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Chapter 22
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
A tornado comes in March. Watching him run to warn the family, Ralph realizes how much his father’ cough has improved. The family hides in the cellar, but after five minutes the tornado passes, taking a different path. A few weeks later, Ralph rides Fanny to see the tornado path. While there, he sees a big black cloud behind Mount Morrison and races Fanny to tell his family. He soon realizes the storm is a dangerous cloudburst, not a tornado. While racing home, Fanny’s hoof breaks through a rotten plank on the bridge, throwing Ralph into the water.
In an ironic turn of events, Ralph encounters a dangerous storm while exploring the aftermath of a previous one. This suggests a twisted sense of humor in fate, for while Ralph’s family is unharmed by the tornado from weeks past, Ralph’s encounter with the cloudburst proves disastrous.
Themes
When Ralph gets out of the water, he runs to find Fanny stuck in the bridge with a broken leg. Ralph jumps on her to try and save her from drowning, and he goes under. He wakes to his father pumping up and down on his back, and his father’s voice sounds like it’s coming from far away. Ralph’s father picks him up, and Ralph sees Fanny still stuck in the bridge with the water rising. He starts crying and his father brings him home. He stays in bed several days, during which time Ralph’s father buries Fanny, and Ralph is thankful he did not have to see her being buried.
Ralph displays remarkable loyalty while attempting to save Fanny from drowning, nearly drowning himself in the process. Such devotion serves as a testament to the profound bond formed between Ralph and Fanny during their time together on the ranch. Ralph, after hearing of her death, is thankful for not having been at her burial, presumably out of fear of the immense sadness such an experience would evoke.
Themes
