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
A couple of days later, Travis, Mama, and Little Arliss are eating lunch when they hear something outside. Almost immediately, Travis recognizes the noises as the sound of bulls lowing at each other—he can tell that the bulls are gearing up for a fight. Travis and his family sit and listen to the bulls’ rumblings. Travis is excited—he can tell the bulls are getting angrier and angrier, and he loves to see any fight between wild animals. As the bulls’ cries grow louder and louder, Travis jumps up from the table and stands at the door to watch the action.
The close proximity of the angry bulls hints that the animal world isn’t as separate from the human world as people might like to think. As Travis gets ready for an exciting bull fight, he thinks that he’ll merely be a spectator to the animals’ battle—but as he’s soon about to see, people are never as far removed from animals as they might think.
Themes
Travis watches the two bulls enter the clearing just below the ridge on which the Coateses’ house sits. One is a mustard-colored bull with a drooping horn, or a chongo, according to the Mexican people who frequently pass through the Hill Country. The other bull is the same red roan that Travis saw a few days ago at the Salt Licks. Travis can tell both bulls badly want to fight, and he’s excited to have a front-row seat. But just then, Old Yeller runs up from the side of the house and barks down at the bulls. Travis warns him not to ruin the show—but Old Yeller continues barking, so Travis throws a rock at him.
Travis is so excited for the bull fight that he actively discourages Old Yeller from scaring the bulls off. This illustrates that Travis doesn’t yet understand just how quickly and severely conflicts between animal can come to bear on people.
Themes
Travis then runs outside to sit on the split-rail fence and watch the bulls. Mama and Little Arliss follow him. Travis announces he’s betting on “Chongo” to win—Mama, however, thinks that the other bull, “Roany,” will win. An older Travis comments that, in retrospect, neither he nor Mama thought that any real danger was afoot—but they would soon learn differently.
As the older Travis looks back on this moment, he is almost derisive about his younger self’s folly and his refusal to heed any kind of fear or instinct for self-preservation. This moment represents the last instant of Travis’s life in which he was willfully blind to how the animal world affects the human world.
Themes
As Chongo and Roany charge at each other, Travis begins whooping and cheering. The bulls collide and charge at each other again and again. Soon, Mama realizes that the bulls are headed straight for the split-rail fence, and she pulls Little Arliss away just in time. Travis, however, is unable to move—he’s still sitting on the fence when the bulls knock into the fence and tear it apart. Travis fears that he’s done for—but when the dust settles, the bulls are far away from him, and he’s is able to get up and run back to the house. He barely makes it inside before the bulls slam into the front door so hard that the whole cabin shakes.
As the bulls fight in the Coateses’ yard—and eventually right up against the family’s cabin—it becomes clear to Travis, Mama, and Little Arliss that the animal world is not there for them to observe from afar. Here, the animal world comes to bear on their world in an intense, immediate, violent way.
Themes
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As Travis looks at Mama and Little Arliss, he sees terror on their faces. Travis decides that he’s not scared anymore—he’s mad. He reaches for a whip hanging near the door. Mama begs Travis not to further agitate the bulls, but Travis is afraid that if he doesn’t stop them, they’ll tear down the house. Mama urges Travis not to go outside again and suggests that he sic Old Yeller on the bulls instead. Travis sticks his head out the door and calls for Old Yeller—when Old Yeller sees Travis’s whip, however, he gets scared and runs away. Travis is furious, but he knows that it’s now up to him to do something about the bulls.
In this passage, Travis recognizes his folly in not seeing how the animal world affects his own world, and he also realizes that the only way to be brave is to learn from his fear. As the man of the house, he feels that it’s his responsibility to do something about the bulls—he must prove that he’s capable of defending his family.
Themes
When Travis gets outside again and sees the bulls locked in battle, he realizes that there’s no way his whip will stop them. He has no idea what to do—but then, a “freak accident” turns the tide. Chongo spears Roany, lifts him up, and brings him back down right on top of a heavy two-wheeled cart in the yard. The cart rolls down the hill with Roany still atop it. When the cart crashes into a ravine at the bottom of the hill, the roan bull stands up, shakes himself off, and runs away into the woods. Chongo, too, runs away. Travis laughs—in the end, both of the confused bull thought that they’d lost the fight.
In this passage, the bulls’ fighting miraculously resolves itself through a comical incident, which allows Travis fear to dissipate into relief. Though the incident ends on a lighthearted note, Travis and his family have all seen the power of nature firsthand. They now know that the animal world can quickly and violently affect their own.
Themes
