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Chapter 2
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
Cora Frost’s property is east of Lincoln. Her deceased husband, Andrew, was half Sioux and half Scotch-Irish and served as Lincoln School’s sports coach. He was killed after falling into the blades of his own disc harrow. With her husband gone, Mrs. Frost leases much of her land to another farmer, but she tends the orchard and garden to supplement her food stores. When they arrive, she puts the boys to work. Albert and Odie argue about Odie’s harmonica and his behavior. Furious at Odie for doubting his loyalty, Albert claims he is the only thing standing between his brother and the reformatory. Odie thinks Albert wishes for his downfall.
Having married a man of Native American descent suggests that Mrs. Frost is better prepared to understand the injustices that indigenous Americans have faced at the hands of white settlers. This, perhaps, is why she is more sympathetic to the Native American children at Lincoln. The tragedy of her husband’s death is an early example of the random suffering of life, for which Odie later blames God. Odie and Albert’s continuous bickering sheds light on familial imperfections and points to the way each boy is developing his sense of self and learning how to interact with others.
Themes
Breaking for lunch, Mrs. Frost tells the boys the Gilead River joins the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Albert wants to travel the river like Mark Twain. Emmy asks Odie to play his harmonica. He plays “Shenandoah” but switches to George Gershwin when he realizes it was one of Andrew Frost’s favorites. Everyone but Albert says they love Odie’s music. The boys finish the workday and cool off in the river. Emmy begs her mother to take the canoe out, and Mrs. Frost obliges. The children paddle east, dreaming of going all the way to the ocean. There is “bad news” waiting when they return to the farmhouse.
Mrs. Frost’s description of the rivers’ interconnectedness alludes to the enormity of the world beyond Lincoln, which the children struggle to imagine. Albert’s wish to travel the rivers hints at his feeling of entrapment and a desire for freedom. This scene is the first instance of people responding emotionally to Odie’s musical talent. Hearing “Shenandoah” makes Mrs. Frost long for her husband, while Mose and Emmy find peace listening to the harmonica. Albert’s implied disapproval suggests that even now he is trying to mold Odie into someone other than who he is.
Themes
