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Chapter 31
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
At the riverbank, Odie curses God until Sister Eve finds him. She knew she couldn’t heal Albert as soon as she took his hand. She leads Odie back to Dr. Pfeiffer’s house, insisting he see Albert. To Odie’s shock, Albert opens his eyes. The antivenom arrived just after Odie left. That Albert survived that long is a miracle. Odie asks if Mose believes in God. Mose answers that if God is love, then he believes. Later, Odie asks Sister Eve what each of his friends want, which she knows because she has held each of their hands and used her clairvoyance. According to Eve, Albert wants to protect Odie, Mose wants to know who he is, Emmy is not sure what she wants, and Odie wants a home. He feels he has found it with Eve and the crusade.
Odie’s brief attempt at faith is quickly overpowered by his despair that Albert has died, and his anger returns to him. Albert has managed to survive even though Sister Eve claimed his faith, as she sensed it, was not strong enough, suggesting that a true miracle has occurred. That Odie asks Mose about his beliefs implies that he is once again rethinking his conception of God, willing to entertain the notion of divine love, even if he doesn’t believe in God as an unstoppable and omnipotent force. While there is no way to prove that Sister Eve’s knowledge of the children’s deepest desires is supernatural or not, Odie extends his trust and forgiveness to her in this moment. His renewed feeling of community and home suggest that he is willing to move forward with greater faith in humanity.
Themes
