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Prologue
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in This Tender Land, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family, Community, and Home
Hardship, Injustice, and Compassion
God, Fate, and Choice
Coming of Age and Personal Growth
Storytelling, Music, and Hope
Acceptance and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
Odie’s story begins with an old rat that his brother, Albert, named Faria. Faria lives in the quiet room of Lincoln Indian Training School, which was previously used for solitary confinement when the school had been a military outpost. Now, the Brickmans—who run the school—use the quiet room as punishment. The first time Odie is thrown in the quiet room, Albert is with him. Albert, who is four years older than Odie, tries to comfort his Odie by naming the rat, thereby making it familiar. The brothers are being punished because Odie contradicted Mrs. Thelma Brickman, the superintendent, about the meaning of the story of the tortoise and the hare. They are the only two white boys in the school.
It is telling that Odie begins his story in Lincoln’s quiet room, indicating that most of his memories of the school involve unjust punishment. The obvious cruelty of placing children in an old solitary confinement chamber makes plain the Brickmans’ harsh treatment of the children in their care. By encouraging Odie to approach Faria with curiosity rather than fear, Albert attempts to comfort Odie while teaching him to make the best of a bad situation. This also suggests that Albert feels responsible for Odie’s wellbeing. That he and Odie are the only white boys at Lincoln is unusual and implies that special circumstances have brought them there.
Themes
After her story, Odie told Mrs. Brickman that his father always said the moral was “slow and steady wins the race.” Mrs. Brickman, unsympathetic and stern, reminded Odie that his father is dead. Later, her husband, Mr. Brickman, sent Odie and Albert to the quiet room. The orphan boys are eight and twelve years old, respectively. Four years after his first night in the quiet room, Odie wakes there once again. Now 12 himself, Odie’s rebellious behavior frequently gets him into trouble. This morning, Herman Volz—a German man who teaches carpentry and serves as the school’s assistant boys’ adviser—unlocks the door. He has been instructed to take Odie to see Mrs. Brickman.
Mrs. Brickman’s reaction to Odie’s comment is unreasonably cruel, and her decision to punish him and Albert so soon after their arrival indicates her desire to exercise power over them. That Odie is still getting sent to the quiet room regularly four years later speaks to both his rebellious nature and Mrs. Brickman’s particular dislike of him.
Themes
As they walk to the administration building, Odie tells Volz he dreamed his mother was rowing a boat away from him. At the administration building, Mrs. Brickman is waiting with Albert in her office. The children nicknamed her the Black Witch, because she always wears black. Now, Mrs. Brickman threatens to send Odie to the reformatory if he does not behave. He and Albert were only accepted at Lincoln because there was no room at the state orphanage. Odie assures her he will behave and asks for his harmonica, which she has confiscated. Though he pretends the instrument does not mean much to him, Mrs. Brickman knows it was a gift from his father. If he misbehaves again, she informs Odie, she will keep it for good.
In Odie’s dream, he cannot see his mother’s face, representing how few memories of her he has. Albert’s presence in Mrs. Brickman’s office suggests he has been able to endear himself to her in a way that Odie has not. The mention of the state orphanage being full indicates that the country at large is experiencing a time of widespread hardship. Odie’s concern for his harmonica is clearly rooted in its sentimental value, but it also suggests that music is important to him. That Mrs. Brickman knows Odie treasures the harmonica and exploits that knowledge characterizes her as manipulative.
Themes
