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Summary
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 narrator, Odie O’Banion, declares that stories are God’s final gift to humanity. Odie lives on the banks of the Gilead River, where his great-grandchildren visit him. In response to his claims about being present at the beginning of the world, they call him a liar. But Odie considers himself a storyteller. He informs the reader that the events of the novel take place during the summer of 1932, when the world seemed only as big as Fremont County, Minnesota. He alludes to murder and kidnapping and frightening pursuit, encouraging the reader to remain open to all possibilities. Odie’s story also contains hope, which he believes is central to every good story.
The novel begins by describing stories as a gift, but also comparing them to lies. This hints that Odie’s stories are at least somewhat fictionalized, with certain details exaggerated. The prologue acts as a frame for the rest of the novel, and this gives the impression that Odie is telling his story directly to the reader. Structurally, then, the novel underscores storytelling as a central focus. Odie’s claim that every good story contains a bit of hope suggests he strongly associates tales—true or not—with the power to inspire optimism in the listener. Finally, the introduction also highlights Odie’s extended family as his primary community. This hints at the novel’s thematic focus on friends and chosen family as a rich source of support and stability.
Themes
