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Chapter 29
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 and his family move into a seven-bedroom house in Littleton after Christmas. Ralph starts at a new school but has a better time than before; all the kids already know him from the Labor Day roundup. Moreover, his father is made boss on a house-building job, earning him four dollars a day. Six weeks into school, Ralph gets into trouble for scuffing his feet in the classroom while Mrs. Upson, their teacher, flirts with Mr. Purdy in the doorway. Ralph takes the fall with six other boys, and the principal whips them. Because of Ralph’s injuries from his fall with Fanny, the lashing hurts especially bad.
The move to Littleton marks a new chapter in the family’s life. Despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding their move, Ralph’s family encounters good fortune in their new town, with Ralph's father assumes a leadership role in a major construction project, and Ralph discovering himself to be somewhat of a celebrity at school. This reinforces the book’s recurring insistence that fortunes can always change; one never knows when one’s luck may change, for better or for worse.
Themes
When Ralph returns home, his mother bandages his wounds. His father comes to talk with him but doesn’t seem mad. He tells him that sometimes a man has to “take a licking for doing the right thing.” At supper, Ralph’s father reports that his house job is almost finished, but that he got offered to build another one starting in March. He talks more than Ralph remembers him talking in a long time. Ralph has trouble falling asleep that night, and he hears his father leave the house.
Enlivened by his sudden success as a contractor, Ralph’s father seems to have a new lease on life, becoming unusually chatty during dinner. Normally a quiet and serious man, particularly in the past few months, this change marks a positive shift in Ralph’s father’s mood and outlook on life. Ralph’s father seems ready to turn a new leaf.
Themes
At breakfast, Ralph notices his father’s hands are swollen. Ralph asks his father what he was doing the night before, and he responds he was seeing a “fellow about a dog.” The principal is out of school for several days, and Ralph hears rumors that he got a beating from someone. Ralph feels sure he knows who that someone is. Ralph’s father finishes his house on March 5th and he and Ralph begin work on a chicken coop. While working, Ralphs’ father tells him that he’s going to begin to treat Ralph like a man. He promises not to scold or spank him again for little things, and that one day his business will be Moody and Sons, Building Contractors.
Ralph discovers his father beat up the principal for him, emphasizing his father’s renewed vigor, as well as a relaxation of his historically uptight approach to retaliation. A continuation of his support for Ralph, Ralph’s father also announces his intention to start treating Ralph as a man. This marks a major turning point in Ralph’s relationship with this father, signaling Ralph’s ascension into the adult world, at least in his father’s eyes.
Themes
