In shock over his son's accidental drowning, Jurgis walks away and impulsively climbs aboard a freight train. Jurgis tries to think only of himself as the train heads toward the country. He buys food at one farmhouse and takes a bath in a pond. When another farmer refuses to sell him food, Jurgis responds by destroying 100 recently planted peach trees. Jurgis becomes a professional tramp, living from day to day, working and stealing enough to get by. For the most part he is able to forget his family and his past, but when he watches a mother bathe her young son, Jurgis has an emotional breakdown.
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