This Tender Land: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Monday morning, Mose and Odie are assigned to work for Bledsoe again. Volz recruits Albert to paint the water tower, on which a runaway painted “Welcome to Hell” years ago. Odie thinks of Billy Red Sleeve and wonders if the punishment for running away would be better than working for Bledsoe. A storm is coming. Mrs. Bledsoe forces her husband to let the boys go home early. Back at Lincoln, they watch from the dormitories as hail gives way to a tornado. The twister uproots trees and destroys the ball field. Odie is relieved to see Albert and Volz have abandoned the water tower, but he is overcome with fear when the tornado veers toward Emmy and Mrs. Frost’s farm.

Odie, Mose, Albert, and Volz try to find Mrs. Frost and Emmy on campus. Mrs. Brickman is out of town, so Mr. Brickman accompanies them to the Frosts’ farm in Volz’s car. They follow the tornado’s path of destruction to Mrs. Frost’s destroyed house. Her car is upside down, and her orchard has been uprooted. Odie mourns the loss of his future home. They find Emmy safe but alone in the cellar. She explains that her mother went to set the horse free from the barn. Odie stays at the Frost’s property to search for Mrs. Frost. He accuses Brickman of lying when he claimed that God was a shepherd: in fact, God is a “goddamn tornado.” Albert surveys the destruction, reiterating his belief that a shepherd eats his flock “One by one.”