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Herman Volz is an older German man who works at Lincoln Indian Training School, teaching carpentry and acting as the assistant boys’ adviser. He is one of the only adults at Lincoln who genuinely cares about the children’s wellbeing, disobeying Mrs. Brickman’s cruel dictums and standing up to the bullying groundskeeper DiMarco. Volz’s rule-bending extends to the secret bootlegging business he operates with Albert and Mr. Brickman, and he helps Odie, Albert, Mose, and Emmy escape from Lincoln School at great personal risk.
Herman Volz Quotes in This Tender Land
The This Tender Land quotes below are all either spoken by Herman Volz or refer to Herman Volz. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4 Quotes
“You’re saying she’s got some hillbilly in her?”
“Just like us.”
We’d been raised in a little town deep in a hollow of the Missouri Ozarks. When we first came to Lincoln School, we still spoke with a strong Ozark accent. That twang, along with a lot of who we were, had been lost over our years at the school.
“I don’t believe it,” I said.
“I’m just saying, Odie, that nobody’s born mean. Life warps you in terrible ways.”
Maybe so, but I still hated her little black heart.
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Chapter 11 Quotes
God be with you. That was the last thing Miss Stratton had said to me. But the God I knew now was not a God I wanted with me. In my experience, he was a God who didn’t give but only took, a God of unpredictable whim and terrible consequence. My anger at him surpassed even my hatred of the Brickmans, because the way they treated me was exactly what I expected. But God? I’d had my hopes once; now I had no idea what to expect.
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Herman Volz Character Timeline in This Tender Land
The timeline below shows where the character Herman Volz appears in This Tender Land. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...again. Now 12 himself, Odie’s rebellious behavior frequently gets him into trouble. This morning, Herman Volz—a German man who teaches carpentry and serves as the school’s assistant boys’ adviser—unlocks the door....
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As they walk to the administration building, Odie tells Volz he dreamed his mother was rowing a boat away from him. At the administration building,...
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Chapter 2
Odie, Albert, and Volz leave the administration building. Albert scolds his brother, saying Mrs. Brickman is serious about sending...
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Chapter 4
...it is DiMarco, who is known to abuse children in the night. But it is Volz, who leads Odie and Mose to a shed near the abandoned quarry. There, Albert is...
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...accent when she’s been drinking. Odie doubts this, but Albert insists that “nobody’s born mean.” Volz retrieves a bottle of moonshine from the shed. He brews it himself using a secret...
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Chapter 5
...head boys’ adviser retrieves Odie and Mose from the quiet room. Not seeing Albert or Volz, Odie worries that the Brickmans found out about last night’s secret meal and have punished...
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...take Billy to the quiet room when Odie intervenes. DiMarco ends up strangling Odie until Volz arrives with Albert and Mose. Volz threatens to beat DiMarco himself if he hurts either...
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Chapter 7
Monday morning, Mose and Odie are assigned to work for Bledsoe again. Volz recruits Albert to paint the water tower, on which a runaway painted “Welcome to Hell”...
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Odie, Mose, Albert, and Volz try to find Mrs. Frost and Emmy on campus. Mrs. Brickman is out of town,...
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Chapter 8
...he finds the Frosts’ family photo. Upon his return to school, Odie is accosted by Volz, Albert, and Mose. DiMarco now has an excuse to punish him severely. Odie gives Albert...
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Chapter 10
The boys find Volz and Albert, who were also looking for Odie. Odie tells Albert about Faria dying and...
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Albert insists Volz remain outside, telling him the kids at Lincoln need him. His use of Volz’s first...
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...threatens again to expose his affair to Mrs. Brickman, as well as his participation in Volz’s moonshine business. Brickman leads them to his safe in the library, where he retrieves a...
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Chapter 11
Odie feels betrayed by God, describing him as unpredictable and cruel. While Volz retrieves his car, Odie takes paint from the carpentry shop and scrawls a new message...
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Chapter 16
...is Jack—and his reasons for hiding them from the officer. Odie asks what Albert and Volz used to charge for a pint of liquor, forming a plan. That night, Emmy and...
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Chapter 22
...Forrest’s moonshine jar was square, an unusual shape that Mr. Brickman insisted on using for Volz’s liquor. Albert thinks Forrest is working for Brickman, and he doubts anyone would turn down...
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