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Chapter 5
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
On Sunday, the students attend a worship service conducted by the Brickmans. At the school, Christianity is the only allowable religion, regardless of whether the children were raised Catholic or according to Native traditions. Mr. Brickman preaches, twisting scripture to suit his own message of unquestioning obedience. Odie wants to believe in a God who can shepherd him, and he vows to try harder to help guide kids like Billy Red Sleeve. After the service, Mrs. Frost and Emmy stop Albert, Mose, and Odie. She asks if they would like to live in her house for the summer (and possibly longer) and help her farm the land. Mr. Brickman has agreed to it. All three boys agree, and Odie feels hopeful.
Just as English is the only acceptable language at Lincoln, forcing the students to practice only Christianity is another racist tactic to separate Indigenous students from the communal practices of their birth families. Odie’s desire for a protective God suggests he feels generally unsafe and alone in the world and that he longs for the comfort of a powerful individual to advocate for him. Mrs. Frost, with her generous offer to house the three boys, seems like she may be such a person. Odie’s hope suggests he believes the injustice he suffered at Lincoln is finally over.
Themes
Though Mose and Odie are thrilled, Albert cautions them not to get their hopes up, knowing Mrs. Brickman will likely object. Odie tries to imagine living with the Frosts. He cannot remember his own mother, who died when he was six. Albert’s only family photograph was confiscated. The head boys’ advisor appears, looking for Billy Red Sleeve. Runaways are common, but Odie does not know if Billy has a home to run to. The corncob doll is missing from his trunk. That afternoon, he and the others attend their weekly Boy Scout meeting, run by a local banker. Odie finds these meetings ironic, as the Native children would already have survival skills had they not been taken from their families.
Albert’s cynicism suggests he is accustomed to disappointment, despite his youth. Nevertheless, Odie’s deep longing for a family he can remember and rely on fuels his hope. Billy Red Sleeve’s disappearance makes the general atmosphere more ominous, suggesting something bad has happened to him. The irony of teaching Indigenous children skills they would have learned had they been allowed to remain with their birth families highlights another way residential schools intentionally inhibit their students’ development to keep them subservient to those in power.
Themes
The banker informs the boys that his bank is transferring him, and he will no longer be their scoutmaster. He hopes they will remember their inherent worth. Later, Albert suggests that the banker’s superiors are punishing him for refusing to foreclose on farmers who are behind on their mortgage payments. He says it has to do with the Crash on Wall Street, which Odie does not understand—no one he knows has much money to lose. There is still no sign of Billy Red Sleeve. Albert tells Odie not to get attached to people, as everyone gets taken away in the end. Odie wonders if God will look out for him, but Albert says even shepherds eat their flock one by one.
Although the banker is another example of a well-meaning adult who tries to defend the children at Lincoln (in this case, from the message that they are inferior), he is shown to be weaker than other adults who are motivated by greed. Albert’s awareness of the 1929 Crash—an economic catastrophe which began the era of poverty and hardship known as the Great Depression—characterizes him as more worldly than Odie. Here, he suggests the banker’s refusal to prioritize profit over people’s lives have led his superiors to dismiss him, implying that powerful people are motivated by greed. As a way to protect himself from further disappointment, Albert adopts a cynical attitude toward the world, claiming that even God—allegedly a kindly shepherd—ultimately harms or destroys his flock, those he is supposed to protect.
Themes
