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Chapter 44
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 feels his heart will break when Maybeth is gone. Mrs. Schofield and Mother Beal are shocked to see Mr. Schofield and the gas tank. He tells them about Odie’s generosity and gives his wife and children gifts. To Mother Beal, Mr. Schofield entrusts the rest of Odie’s cash, knowing his tendency to succumb to weakness. Mother Beal hugs Odie, and they begin to pack. Maybeth assumes Odie is coming with them, but Odie tells her his family is elsewhere. Looking out at the river, they say goodbye. Mother Beal gives Odie her sister’s address in Chicago, which is their destination. Odie and the rest of Hopersville wave goodbye to the Schofields.
Odie’s first experience with heartbreak is an intense coming-of-age milestone that leaves him forever changed. Mr. Schofield’s decision to put Mother Beal in charge of the cash acknowledges his own weaknesses with humility and demonstrates how communities benefit by holding one another accountable for their actions. That Odie chooses to stay with his family speaks to his sense of loyalty, and this is one of the most mature decisions he has made so far. The pain of his separation from Maybeth is lessened somewhat by the Chicago address, which allows them to keep in touch.
Themes
