29 pages • 58 minutes read
Bret HarteTennessee's Partner
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1869A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Card Games
Card games and associated metaphors run through “Tennessee’s Partner” as a symbol for the precarity of life in the mining camps. Tennessee treats his own life like a gamble; his face-off with the judge resembles a card game where the superior hand of weapons wins. He remains good-naturedly insolent throughout his trial, responding to every question by saying he refuses to “take any hand in this yer game” (Paragraph 8). When Tennessee’s partner makes his appeal for Tennessee’s life in court, he describes it as a “hand” that he’s playing alone. Even when Tennessee’s last chance at survival fails, he jokingly tells his partner that he’s been “Euchred,” meaning he has lost his advantage.
As a motif, card games also demonstrate characters’ relationship to vulnerability, developing the theme of The Utility of Humor. Tennessee uses card metaphors to distance himself from the reality of the danger he faces. Spoken by Tennessee’s partner, however, the card game metaphor represents his willingness to be vulnerable: It demonstrates that he cares enough about Tennessee to speak on his behalf and risk his own life trying to pay off the judge for Tennessee’s transgressions.
The Red Handkerchief
One of the most distinguishing physical observations about Tennessee’s partner is the red handkerchief he uses to wipe his face throughout the story. The narrator repeatedly mentions the handkerchief, noting (a little mean-spiritedly) how it complements the redness of the partner’s complexion. The redness of both face and handkerchief serves as a working-class signifier, suggesting ruddiness and exposure to the elements.
The narrator is circumspect about what exactly Tennessee’s partner wipes from his face. Given that the weather is hot during the trial, the implication is that he is perspiring, and the image of the partner as sweaty and shoddily-dressed paints him as an object of derision. By the end, however, it becomes clear that the partner is weeping into the handkerchief, his face “buried” in it as he sits on the grave of his partner. Some townsfolk still deride his red face, but the mocking debate fizzles as they observe the partner’s raw emotion. The redness of the handkerchief takes on a new meaning, symbolizing sentiment through its associations with love, blood, heat, and intensity.
Grizzly Cañon
Several key scenes take place in Grizzly Cañon, which symbolizes the lawless wilderness. When hostilities erupt against Tennessee, he tears through town trying to escape, “hunted very much in the same fashion as his prototype, the Grizzly” (Paragraph 5). The narrator here likens Tennessee to the powerful and dangerous grizzly bear, invoking the image of a cornered animal lashing out with ferocity. Grizzly Cañon takes on much the same connotation thanks to both its name and the confrontation that takes place there between Tennessee and the judge. Ultimately, Tennessee submits to the judge, who represents law and order—a stark contrast to the wild canyon.
When the funeral procession passes through Grizzly Cañon, the descriptions of the setting strike a very different tone. The narrator uses pathetic fallacy to describe the natural elements of the canyon as though they too are solemnly attending this funeral. The redwoods stand “Indian-file” along the path, “trailing an uncouth benediction” as the procession passes (Paragraph 22). The narrator here associates the canyon with the Indigenous people who operate outside the miners’ law systems. Although the description of their “benediction” as uncivilized partakes in racial stereotyping, the narrator clearly intends the comparison to be complimentary; the natural world and those associated with it show an innate respect for the funeral that the townsfolk initially do not. The passage therefore develops the story’s ideas about The Pros and Cons of Self-Created Justice, suggesting that there is an order to nature that may surpass human justice.
Related Titles
By Bret Harte
