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John Kelly/Shlomo Goldstein
Ezekiel O’Banion is the father of Odie and Albert. He is married to Rosalee O’Banion. A con man who produced and sold his own bootleg liquor, Ezekiel was killed during a liquor run when Odie was only eight years old. Ezekiel’s harmonica is the only possession Odie has to remind him of his father. The novel heavily implies that Mrs. Brickman shot Ezekiel because he helped Aunt Julia turn her out years ago.
Ezekiel O’Banion (Odie’s Father) Quotes in This Tender Land
The This Tender Land quotes below are all either spoken by Ezekiel O’Banion (Odie’s Father) or refer to Ezekiel O’Banion (Odie’s Father). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 56
Quotes
This was all my doing, all my fault. This was my curse. I saw now that long before the Tornado God descended and killed Cora Frost and decimated Emmy’s world, that vengeful spirit had attached itself to me and had followed me everywhere. My mother had died. My father had been murdered. I was to blame for all the misery in my life and the lives of everyone I’d ever cared about. Only me. I saw with painful clarity that if I stayed with my brother and Mose and Emmy, I would end up destroying them, too. The realization devastated me, and I stood breathless and alone and terribly afraid.
I fell to my knees and tried to pray to the merciful God Sister Eve had urged me to embrace, prayed desperately for release from this curse, prayed for guidance. But all I felt was my own isolation and an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire This Tender Land LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ezekiel O’Banion (Odie’s Father) Quotes in This Tender Land
The This Tender Land quotes below are all either spoken by Ezekiel O’Banion (Odie’s Father) or refer to Ezekiel O’Banion (Odie’s Father). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 56
Quotes
This was all my doing, all my fault. This was my curse. I saw now that long before the Tornado God descended and killed Cora Frost and decimated Emmy’s world, that vengeful spirit had attached itself to me and had followed me everywhere. My mother had died. My father had been murdered. I was to blame for all the misery in my life and the lives of everyone I’d ever cared about. Only me. I saw with painful clarity that if I stayed with my brother and Mose and Emmy, I would end up destroying them, too. The realization devastated me, and I stood breathless and alone and terribly afraid.
I fell to my knees and tried to pray to the merciful God Sister Eve had urged me to embrace, prayed desperately for release from this curse, prayed for guidance. But all I felt was my own isolation and an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
