conversations give a good look at what the work world was like in America in the late 1800s, making this collection interesting and getting people to think about society at that time.