Significance of The Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway is symbolic of the journey. Emmett, Billy, Duchess, and Woolly are all involved in journeys during the course of the novel. There is the physical journey that takes them from Morgen to New York City. There is also a journey into self-knowledge. Emmett and Billy both come to realize how much they are capable of if they set their minds to something. Billy, for instance, saves himself and his brother from Duchess. Emmett does not hurt Duchess when he is angry with him for Woolly’s suicide, but puts him in a position where Duchess must decide his own future. Duchess is so consumed by greed that he sacrifices himself for fifty thousand dollars. Woolly, sadly, allows his brother-in-law to convince him he has no place in the world and decides to end his life. Woolly stays true to his kind heart, even in death, because he wills his trust fund to his friends.