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Chapter 15
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
Mose weeps at night. Despite his strength and resilience, Mose has a habit of sobbing in his sleep and remembering nothing when he wakes. Odie wonders how One-eyed Jack is treating Emmy at the farmhouse. The next morning, the boys resume their work. Odie notes empty pint bottles in the trash, evidence Jack likes to drink. Odie spies on the man talking with a police officer at the house. The officer notifies Jack that the criminals who kidnapped Emmaline Frost are believed to be in the area. The sheriff’s orders are to shoot them on sight. The officer also asks about “Aggie and Sophie,” but Jack deflects. He does not say anything about Odie, Albert, Mose, and Emmy.
Mose’s nocturnal weeping exhibits the long-term effects of trauma. This scene implies that Mose’s body remembers the hardship he's gone through, even if his mind does not. Again, Odie makes note of Jack’s alcoholism, implying that he is considering ways to exploit this weakness. The officer’s mention of “Aggie and Sophie,” along with Jack’s quick dismissal of the question, suggest that these characters are acquaintances of Jack’s, perhaps even family members, who have since abandoned him. The reason Jack does not turn Odie and his friends into the police is unclear—perhaps he wants to continue stealing their labor, or maybe he does not believe the kidnapping narrative.
Themes
Odie relays what he overheard to Albert. They ponder about the man—whose real name, they now know, is Jack—and his reasons for hiding them from the officer. Odie asks what Albert and Volz used to charge for a pint of liquor, forming a plan. That night, Emmy and Jack bring dinner to the tack room. Emmy is wearing a green dress that does not belong to her. Jack asks about Mose’s use of sign language and surprises Odie by casting harsh judgment on the person who cut out his tongue. Odie plays some more songs on his harmonica at Jack’s request, then asks how much he pays for liquor. He offers to get Jack better drink for less cost.
The lack of clarity around Jack’s motivations complicates his character, making it hard to discern whether he is good or bad. Regardless, Odie begins to form a plan, presumably so the group can escape from Jack. Emmy’s change of dress, which presumably Jack has loaned her, is more evidence that Jack has (or had) a daughter. Additionally, Jack’s sympathy for the violence Mose suffered shows a different side of his character, one with a strong sense of morality and justice. Here, Odie does not seek to trick Jack as much as take advantage of his addiction—which, morally speaking, is equally questionable.
Themes
