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 milking the cows, Travis grabs his rifle and saddles Jumper up with some ropes to carry back any doe he might catch. Travis and Jumper ride for a while. Knowing how gun-shy Jumper is, Travis leaves Jumper tied in a thicket while he goes on ahead to the Salt Licks, a part of the forest where many animals flock to lick ancient rocks with sedimentary layers of salt inside. Using the knowledge Papa has taught him, Travis treads carefully in the dense woods, so that no deer will detect him. He is tempted to shoot a wild javelina (a type of hog)—but having heard stories about javelinas’ aggression from his neighbors Jed and Rosal Simpson, Travis decides to wait for the small hogs to move away.
Travis relies on the men he looks up to—such as Papa or the Simpsons—for knowledge and instruction, drawing on this wisdom as he tries to prove that he’s capable of traditionally adult responsibilities. Meanwhile, this passage shows that Travis does have some understanding of the interconnectedness of people and animals: he’s learned about how animals perceive the world around them, and how they react to the threat of people in their environments.
Themes
As Travis crouches in wait in some underbrush for a doe to come by, he enjoys watching a roan bull and some calves, darting squirrels, and quail. The squirrels’ silly antics amuse him so much that he laughs out loud, startling a doe that he hadn’t realized was there. As the doe slowly creeps toward Travis, he waits for the perfect moment to raise his gun—but when he finally shoots, the doe runs away. Travis fears that he hasn’t killed the deer but rather wounded her and made the final moments of her life painful and miserable.
Even though Travis has a hard time tolerating Old Yeller, this passage shows that he’s sensitive to the rhythms of the animal world. Travis likes animals a lot, so the possibility that he’s caused the doe to suffer is difficult for him to accept. He also seems to respect the fact that he and his family depend on animals for sustenance and survival.
Themes
Travis watches as the injured doe runs through the trees. Then, the doe does something that Travis thinks is odd: she runs head-on into the trunk of a tree and then sinks to the ground. Travis has never seen a wild animal run into something as if it was blind. Travis runs over to the doe and sees that he did indeed make a killing shot—there is a bullet hole right through the doe’s middle, near her heart. Travis feels confident and strong—he’s gotten meat for the family, just like his Papa taught him.
There seems to be something wrong with the doe besides the gunshot wound, since animals don’t typically run straight into trees. This foreshadows the possibility that something strange—and potentially dangerous—is happening to animals in the Hill Country.
Themes
On the ride home, Travis feels proud and accomplished on. He decides that he’ll be kind and generous with Little Arliss and the yeller dog—after all, he’s “nearly a man,” so it’s his job to put up with aggravation. When Travis arrives home, however, he sees Little Arliss and the dirty yellow dog playing in the watering hole, and he starts screaming and throwing rocks at them. He hits the dog with a couple of rocks before an angry Arliss starts throwing rocks at Travis.
Having killed the deer, Travis feels a kind of oneness with nature—and additionally, he feels like providing for his family through hunting means that he’s “nearly a man.” When Travis gets home and sees Little Arliss misbehaving, however, he feels that all of his hard work is for nothing if his family doesn’t respect him as the man of the house in Papa’s absence.
Themes
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Travis knows better than to start throwing rocks directly at his five-year-old brother. Instead, he heads up to the house to tell Mama what’s going on. Mama punishes Arliss for playing in the watering hole—but she also yells at Travis for being “bossy” to his younger brother. After this, Travis heads out to the yard to begin skinning and cutting up the doe. He’s angry that his mother doesn’t seem to acknowledge his good deeds—only his bad ones. And Travis is furious with the dog—whom he’s started calling Old Yeller in his head—for getting him into such trouble. When Travis is finished cutting up the meat, he hangs it in the same spot where Old Yeller stole the hog meat. Old Yeller, however, plays dumb and doesn’t approach the meat—instead, he gnaws on some discarded bones and ignores the sides of venison entirely.
Travis still doesn’t like Old Yeller, and he’s determined to force the dog to show himself for who he truly is. This is why Travis hangs the meat within Old Yeller’s reach: he’s hoping that Old Yeller will take the bait and get in trouble for stealing their food. Old Yeller, however, is a smart animal—he seems to have intuition about how his actions affect Travis. At this point, Travis and Old Yeller have a contentious and somewhat begrudging relationship. If they’re going to get along, each of them must find a way to learn from the other.
Themes
