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
As the days go by, Travis is unable to get over Old Yeller’s death. He feels simultaneously pained and empty—he can’t think of anything but his love for Old Yeller and how guilty he feels about shooting him so unceremoniously. Mama and Lisbeth try to comfort Travis, but their words are no use. One night, it rains heavily—and the next morning, Papa arrives home with a horse for Travis. Travis acknowledges that the horse is beautiful, gentle, and strong—but he doesn’t feel proud, thankful, excited. He still feels numb.
This passage shows just how deeply Travis has internalized harmful ideas about masculinity and emotion. Travis has been through a very traumatizing several weeks—yet he feels that if he were to process his feelings about Old Yeller’s death and show them openly, he’d disappoint his family. Thus, Travis represses his emotions, resorting to numbness and detachment to get by.
Themes
That evening, before supper, Papa and Travis take a walk down to the spring. Papa tells Travis he heard about what happened to Old Yeller—and that while he’s sorry Travis had to go through such a thing, he feels that Travis stood up to what he was dealt better than most grown men would. Papa urges Travis to try to forget what happened and to “go on being a man.” Travis asks how he is supposed to forget, and Papa admits that he doesn’t know how. He urges Travis not to focus on only the bad things that happen to him in life, because life is full of painful, unfair events. Even after the talk with Papa, Travis still feels “dead and empty.”
In this passage, it becomes clear that Papa, too, struggles with how to “go on being a man” while also honoring one’s pain and other intense emotions. Travis is confused and hurt by his father’s suggestion that he simply try to ignore his grief over Old Yeller. Travis is afraid to acknowledge his emotions about Old Yeller’s death, but still something within him is aware that remaining “dead and empty” is not the answer, either.
Themes
About a week later, as Travis feeds Jumper some lunch, he hears Mama yelling at Little Arliss’s speckled pup—the one fathered by Old Yeller. The puppy has stolen some cornbread from the kitchen. As Little Arliss screams and Papa laughs, Travis starts to feel better. He watches the puppy run around with the stolen cornbread in its mouth and feels something brighten inside of him.
Travis is able to work through his complicated emotions not by denying his affection for Old Yeller or by ignoring the dog’s death, but by embracing his fond memories of Old Yeller and the feelings that they bring up for him.
Themes
Travis takes his horse out for a ride. That evening, when he returns, he spots Little Arliss and his pup playing in the drinking water. Travis is about to yell at them, but at the last minute, he stops himself. He begins laughing and then crying. When Travis is finished crying, he decides that tomorrow, he’ll take Arliss and the puppy out for a squirrel hunt. If the puppy is big enough to act like Old Yeller, Travis thinks to himself, it’s time for him to start contributing.
As the novel comes to an end, Travis at last allows himself to fully grieve Old Yeller before deciding to follow Papa’s advice and focus on the good in life. Old Yeller was the best animal Travis ever knew—and while this new pup won’t ever replace Old Yeller, Travis knows that he must dedicate himself to helping Arliss and the pup grow and flourish. In feeling the full range of his emotions at last—and in taking responsibility for Arliss and the new puppy—Travis comes into his own as a man.
Themes
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