Previous
Chapter 52
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 sleeps in Gertie’s shed, thinking about the love she shares with Flo, and feeling the world’s possibilities expanding. He listens to voices speaking in Yiddish, Spanish, and Arabic. When he wakes, Flo and Emmy are preparing for the lunch service. Albert and Mose are helping Truman fix his boat, and Gertie is shopping for dinner. Odie borrows paper and an envelope and writes a letter to Maybeth in Chicago. After the lunch service, Gertie asks Mose about the progress on Truman’s boat. Albert is still working on it using Wooster Morgan’s equipment. Flo insists that Truman cares about his crew and the boat, despite his rough personality.
Contemplating Gertie and Flo’s relationship and the Flats’ diversity expands Odie’s conceptions of love and companionship. When he wakes, he sees that his friends are contributing seamlessly to their newfound community. Odie tries to connect with Maybeth, suggesting he feels somewhat left out. Flo’s comments about Truman show that she has faith in her brother despite his interpersonal struggles.
Themes
John Kelly appears and asks if Odie would like to do something fun. He takes Odie to the railroad, where the freight trains slow enough to hop on for a ride. John Kelly’s family is doing well thanks to Gertie’s food. The boys jump into an empty train car as it passes. According to John Kelly, the trains usually stop at the railyards but go all across the country as well. He offers to help Odie send his letter to Maybeth, leading him to the post office in the federal courthouse. Nervous, Odie is trying to hide his face when someone grabs arm. It is one-eyed Jack, the man he shot dead in Fremont County.
Odie has not had many opportunities to act like a kid during his journey, so riding trains with John Kelly is a true treat. It’s also a testament to the power of communal living, which allows for moments of joy even during hard times. On the other hand, Jack’s reappearance seems like the catastrophic return of past conflict, suggesting that hardship continues to pursue Odie no matter how much personal growth he undergoes.
Themes
