“He couldn’t afford to spend another minute as a mouthpiece of history while others were rushing to make history. Time was of the essence. With a fortune in gold, he could fulfill his father’s dream in one bold stroke.”

These lines of interior monologue characterize Jason in the early pages of the novel. They reveal his desire to honor his father, a man who always sought independence as his own boss but failed to achieve it before his death. They also show Jason’s courage and thirst for adventure. Most importantly, though, they indicate Jason’s flaws: He demonstrates impatience, foolhardiness, and impulsivity in rushing toward gold, and these traits will prove problematic for him along his journey.

“Well, then, you’re going to see the elephant.”

In the boxcar in North Dakota, Jason converses with a man who panned for gold in the California rush of 1849. He refers to the quest for gold with this metaphor, but Jason does not understand that the man is disparaging the impulsive behavior of stampeders, himself and Jason included. This metaphorical tale highlights The Dangerous Allure of Wealth.

“Oh no, Jason thought. They couldn’t have. They wouldn’t. Surely they didn’t.”

In the novel’s first major complication, Jason learns that his brothers took his inheritance—the $500 left to him by his father that he planned to use to purchase an outfit and arrange packers to help carry the weighty supplies. His forward momentum stalls, but only temporarily; as a resourceful young man, he remains determined to head north even if it means unpaid passage on a steamer.