Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Old Yeller, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
People and Animals
Masculinity and Emotion
Bravery vs. Fear
Coming of Age and Responsibility
Summary
Analysis
After dark, Mama and Lisbeth still aren’t home, which makes Travis deeply worried and uneasy. He knows that they have Jumper and Old Yeller with them—still, however, he can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. Travis doesn’t want to leave Little Arliss, though, so he gets to work feeding his brother and putting him to bed. But suddenly, Travis hears a horrible noise: the sound of wild dogs fighting. Most chilling of all is the fact that Travis recognizes Old Yeller’s pained and “savage roaring.” Travis then hears Mama call for him—she asks him to come outside with a light and a gun.
Travis knows instinctually that something terrible is afoot—and he is afraid of what might be asked of him as he faces and deals with it. When Mama yells for Travis, however, he’s ready to answer her call. Travis knows that nothing good can be waiting for him outside the cabin, be he also knows that, in order to prove himself, he must be ready to surmount any challenge on behalf of his family.
Themes
Travis quickly lights a fire outside and stands there with his gun. He sees Old Yeller tangling with a giant, rabid wolf. Travis is afraid to shoot—he might hit Mama, Lisbeth, or Old Yeller. He waits a moment for a good shot: when the wolf’s jaws close around Old Yeller’s throat, Travis aims for it and shoots. The growling and snarling stop. Travis worries that he’s killed Old Yeller—but within seconds, the dog trots over to him to lick his hands and wag his tail.
Travis walks outside into a horrible scene, but he barely even has time to process his feelings before he must act decisively. Once again, the hydrophobia plague has impressed upon Travis and his family just how interconnected people and animals truly are.
Themes
Mama comes over to Travis and tells him about how they encountered the wolf at the creek on the edge of the ranch while coming back from gathering wood. The wolf originally tried to attack Mama and Lisbeth, but Old Yeller came to their defense. Travis says how proud he is of Old Yeller and prepares to help everyone back up to the house. Mama, however, tells Travis that something needs to be done about Old Yeller—the wolf bit him several times. Travis’s heart freezes as he realizes what Mama is getting at: Old Yeller must be put down before hydrophobia claims him.
Travis doesn’t want to believe that Old Yeller is yet another victim of the hydrophobia plague—but after hearing Mama’s account, he knows that the rabid wolf did not spare Old Yeller. While Papa has been away, Travis has realized that part of coming of age means taking responsibility for painful and difficult things. With this in mind, Travis understands that he must take responsibility for what’s happened to Old Yeller.
Themes
Travis begs Mama to let Old Yeller live—he claims that there’s no way to know for certain that Old Yeller will get sick. Mama, however, says there’s no way they can take a chance—if Old Yeller bites Travis, Lisbeth, her, or Little Arliss, she will never forgive herself. Travis admits to himself that there’s no chance Old Yeller can escape his fate.
Travis falls into denial about what’s happened to Old Yeller and what must be done about it. His acute fear of the hydrophobia plague jumping the species barrier and affecting him, his mother, or his brother was intense and real earlier on—but now that he realizes he must sacrifice Old Yeller to save his family, he wants to pretend that the barrier between people and animals is impermeable.
Themes
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Travis knows that, although it will kill him inside, he must shoot Old Yeller. He feels himself go numb, as if he himself is already dead. Travis walks away from the firelight, loads his gun, and calls Old Yeller over. When Old Yeller approaches, Travis sticks the gun against the dog’s head and pulls the trigger.
In this passage, Travis numbs himself in order to carry out the painful responsibility of putting down Old Yeller before he can spread the hydrophobia that the wolf almost certainly infected him with. Thus far, Travis has had conflicting ideas about masculinity, bravery, and responsibility. Here, he decides that being a man and taking responsibility means shutting himself off from his emotions—the only way to get through this disturbing act is to detach completely from what he’s doing.
Themes
