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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Half-Skinned Steer, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Homecoming
Memory and the Past
Man vs. Nature
Summary
Analysis
Mero Corn remembers his childhood ranch, built on “strange ground” near the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. He left the ranch in 1936 to become a soldier, and worked various jobs; he also married three times, and got into “local politics.” He never came back to visit his father, whom he calls his old man, and his brother Rollo; he believed they would only be “bankrupt and ruined.”
Mero, who left home in his youth to take up various jobs and marry multiple times, highlights how he never returned home to see his family. Mero’s initial departure from the ranch has shaped his life’s path, and seems to have resulted in a cycle of escapism and avoidance. Mero was not able to commit to a single career or partner, nor could he stomach coming home to see the family he left behind.
Themes
Mero describes the ranch he grew up on: it was “impossible to run cows” there, and oftentimes the cattle would fall off cliffs or be killed by “marauding lions.” As a result, Mero’s old man became a mailman; Mero and Rollo perceived this career change as a “defection.” The brothers hoped to turn a modest profit as cattlemen, but Mero eventually left home. He “wound up” as an “octogenarian vegetarian widower” in Massachusetts many decades later.
The Corn men, hindered by the hostile natural world, were ineffective ranchers. Mero sees his father’s career shift as a betrayal; nevertheless, Mero also chose a different lifestyle, and is proud of his decision. Even though both men’s choices illustrate similar needs to escape the ranch’s hostility, Mero believes his own departureanother type of family betrayalmakes him superior to his father.
Themes
Mero receives a call from Louise Corn, the wife of Rollo’s son, Tick; Mero does not know either of them. Louise informs Mero that Rollo was killed by an emu on the ranch. Louise adds that the ranch is now called “Down Under Wyoming,” because Rollo had “sold the place” to an Australian businessman who then converted it into a tourist destination. In 1978, the businessman turned partial ownership of the ranch over to Rollo, who had run it with Louise and Tick’s help for the “last ten years.”
Mero learns about the ranch from relatives he has never met; his unfamiliarity indicates that he has remained distant and estranged from his home for decades. Rollo’s death reveals another aspect of the Corn family’s hostile relationship with the natural world: the Corns, who have barely adapted to their inhospitable land, inevitably lose a family member to nature’s viciousness.
Themes
Mero tells Louise Corn that he will drive back to Wyoming for Rollo’s funeral. Louise is surprised to hear that he is capable of driving at his advanced age, but Mero surveys his “muscular” body and believes he can make it home. In fact, he thinks he is healthy enough to “dodge an emu.” Mero then acknowledges that the funeral is enough to “jerk him back” to Wyoming.
Mero agrees to return home, ending his decades-long period of escapism. Mero believes his strength is the result of his lifestyle, which makes him superior to his relatives. He also believes that he is capable of escaping an emu attack, and thus of triumphing over nature. Mero is convinced that his choices differentiate him from his family, and exempt him from the violent relationship between man and nature.
Themes
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Mero remembers why he had “pulled away” from home, and cites the arrival of his old man’s girlfriend. Mero claims the woman was a talented storyteller who “played them” like a “deck of cards,” and ensnared his brother Rollo with her charms. He compares her to a horse, and notes how her “glossy eyes” would flick between the old man and Rollo. Mero recognizes that the girlfriend provided a source of tension that “charged” the men with “purpose.”
Mero then describes childhood flashbacks, indicating that he is a man who gets lost in his memories. Mero describes how his father’s girlfriend added tension to his life, whereas previously, the family was only at odds with nature. Mero’s keen memory is his only source of family connection: as he never returned home, he has no other insights into his brother and father except what is provided in these scenes.
Themes
Mero also remembers vividly the image of his old man drinking Everclear at the kitchen table. The alcohol would lighten up his father’s “gangstery face,” but get him exceedingly drunk. In the present, Mero wonders how long his father has been dead; he thinks it must be “fifty years or more.”
Mero’s concept of his fatherdrawn solely from childhood memorieswas negative; this kept him from returning home, which is why Mero does not know when his father passed away. Mero, unwilling to return even for his father’s funeral, dwelt on memories of his father instead of returning home to make new ones.
Themes
Mero reminisces about a story told by his father’s girlfriend, about a rancher named Tin Head who has a “metal plate” embedded in his skull. After hearing the story, Mero had a revelation: he remembers thinking his life would monotonously drag on “like this for some time.” He also acknowledges that, in his youth, he wanted a girlfriend “of his own.” For these reasons, he decided to escape from the ranch and see what “his chances” would be in other states.
Mero describes the girlfriend’s story of Tin Heada story whose moral lessons are mirrored in his own lifeand remembers the initial realizations behind his need for escape. Mero’s vivid recall of the past allows him to pinpoint multiple reasons for his departure. Moreover, his memory also introduces the Tin Head’s story, which foreshadows the danger Mero is in. Mero’s memories allow him to simplify his past, but they also contain hints about the peril of the present.
Themes
Continuing with his drive homeward, Mero tries to “cover some ground” on the highway and is pulled over by a cop. The cop asks Mero where he is going, and Mero momentarily forgets why he is driving to Wyoming. The speeding ticket he then receives reminds Mero of his haste to escape the ranch, and he once again cites the girlfriend’s flirtations with both Rollo and his old man as motivation for his departure.
Mero’s temporary forgetfulness indicates that his memories are interfering with his life in the present. He then re-emphasizes the emotional tension between his brother, father, and his father’s girlfriend, repeating his reasons for his departure. Mero’s continual citation of this tension reveals the limited perspective he has of his family. He constantly refers to the same scenes, as he never returned home to create new memories.
Themes
Mero recalls the next part of Tin Head’s story. The girlfriend narrates how “things went wrong” on Tin Head’s ranch, and how he seemed particularly plagued by misfortune: Tin Head’s chickens would mysteriously turn blue, and his calves would often be born mutated. Even his family seemed cursed; his children were inexplicably born “piebald.”
Mero continues to recall the girlfriend’s tale, indicating that the story has remained important to him for decades. Tin Head’s family is cursed by bad luck: its animals suffer unnatural fates, indicating a tense, hostile dynamic between man and nature. This antagonism between Tin Head’s family and the natural world is replicated in the Corn family’s relationship with nature: both families suffer misfortune, such as inhospitable land or odd accidents.
Themes
Mero then describes his sexual awakening as a young man. In Mero’s youth, his old man instructed an anthropologist to take Mero to see some wall drawings. The anthropologist asked Mero if he knew about one image in particular, which Mero thought was a horseshoe. The anthropologist laughed at Mero for his innocence, and told him it was actually a picture of female genitalia. As a result of this interaction, Mero perpetually associates horse-related images with female anatomy for the rest of his adulthood.
Mero continues his pattern of using a single, strong memory to illustrate a pivotal moment in his life, indicating his inability to grow or move on. For Mero, a solitary memory or past scene is adequate explanation for his behavior.
Themes
Mero awakes early from an overnight motel stay in Des Moines and continues with his drive. He misses the ramp on the highway, and misremembers what motel sign to use as a “landmark.” Then, he finds another entranceway ramp and drives recklessly towards it, triggering a multi-car accident; instead of blaming himself, he criticizes other drivers. He then buys another car, emphasizing how he can “do that” sort of thing “if he liked.”
In the present, Mero continues to demonstrate forgetfulness and recklessness. He causes an accident by misremembering his location, and his dismissive reaction reveals how careless he is with his life. This is a consequence of his fixation on the past: as his present is overtaken by memory, he stops caring about his current circumstances. Mero also brags that he is rich enough to buy another car, offering a stark contrast to his family’s unprofitable ranching career. He takes pride in his wealth, believing it is the result of superior life choices.
Themes
Mero reaches Kearney, Nebraska, and stops for the night without eating dinner. He dreams that he is back at the ranch, but the furniture has disappeared, and soldiers are fighting with guns in the yard. The soldiers’ bullets break the windows and destroy the floorboards; underneath the destroyed flooring, “galvanized tubs” are filled with “dark, coagulated” liquid.
Even Mero’s dreams are overtaken with images of his childhood home, illustrating how he has never truly escaped the ranch’s influence. In his dream, aspects of Tin Head’s storysuch as galvanized metalbegin to blend with images of home, foreshadowing the tale’s significance for Mero’s homecoming. The violent imagery of the dream emphasizes the hostile nature of the ranch; Mero remembers this hostility, despite his years away.
Themes
With 400 miles to go, Mero drives through Cheyenne, Wyoming. He notes how it is the “second time” he has traveled through the place in sixty years. The last time he had visited, he stopped in a restaurant and ordered a bloody steak: the sight of it repulsed him, and he labeled himself a “cattleman gone wrong.” Mero emphasizes how his “revulsion” seems comic in the context of his rancher upbringing.
The steak is a product of the violence between man and nature; animals are often killed to provide resources for humans. Mero’s revulsion is particularly unusual, however, as he grew up ranching, an occupation that involves slaughtering animals. Instead, Mero chose the inverse of the life he left behind: he becomes a vegetarian, a choice that allows him to rebel against his home’s traditions.
Themes
Mero then calls Louise Corn and tells her he will reach the ranch by late afternoon. Louise informs Mero that there is a possibility of snow, and Mero says he will be careful; as soon as he hangs up, however, he gets back on the road. As he drives, the “calm” of his past decades disappears, and he feels like the same young, angry man who escaped home in 1936.
As Mero gets closer to Wyoming, he refuses to outwait a storm; the ranch’s magnetism draws him home despite obvious dangers. Mero also admits that his homecoming is emotionally fraught. Despite escaping in 1936, his return still regresses him to his youth. As Mero returns home, he begins to acknowledge the ranch’s influence over him, despite his attempts to escape.
Themes
Mero recalls the next part of the girlfriend’s tale of Tin Head. Tin Head was known to pick a steer for slaughter every year; he would use the meat and resources to provide for his family. One year, however, he stuns a steer and bleeds the animal out, but his wife’s call to dinner distracts him, and he leaves the job unfinished. Tin Head only skins the steer halfway.
Tin Head disrespects nature when he leaves the skinning of the steer incomplete, indicating a lack of reverence for the steer’s sacrifice. The gory imagery reinforces the violent relationship between man and nature: out of a need to survive, humanity must overpower elements of the natural world.
Themes
In the present, Mero continues his drive, which has become perilous in the snowy, windy weather. Suddenly, the snow clears, and Mero can see the road in front of him once again. Mero thinks back to why he left the ranch initially, and wonders if he escaped “without hard reason.” He then admits it was time to “find his own territory,” and prides himself for his sexual conquests.
As Mero gets closer to home, the natural landscape of the ranch resists him: the snow and wind seem to actively hinder his progress. Mero, lost in his memory, falls into similar patterns: he reprises already repeated rationales for his escape. He believes, despite his fixation on the past and his childhood, that he has escaped and built a new life for himself.
Themes
Mero, who is now twenty miles from the ranch, highlights how the road feels “achingly familiar.” He begins to dwell on the “shape” of the ranch, recalling the landscape with intimate detail. Mero claims the scenery has an “eerie dream quality,” as the landmarks have remained the same for sixty years.
As the distance between Mero and the ranch shrinks, the power and influence of his home grows. In his mind, the ranch feels familiar, and he is able to recall small detailsthis belies his insistence that he has escaped the ranch and never looked back. Rather, the ranch has endured despite his time away, and it remains fixed in both his memory and in reality.
Themes
Mero returns to the girlfriend’s narration of Tin Head’s story. In this part of the tale, Tin Head finishes his dinner and walks outside, only to realize that the steer is gone. The only evidence of the steer is a tongue left behind on the groundTin Head had cut it out to make his favorite meal and a tub of blood leftover from the skinning process.
Mero’s recollection of Tin Head’s story continues, despite the increasingly dangerous trip homeward; in this way, Mero once again prioritizes the past over the present. The tale uses increasingly bloody images to emphasize humans’ violence against the natural world. Moreover, Tin Head’s decision to cut out the steer’s tonguebut not finish the job is an added sign of disrespect. He prioritizes his preferences, emphasizing his misunderstanding and mistreatment of nature.
Themes
In the present, Mero misses the turnoff to the ranch. He claims the image of it is “sharp” in his mind, but he has to retrace his route, and his car’s tire gets stuck. He decides to wait in the car until morning, when he can ask for help from a neighbor, Bob Banner. Mero then realizes this would be impossible, as Banner would have to be “120 years old” to still be alive. Mero then gets out of the car to try to extricate the tire. He emphasizes how the cold feels bitingly sharp, and how the wind buffets him.
As Mero approaches the end of his homecoming journey, his memory of the past suddenly degrades. He miscalculates the entrance to the ranch, and gets lost as a resulta representation of how he is lost in his memoryand then continues to misremember details of his childhood. Mero’s homecoming is deferred by his faulty memory, which leads him to take a wrong route home.
Themes
Tin Head’s story continues, and the girlfriend narrates how Tin Head is surprised by the steer’s absence. At first, he thinks a neighbor has stolen it, but then he sees something moving slowly in the distance. Tin Head notes that the moving object looks “raw,” and then realizes it is the half-skinned steer. As the animal looks at Tin Head with hate-filled eyes, he understands that “he is done for” and that his family has been cursed to suffer.
Despite the increasing number of obstacles to his homecoming, Mero delays his return to recall the end of Tin Head’s story. In the tale, Tin Head realizes his disrespect for nature has led to his doom: nature, personified by the bloody steer, will seek vengeance for Tin Head’s laziness and cruelty. Tin Head’s realization that he is cursed illustrates how nature and man’s relationship ends in destruction; nature will seek revenge against those who do it harm.
Themes
Outside in the cold, Mero senses that he is on the ranch, even though he cannot place his exact location; however, Mero acknowledges that the ranch “in his memory” is not “as bright.” Mero tries to open the car door, and sees that he left the keys in the ignition. He smashes a rock through the car window to retrieve them; he then realizes that the passenger door was already unlocked. Frustrated, he gets back into the car and tries to put it in reverse.
Mero’s memory of home clashes with the reality of his circumstances. He realizes he has almost returned to the ranch, but admits that his memory of home has eroded; paradoxically, his memories have kept from his final homecoming. In his increasing confusion, he leaves his car keys in the ignition, and foolishly smashes a window to retrieve them. Mero’s unfortunate situation is a result of his reliance on the past; by prioritizing memory over the present, he puts himself in danger.
Themes
The snow proves too cumbersome for Mero’s car, and he realizes he is stuck on a “remorselessly long hill.” The tires eventually slip in the snow, and the engine of his car dies. Mero realizes that his situation is likely fatal, and claims it is “almost a relief” to get to this “point.”
Mero’s inability to remember the route home, combined with nature’s harsh conditions, has prevented his homecoming. Mero seems to except his fate at nature’s hands, admitting that he is relieved to not truly return home. By not reaching home, Mero is permitted to stay in limbo: he remains stuck in memories of his childhood home. These memories cannot be rewritten, as he will never reach the ranch.
Themes
Mero gets out of the car and continues his journey on foot, thinking it may not be “that far.” He looks around at the “violent country” of the ranch, and feels insubstantial and fragile. He notices a herd of cattle, and realizes one of the animals is following him. Mero looks closer, and sees that the animal is the half-skinned steer, who has been “watching” and waiting for him to return.
In the last scene of the story, Mero’s confrontation with the landscape and the steer reinforces man’s powerlessness in the face of nature’s wrath. The snow and sweeping view contrasts with Mero’s frailty. Moreover, his realization that the steer has been waiting for his return emphasizes nature’s ability to endure. Mero’s homecoming is thwarted by nature’s vengeance: like in Tin Head’s story, nature has fated Mero to sufferjust like his other relatives have sufferedand he cannot outrun the curse.
Themes
