Compare the passage of the locomotive symbolizing progress, at which Decoud "did
not stir."
There Decoud was unmoved by the vast illusory dream-ideals of history; here he
is impressed by an instance of character, of a man being true to himself in the
face of enormous pressure. I see here another hint of the novel's message that
character is mankind's true treasure. Certainly something in Nostromo's story
has "awakened" Decoud's interest.