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Chapter 61
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 day, Aunt Julia sends Odie into town with Dolores to shop for new clothes. Odie tells Dolores stories about his travels, and she encourages him to write them down. At a department store, Odie becomes uncomfortable and does not want to buy anything. He leads Dolores to the shantytowns, explaining that he feels guilty for getting new clothes when so many have so little. Dolores becomes angry at the implication that she doesn’t deserve fine things. She tells Odie she makes her money through sex work. Odie is shocked at the revelation that Aunt Julia runs a brothel. Leaving Dolores, he wanders into Hooverville and sees a sign for the Sword of Gideon Healing Crusade.
Dolores’s comment emphasizes Odie’s storytelling abilities and his ability to capture the emotional resonance of his experiences. Having witnessed so much poverty throughout his journey, Odie is uncomfortable with what he sees as unnecessary purchases. But when he confronts Dolores, it’s implied that he is trying to shame her. Having worked hard to earn what she has, Dolores takes offense and reveals to Odie that there is much he still doesn’t understand about the world. Here, the novel demonstrates that human suffering takes many forms and is the product of many kinds of systemic injustice. Furthermore, the novel shows that judging individuals for what they have done to make ends meet inhibits human connection.
Themes
Odie locates the crusaders, reuniting with Whisker and Dimitri. He finds Sister Eve in a quiet spot overlooking the river and tells her about his journey and Aunt Julia. Her house is not the home Odie expected. Reiterating her belief that prayers for forgiveness are always answered, Sister Eve encourages Odie to offer forgiveness to Aunt Julia. Eve asks after Emmy, calling her special. Having considered Emmy’s odd behavior, Odie has concluded that Emmy sees the future, just as Eve sees the past. Eve hypothesizes that Emmy’s fits occur when she is wrestling with her visions, trying to change them. Thinking back, Odie realizes Emmy saved Jack and Albert but was unable to help the dead Native American boy they found.
The reappearance of the crusaders at a time when Odie is desperate for community feels like fate. Odie admits that Aunt Julia is not what he expected, showcasing how growing up often involves reckoning with disappointment. As before, Eve recommends that Odie accept Aunt Julia’s flaws and forgive her, acknowledging that she did the best she could in difficult circumstances. Eve’s hypothesis that Emmy has the ability to see and change the future implies that Emmy has been saving them through small miracles the entire journey. By highlighting Emmy’s preternatural attempts to help her family avoid suffering, the novel emphasizes that having faith in human goodness and individual actions for change is more likely to pay off than faith in divine intervention.
Themes
Odie assures Sister Eve that Emmy is safe with Gertie and Flo. Eve drives Odie back to Aunt Julia’s house, so he can tell her he will be rejoining the crusade. Julia is waiting in the attic room, but she is not angry like he expected. Odie has already forgiven Aunt Julia, figuring that he too has sinned. Julia is surrounded by photographs of Odie as a baby and a young boy, which Rosalee sent. Odie notes there are none of Albert. Julia claims Odie was born in this very room. She named him Odysseus after the great Greek leader. Confused, Odie declares that his mother named him. Holding his gaze, Aunt Julia agrees—she is his real mother.
Odie decides to rejoin the crusade even as he forgives Aunt Julia, demonstrating his newfound willingness to release his expectations and accept his own changing priorities. That Aunt Julia has Odie’s baby pictures—but none of Albert—signify her particular attachment to him and hint at the bombshell she is about to drop: she is Odie’s real mother. In naming Odie after a Greek hero, Julia tried to manifest a spirit of leadership in her son—that her hope seems to have paid off suggests that Odie has been subject to a kind of divine guidance, even if it wasn’t the kind he expected.
Themes
