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Chapter 19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Little Britches, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fathers, Sons, and Growing Up
Honesty and Pride
Work and Society
Community, Resources, and Conflict
Home and the American West
Summary
Analysis
Ralph’s mother and father prepare for Thanksgiving, picking up supplies and groceries from Denver. On Thanksgiving Day, Ralphs’s mother and Grace work to prepare the food, and Ralphs’ father lets Ralph drive Billy for the first time to pick up firewood. Ralph and his family eat have a massive Thanksgiving dinner. Afterward, they lay on the floor by the fire while Ralph’s mother reads them “Snowbound.” Ralph thinks it’s one of the best days they’ve ever had.
Despite their recent economic hardships, Ralph and his family have a memorable Thanksgiving, with Ralph describing it as one of the best days ever. This illustrates the age-old adage money isn’t everything, emphasizing that for Ralph and his family, happiness is just as much about togetherness and shared experiences as it is about material prosperity.
Themes
Ralph describes an upsetting event that takes place the Saturday before Christmas. His father strings barbed wire around their property and puts Ralph in charge of watching his brother, Philip, to make sure he does not touch the wire. However, Ralph gets distracted by a bald eagle, and Philip gets hurt in the wire. Ralph’s father is angry and punishes Ralph, forbidding him from riding or driving any horse for a month. Ralph feels bad, and he doesn’t even ride Will Aldivote’s donkey, even though his father never explicitly named donkeys.
Here, Ralph neglects his responsibility as an older brother, resulting in a dangerous accident with Philip. Ralph’s father is angry and disappointed, particularly after his recent designation of Ralph as his “partner.” This incident illustrates that Ralph’s ongoing need for growth. While he has matured considerably since first moving to Colorado, he still has much to learn about responsibility and the serious consequences that can arise from neglecting it.
Themes
Christmas nears, and Ralph and Grace debate whether their parents are helping Santa get presents or not. On Christmas Day, they all wake to find a Christmas tree with a mound of presents under it. Ralph gets clothes as well as a jackknife and a geography book. They have ham for dinner and fudge for dessert. Between Christmas and New Year’s, Fred pays to have Ralph and his father help bale his hay. He can only pay them half their normal rate but promises Ralph’s father baler chaff as cow feed.
Ralph’s family happily celebrates Christmas, emphasizing that economic prosperity need not determine the quality of one’s experiences, especially when shared with loves ones. There are also emerging signs that Ralph’s family is not alone in its economic struggles; though Fred offers to hire Ralph and his father again to bale hay, he can only pay them half what he usually does.
Themes
Ralph describes his father’s new ditch box system for irrigation that ensures more equitable water distribution between the ranchers upstream and downstream. Local ranchers meet at Ralph’s father’s house to discuss the new system and decide to implement it. After proving its success, Ralph’s father begins making ditch boxes for other ranchers, trading his work for supplies and animals.
Again, Ralph’s father proves his engineering ingenuity, as well as his value as a community member. His new ditch box system, designed to accurately measure water distribution, wins the approval of local ranchers. The ditch box system illustrates that economic incentives can align with moral ones. In doing the right thing, Ralph’s father also provides for his family.
Themes
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Fred visits Ralph’s father to discuss the new gold panic. Nobody is able to sell anything, and Fred gives Ralph’s father advice, offering him a deal that would allow Ralph’s father to make the best use of his land. Fred points out that Ralph’s father is the only person likely to benefit from the gold panic—no one has enough money to use all their water, so he will likely receive surplus water downstream, allowing him to grow more crops. Ralph’s father finishes plowing and harrowing the bean field before summer, and Ralph helps plant the seeds.
Just as quickly as Ralph’s family found themselves suffering economically, they suddenly find themselves flush with resources. Though this is in part a product of Ralph’s father’s tireless efforts to provide for his family, it also reflects the volatility inherent in the ranching lifestyle, a lifestyle where one’s livelihood depends on environmental forces that often cannot be controlled.
Themes
