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Chapter 38
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
Mother Beal asks Odie to read a Bible passage before bed. He chooses Psalm 23 and is surprised it doesn’t feel insincere. Mother Beal shows Odie her family tree. Her father was a missionary among the Sioux people. Mother Beal grew up among them, which is why their shelter now is a tepee. Mr. Schofield appears, apparently drunk. Mother Beal is displeased—he traded his harmonica for alcohol. Mrs. Schofield puts her husband to bed with weary compassion. Mother Beal offers Odie a blanket and tells Maybeth to help him find a place to bed down. The two walk to the riverbank and sit on the blanket, looking up at the stars.
Odie’s surprising sincerity while reading the Bible passage suggests that his views on God are starting to shift. Mother Beal, despite her Christian faith, is not as forgiving as Sister Eve, as evidenced by her reaction to Mr. Schofield’s drunkenness. Mrs. Schofield’s resigned reaction to her husband’s condition implies that he has a pattern of this behavior, which she dislikes but accepts as someone who loves him. That Mr. Schofield traded his harmonica for alcohol suggests that he turns to drink because he has lost his hope.
Themes
Maybeth worries about her father. Odie contemplates how his own father sold drink to men like Mr. Schofield. Maybeth shows Odie her favorite star in the Big Dipper, which points to the North Star and reminds her where she’s going. Maybeth mentions how Romeo and Juliet were only 13 when they married, the same age as herself and Odie. Before returning home, she kisses Odie briefly. He spends the night looking up at the stars and feeling guilty for forgetting Albert, Mose, and Emmy, even momentarily.
Reflecting on his own father’s flaws makes Odie uncomfortable, but it bolsters the idea that all humans are imperfect. Maybeth’s reverence for the stars that guide her suggests a love of the natural world and a steadfast hope for her own future. Odie’s first kiss is milestone on his coming-of-age journey, advancing him toward adulthood. The combination of joy mixed with guilt that Odie indicates some tension between his love for his family and his newfound feelings for Maybeth.
Themes
In the morning, Odie returns to the Schofields’ tepee. Mrs. Schofield gives him coffee and asks his plans. Odie intends to search for his family in Mankato, as he assumes the authorities captured them, though he does not tell Mrs. Schofield these details. After a breakfast of oatmeal and molasses, Mr. Schofield asks if Odie will help him try fixing his truck’s engine. They try for a while before giving up. Frustrated, Mr. Schofield leaves in search of a drink. Mrs. Schofield instructs Maybeth to follow him, and Odie joins her.
Odie’s reluctance to share the details of his situation with Mrs. Schofield shows that the journey so far has made him more like Albert—cautious and practical. The hopelessness of Mr. Schofield’s attempts to fix his truck and save his family illuminate his reasons for drinking, as his reality is filled with disappointment and despair. That Maybeth is accustomed to following her father and ensuring his safety suggests he succumbs to alcohol often.
Themes
