Previous
Part 2
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Father Comes Home from the Wars, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sovereignty and Freedom
Racism and Slavery
Negotiating Identity
A Person’s Worth
Family
Summary
Analysis
The musician sings a song called, “Misplaced Myself” in which people search high and low, through the rivers and the trees for someone who can’t be found because he has misplaced himself. This person seems to have not only have misplaced themselves but to have faded from existence itself.
The musician’s song speaks of misplacing oneself in a way that recalls the discussion in Part 2 about Hero (or other enslaved people) claiming their freedom by “stealing” themselves. The fact that the singer(s) can’t find the person they’re looking for suggests that Hero has been lost—or has lost himself—since Part 2.
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Back in West Texas, in the fall of 1863, three runaway enslaved people have stopped by the plantation, hoping to convince Homer to run north with them. Even now First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway hope to convince him, though they’ve all witnessed Penny’s terrible nightmares about Hero and seen how considerately Homer cares for her. If she’s unwilling to go, they don’t think they’ll be able to convince him. But as Homer emerges from the fields with some provisions for their flight, the runaways resolve to try one last time to convince him. They offer him false papers. He’s grateful but he turns them down. And although he says it’s because of his foot, it’s clearly about Penny. He writes her name in the dirt with a stick.
The fall of 1863 falls at roughly the midpoint of the American Civil War. Importantly, however, it’s after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1st of that year. This means that the stakes for these runaways are higher than ever—if they can make it to the north, their freedom is guaranteed (prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, northern states were bound by law to return runaway enslaved people). But they don’t seem to be aware of this change. In fact, the lives of the enslaved workers on Boss-Master’s plantation hardly seem to have changed at all during the war. However, in Hero’s absence, Penny and Homer seem to have found comfort in each other.
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First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway ask Homer what he thinks Penny’s dreams about Hero mean. Homer knows the dreams mean Hero is close, but he’s not sure if they signify the man’s death or survival. Thinking about Hero and their complicated history, Homer decides to leave with the runaways, just to prove to Hero that he could succeed. The runaways express their hope that Penny will come too and make Homer a happy man, even though it’s clear to all that she’ll stay, waiting for Hero.
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Then, Penny appears on the road. She notices the word in the dirt but can’t read it; Homer, asking for a kiss, says it spells “everything.” Although they’ve become lovers in Hero’s absence, Penny still won’t let him kiss her. Her dreams promise Hero’s imminent return, and her dreams are prophetic. Shortly after Hero left, she dreamed that Odd-See followed Boss-Master and Hero to the War, and later a letter from Boss-Master to Missus confirmed it.
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But Missus just received a letter informing her of catastrophe. Some of it didn’t make sense to Penny—something about a “Proclamation” and “freedom,” but she clearly heard Missus say that Boss-Master is dead. And so is Hero, though Penny can’t yet bring herself to believe it. First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway invite Penny to come north with them, but she says she’ll stay and wait for Hero, whether he’s dead or alive. But then, Homer asks her again for a kiss, and this time she unexpectedly humors him. And although she’s still protesting that she loves Hero, it’s clear that she has feelings for Homer, too.
First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway can almost see the lines tying Penny to Hero breaking. And indeed, when her kiss with Homer is over, she announces that she’s changed her mind and will go with them after all. The runaways promise that she’s made the right choice—for herself and for the baby she’s pregnant with. Penny is surprised that they noticed; she’s not yet showing. But Third Runaway says there are more than just physical signs—there’s the hope in her eye and the lightness of her step.
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But then, Penny catches sight of someone—or something—coming down the road. It’s Odd-See, Hero’s dog, joyfully returning home. Penny and Homer both take Odd-See’s return as evidence for Hero’s death, since they know the dog would never leave the side of his living master. They pepper the dog with questions about Hero’s fate. Odd-See hesitates, unsure how to break the news he bears, since he’s certain it will make Penny happy and Homer sad.
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Finally, Odd-See agrees to tell Penny how Hero died. Much to her frustration, Odd-See begins his account on the day Hero left, wearing new-to-him boots and the hand-me-down uniform from Boss-Master. Odd-See wasn’t there, he says, but he heard about it from “Old-Hero” later, just like he heard the story of how Boss-Master lost his first horse, Fortune, in battle. Odd-See says that Old-Hero never abandoned Boss-Master. And he explains how Old-Hero met a Yankee soldier (Smith) who gave him a Yankee coat that Old-Hero wore underneath his Confederate uniform afterwards.
Then, Odd-See says, one day while Boss-Master rode his new horse (Salute) into battle with Old-Hero running alongside and Odd-See at Old-Hero’s heels, Old-Hero got shot. He fell to the ground, bleeding. Penny shrieks with grief. But Odd-See quickly reassures her that Old-Hero is alive; he’s bringing Boss-Master’s body home and will be along shortly. Penny and Homer embrace, with tears in their eyes. She wants to run up the road to meet Hero, but Homer convinces her to wait there. He’s still planning on heading north as soon as he can, but now she states her intention to stay in Texas with Hero. She rushes to her cabin to tidy it up before his arrival.
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After Penny leaves, Homer frets over how slowly the sky darkens. If night had fallen earlier, he and Penny might have left before Hero’s return. But he can’t change that now. He doesn’t want to leave Penny, but he’s not willing to stay either. He’s ready for his freedom. First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway see a figure approaching on the road. It’s Hero. Hero embraces Penny and asks after the others. Penny tells him that only she and Homer remain. Homer greets Hero by his name, but Hero corrects him. He’s taken a new name: Ulysses, like the Union general. It’s going to take a while for Penny and Homer to get used to the new name. Ulysses encourages them to consider naming themselves, too.
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Homer formally welcomes Ulysses home, and Ulysses kneels to kiss the ground in the way he’s seen other returning soldiers do. On his knees, he notices the name Homer wrote in the dirt. Rising, he tells the others that Missus will bury Boss-Master the next day. He and Homer will dig the grave. But Homer says he’s going with First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway. They’ll be gone by nightfall, and Ulysses promise to keep the runaways’ visit a secret.
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Homer asks about the Union coat which Odd-See says Ulysses wears beneath his uniform, and Ulysses shows it off. He says he’ll tell them the story of how he freed a man later. In the meantime, he’s got presents. He gives Homer a foot carved of white alabaster that was made for displaying shoes in a shop window. He has a silver-tipped gardening spade for Penny to use in her garden, if she promises to plant flowers there and not just vegetables. He brought things for the others—a spoon, brass buttons—but those friends are gone. But the best present, he says, is the paper he carries in his pocket. It’s for all of them. First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway ask to see it, but Ulysses wants to read it to them instead.
But before Ulysses reads the paper, he has one last piece of important news for Penny. He brought something back for himself, too: a wife named Alberta, who will be coming to live on the plantation in a few days. Ulysses tells Penny that he married Alberta in part because he wanted children, and he and Penny weren’t able to conceive. He also married her in part because he didn’t know what he was coming home to. He tries to console Penny by pointing out that Alberta will help with Penny’s chores. But Penny is heartbroken. As is his habit, Homer comforts her. This makes Ulysses jealous.
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Gathering her dignity, Penny announces that she’ll go make sure the house is ready for Ulysses and his new bride. This turn of events distresses First Runaway, Second Runaway, and Third Runaway who know the “old stories,” stories that warn of the danger in betrayal. They call out for Penny to go with them to freedom, and they wonder aloud what freedom will mean. Homer and the runaways step to the side to discuss their escape route.
Meanwhile, Ulysses confers with Odd-See. He’s upset about the intimate embrace Penny and Homer shared. Odd-See points out that even if Penny was unfaithful, it shouldn’t matter; Ulysses was too. Ulysses kicks the dog, telling him to remember his place. Odd-See retorts that he’s always been faithful—faithfulness and devotion come easily to a dog. Among people, faithfulness is an extra—a thing as precious and unexpected as Odd-See’s ability to speak.
But Ulysses can’t let it go. When Homer approaches to see if he wants to run away with them, Ulysses confronts him about sleeping with Penny. Homer replies in much the same way Odd-See did, pointing out that Ulysses is in no position to judge. Besides, he continues, Penny still loves Ulysses anyway. Then, he asks if Boss-Master ever freed Ulysses. Bitterly, Ulysses says, no, he didn’t even honor his promise with his dying breath—not even after Ulysses followed him to war and modeled himself so thoroughly on Boss-Master that they walked and laughed in the same way. Now, Ulysses realizes that he gave Boss-Master his soul because he felt guilty for how he had wronged Homer.
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One last time, Homer invites Ulysses to find freedom with the rest of them. Ulysses asks how Homer can be sure it will be better than “this”—better than the status quo. Homer says he doesn’t know how. He just knows it will be. In response, Ulysses attacks Homer with a knife, nearly killing him before Penny reappears and puts a stop to the violence. After this last betrayal—this final evidence that the man she loved, Hero, no longer exists—she’s decided to run away with Homer and the others. Ulysses begs her to stay. But she walks off with the others, leaving Ulysses and Odd-See alone. Only after they leave does Ulysses remember that he never finished reading the Emancipation Proclamation to them. Resignedly, he stands up and looks toward the house. Soon, he will have to bury Boss-Master. Odd-See promises to help.
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