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Chapter 54
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
The next morning, Odie questions Albert about Saint Louis and Aunt Julia, trying to get him back on track. But Albert intends to stay and work for Truman. Odie tells them about one-eyed Jack and insists they need to leave. Just then, Truman arrives, planning to train Albert and Mose for their first towboat run. Calvin reminds Truman that he doesn’t own the river, though it feels like it sometimes. Odie hates Truman in that moment, feeling he is stealing Albert away. In the afternoon, he visits the towboat and watches how happy Albert seems working on its machinery. Odie does not understand how the people of the Flats can be content with just getting by.
Rather than talking to Albert about what he wants to do, Odie tries to manipulate his brother into accompanying him to Saint Louis. Uncomfortable with the prospect of splitting up from his friends, Odie tries to use fear of one-eyed Jack and their past to convince them they need to flee. His hatred of Truman is rooted in a selfish desire to keep his friends to himself, denying the reality that they have found happiness in the Flats. Here, Odie reckons with the difficult truth that people grow apart as they age—and sometimes, they go their separate ways.
Themes
