During the great depression after they were laid off the men who did not leave the family may have still left on freight trains “full of strangers” to seek out more job opportunities. the reason many of these men may have gone on these trains was to seek out the jobs that were not present where they were to support their families and themselves. in the beginning there were more job opportunities in the west rather than the east because the east is where New York is and New York had the stock market that crashed leading to the great depression. Men were the ones who went out because of the continuation of the gender roles that dic tate the man to be the provider of funds to the familly whiile women stayed home to find a job or to takecare of children if any were present in that famuilly.