Chip Off the Old Block by Wallace Stegner ~ Short Stories

[JoanP]

The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome.

Short Story Event - JUNE/JULY Book Club Online

It is said that a good short story should include: * a strong theme, * a fascinating plot, * a fitting structure, * unforgettable characters, * a well-chosen setting, * an appealing style.  Let's consider these elements as we discuss the following stories.  Is it necessary to include them all in a successful story?  
  

Notice that the titles are all links to the stories.

Discussion Schedule:
June 1 -June 9: *The Book of The Funny Smells--and Everything (1872) by Eleanor H Abbott *The Necklace or The Diamond Necklace (1880) -  by Guy de Maupassant
  *A Pair of Silk Stockings (1896) by Kate Chopin
June 10- 14: *Babylon Revisited (1931) by F.Scott Fitzgerald
June 15- 17: *First Confession (1939) by Frank O'Connor
June 18-20: *A Good Man Is Hard to Find (1953) by Flannery O'Connor  
June 21-24: *The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (1973) by Ursula LeGuin
June 25-28: *The Half-skinned Steer (1997) by Annie Proulx
June 29-July 2 *The Bear Came Over the Mountain(1999) by Alice Munro
July 5 - July 8:  *The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chechov 1899
July 9 - July 13:  *The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1890
July 14 - July 17:  *Chip Off the Old Block by Wallace Stegner 1942

 

************************

Chip Off the Old Block by Wallace Stegner

Wallace Stegner was born in Iowa in 1909, but grew up in the American West  in Montana, Utah, and Saskatchewan.  He was an American historian, educator, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist. In a literary career that covered more than 50 years Stegner found the Western frontier spirit of boundless optimism receding. But he saw in its place, as he once expressed it, "a respect for the heroic virtues: fortitude, resolution, magnanimity." He taught at Harvard, the University of Wisconsin, and founded the creative writing program at Stanford.  Ken Kesey, Ernest Gaines, Larry McMurtry, and Sandra Day O’Connor were among his students. You can find  more about Stegner and his major writings at the links below. Wallace Stegner          Stegner obituary

Topics for Consideration

July 14 - July 17

Is Chet a "chip off the old block?" What short story elements, if any, stand out here? Why is Chet scared? Why do you think the author included the story that Chet wrote? What other characters stand out for you? Is there any one episode or vignette here that made an impression on you? What is your opinion of the ending?  Did it make sense to you?

DL Contact: Pedln

[pedln]

Welcome to our discussion of Wallace Stegner's short story "Chip Off the Old Block."  This story is one of four that are incorporated into Stegner's somewhat autobiographical novel Big Rock Candy Mountain, published in 1943.

Were  you ever left alone overnight as a teen or  younger?  I was nineteen before I ever stayed by myself overnight.  But I left my 16 year-old daughter in charge of three younger siblings for four days while I went on job interviews.  People do what they have to do.

Here we meet Chet Mason, a twelve-year-old boy who is left home alone, to "hold down the fort" when the rest of his flu-stricken family is moved to a hospital during the November, 1918 influenza epidemic.   In your opinion, how did he do?

[salan]

Now this is a story that I could enjoy.  I thought Chet did quite well for a 12 year old.  Of course, back then children were used to handling many adult responsibilities.  It was just a part of surviving.  I need to re-read his story to figure out why the author included it.  The story was well written and NOT depressing.

Is this the last short story, or do we have another?

Sally

[JoanP]

Thought you'd like this one, Sally.  Was afraid you'd given up on the short story - or at least our choices!  We are planning two more - making a choice for the one following this discussion of Stegner's story.  Will put it in the heading here just as soon as that's decided - in another day or so.

I do remember clearly being left home alone.  I was the oldest of five - and it probably happened that I was left in charge more than once.  Being "in charge" - in my opinion- was scarier than being in an empty house.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I would have preferred the empty house.  Usually I was left in charge during the day - the night I remember was the one when we were all in bed sleeping, finally - and the phone rang.  I stumbled into my father's room to get the phone, and there was no one there.  Just breathing.  I was about 12.  Went back to bed and was almost back to sleep when it happened again.  Same thing.  And one more time after that.

[JoanP]

I was again struck by the fact that we are reading another "autobiographical novel" short story.  Were you?  Stegner says somewhere that every writer has one story in him/her which inspires.  I think this must be his own story - something that happened to him or her that made a great impression.  Other stories that follow are perhaps a variation on the first.  I'm thinking out loud here.

This particular story takes us right back to the flu epidemic of 1918 and to experience the  feelings of a 12 year old boy, left alone, with the fear that his whole family might never back it home again.  I remember the great Polio scare years ago.  That may have been similar- but not as deadly.  Stegner paints such a true picture - with details - like his 8th grade classroom being used for those that are terminal - and learning his own father was in that room! 

[PatH]

The things Chet had to do were stuff he did a lot anyway, in the course of doing his share of the chores.  The only difference was responsibility; he was now in charge, with no backup or support.  But that sure made an emotional difference.  Of course he was scared and lonely, but he kept control of himself very well.

[BarbStAubrey]

Oh I got to the part where he comes back from hunting and the two guys are in the house drinking - I froze and could not go on - a twelve year old all alone and up against two grown men in his house who are drunk - oh oh oh - please tell me it is OK and he handles this because it is just too scary for me

[pedln]

Sally, I’m glad you liked the story, and I agree with you that it was not depressing.  Some tough things happened, but this young boy, even though often scared to death, was able to handle them.

JoanP, what a terribly scary thing for you as a 12-year-old, listening to someonebreathing on the other end of the phone line.  Much like Chet, listening to the walls tick and the floors creak.  Everything sounds so much louder.

Yes, another story from an autobiographical novel. And another author with a sometimes harsh father.  At first reading I was wondering where the story was set, but from the Stegner tidbits I’ve come across I’m thinking it was in Saskatchewan, where he did spend part of his childhood.  It most likely was in Eastend, Saskatchewan where the Wallace Stegner House is owned by the Eastend Arts Council.  Eastend is about 30 miles, as the crow flies, from the Montana border, where Chet’s father had gone to buy the liquor.  I wondered if the liquor was legal.  Canada had prohibition off and on from the late 19th to the early 20th century, and also from 1918 to 1920 because of the war.

PatH and Barb, we were all writing at the same time. It's okay, Barb.  You can read on, it's safe.   Back in a bit.

[PatH]

It's OK, Barb.  He handles it well and manages to get rid of the two men.

[BarbStAubrey]

OK I will go back - for some reason all the horros we have read in the past month or so I could personify in the third person but this one I could only hang on with my toes and they are not very strong.

[pedln]

When I left my daughter alone for four days it was like the militia had been alerted. Neighbors front, back, each side, along with friends and the minister all knew she was "holding the fort."

Thinking about Chet, PatH, and his added responsibility, he wasn't just alone in his house. There wasn't anyone else on his street.  Everyone had gone to the school house hospital. HIs only backup was the telephone.  How alone he must have felt.  And how disheartening to stand on the porch and watch the sled taking flu victims to the graveyard.

[BarbStAubrey]

I get the impression the street is not like our typical suburban street but rather in a rural area where next door neighbors were maybe within shouting distance. Still the same street but a street can be miles long.

[JoanK]

"I wondered if the liquor was legal."

No it wasn't. One of the drunken neighbors mentions that the "gov'ment" has forbidden it. Presumably that's why it's only to help the sick, and the woman with the glass jar was embarrassed.

[PatH]

Right.  Apparently Canada had prohibition at this time.  But America didn't start prohibition until 1920, which is why Chet's father could get whiskey in Montana, even though he wasn't supposed to bring it back.

[pedln]

JoanK, thanks for pointing out about the forbidden liquor.

Barb, I think you’re right, they lived in a rural neighborhood.  The house sounds substancial, with a basement and an upstairs, a dining room, even a piano.  It makes one wonder what Bo Mason, the father, did for a living, besides selling illegal alcohol.

In the autobiographical novel "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" the two sons learn to cope with life by coming to understand their father's failings. When  Stegner was a child, his father had shuttled the family from place to place pursuing the dream of an easy life that was always just out of reach.

But Chet, the older son, in this story, seems to be made of sterner stuff.  What do you think?

[PatH]

I don't know what he does to make a living, but Chet's father is pretty stern stuff.  He's "tougher than boiled owl", he manages to get back home in the blizzard, with a sick homesteader, even though he's frostbitten and coming down with flu, and he survives the flu, escaping the death ward.

And Chet's certainly tough too.  He held his own against some pretty fierce challenges.  It looks like he might have his father's short fuse, too.

[BarbStAubrey]

OH my, bless his heart he has it all figured out - talk about a morality story - good for him.

[JoanP]

At our recent birthday celebration, our sons and their wives gifted us with many personal gifts - including books that were published the year we were born.  I kept one aside - Margaret Rawlings' The Yearling - a book I never read while growing up - though I'm sure I saw the film at some point.  I am reading it now - and am amazed at the similarities between this book and Wallace Stegner's story we are reading now!  

They are written at about the same time - between 1938 and 1942.  Maybe that's why they are so similar in tone - both regional stories, one set in the west, the other Florida.   EAch has a 12 year old boy at the center of the story, who is just coming of age, learning to become a man, learning to cope with the wilderness.  His hero, his teacher, his moral guide is his daddy - who "is tougher than a boiled owl."    I loved that description, PatH - sounds like he had a taste of one at least once in his life.  Both daddies  survived deadly disease,  had to leave the homeland in the hands of the boy.  Another coincidence.   I find I'm often confusing the two.  Oh- and I'm finding the same racial stereotypes in each - and exeptions too  as the boy grows.

In both stories, I feared for the boy - in each case he survived, remembering what his daddy taught him.

I'm glad you read past Chet's first test, Barb.  Once he stood up to the whiskey thieves, I relazed, knowing no matter what, he was going to be able to take care of himself.  But I froze as he did - as you did - at the beginning of that scene - until his mind set "as Plaster of Paris"  and he raised the gun and took charge..

[pedln]

I don’t know about a short fuse, PatH, but Chet, although he doesn’t know it, is also showing signs of being “tougher than boiled owl.”(Love that expression – never heard it before)  He’s not afraid to overcharge Vickers  for the liquor – although Vickers sounds like he’s on to him.  He’s scared to death of Louis Treat, but stands up to him.  He seems to be a quick thinker who can go with the flow.

JoanP, we’re writing at more or less the same time.  What an interesting comparison between this story and The Yearling, a coming of age for both boys.  We read it in one of my junior high English classes. I’ve forgotten much, but remember how alike the father and son were. often in battle with the mother.  What thoughtful birthday gifts from your children.  I hope you’ll share some of the other titles you received.

In Ferol Sams’ novels he talks about a boy being “raised right,”  and I think that one could say the same about Chet.  Such thoughtfulness and concern don’t just appear automatically – like hunting game for his anemic neighbor, taking pails of milk to other neighbors when they return from the hospital, wanting to be a son his parents could be proud of.  He’s a good capable kid.

What do you think are the outstanding story elements here?  Characterization, certainly, of Chet.  Have any of the other characters made an impression on you?

What about plot?  Is there one?  There is a beginning, the boy is left alone.  A middle?  The end – the family comes home.  Did that seem like an ending to you?

Barb, can you explain more about the morality story?

[JudeS]

 I am rejoining you. caught up on all the stories I missed.

We spent a week with some new in-laws on a 2000 acre farm in the North-eastern part of South Dakota. It was like being in a different galaxy , coming from Silicon Valley in CA. to that part of our country.

I read the three stories I missed. Both Chekhov and Stegner's stories were interesting but not as brilliant and memorable as "The Yellow Wallpaper".

That Yellow Wallpaper is unforgettable. Thanks to the person that included it in this collection.

Stegner is a well known author and well beloved by many people. I appreciate his talent but other authors have touched on the same material and brought our knowledge of rural life to the same peak of perfection.
I have read a couple of his books for book club readings and discussions. I would not choose his work to read for myself. I prefer other types of literature.

[JoanP]

What about plot?   The end – the family comes home.  Did that seem like an ending to you?

Not as simple a question as it first appears.  Yes, the family was hospitalized with the flu, and were among the fortunate homesteaders to return home to resume their lives as before. 

But there were several different endings to this story - just as there were several beginnings.  The entire family came down with the sickness and had to be taken away to be treated - and I suppose to avoid contagion.  All except this young boy - understandably frightened.  Frightened to be alone in the house.  It wasn't until he stood up to the 'half-breed' (was this how the homesteaders referred to the Indians?) - that Chet begins to change from a child to an adult.  How many days was he alone in the house - in my memory it was only 8 days.  Seemed like a lot longer, didn't it?  That's all it took for Chet to take on the responsibility of a man.

So the family returns home.  Did this seem like the ending?  No, because life did not go on as it had before.  Chet is a different "man" now.  Daddy is somehow diminished the way he treated the boy, who was expecting some sort of praise for the way he had managed alone.
The mama apologizes to the boy - "he's ashamed of himself for losing his temper, I suppose," she said. "He never did know how to admit he was wrong."  Clearly the boy is going to stand up for himself from now on.

Because of his experience with the rest of the community during those 8 days, I think Chet will be better prepared to deal with the changes in the community - the need to take on responsibility for the survivors who are in need of help.

[pedln]

JudeS, so glad you are rejoining us after your visit to – Stegner territory?  I’ve never been in North Dakota, but from the little I’ve read about it I believe when you say it is a far piece from Silicon Valley.  Crossing to Safety is the only Stegner I’ve read other than the short story here, so really can’t say anything about his other works.  And that one was not about the West.

But the author sounds fascinating.  In addition to all his writings he was also an environmentalist, saying  

“We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope.”

He also mentored several of his students, although he and Ken Kesey parted ways over something.  And for some reason he did not get along with the New York Times, and they in turn did not review many of his early works.

JoanP, what a perfect analysis of the ending, especially the characterization of Chet and his father.  Would you call the incident with the “half-breed” (that’s what Daddy called him, that’s what Chet had been taught) the turning point in the story?

We know this is somewhat autobiographical.  Is Chet the young Stegner, wanting to write even at an early age?  Is this why he included Chet’s story  --  his creativity triggered by looking at an atlas and finding a river in a far-away place?

Jude, have you read anything by Bernard De Voto, also a writer of western history, including his Pulitzer winner Across the Wide Missouri.  He and Stegner were close friends and the latter wrote a biography of him, The Uneasy Chair.

[JudeS]

Hi Pedlin
I was in the Northern part of South Dakota (only 6 miles from the North Dakota border) in a town of 250 (exaggerated number) of Frederic. 
I have come to a different understanding of the Indian population of this area: Lakota, Dakota, Sioux and Oglala, since visiting there. What added to this was my watching for the past year  an EXCELLENT drama called Longmire which deals with life in Wyoming, that also has a large Indian population. (It's an offbeat crime drama.)
While in SD I was given a book which is a transcription of the story told by an Indian Chief and spiritualist called Black Elk who remembered "Wounded Knee".
The book was printed in 1930 and the words were taken down before that in the Oglala language and translated. The book was reprinted 13 times between 1930 and 1971.
 
What wonders the world offers us!

[JoanK]

JUDE: how wonderful that you had that experience. That is a part of the country I know nothing about.

Have you read Stegner's "Angle of Repose." It's different from his other books, because it borrows heavily (some say plagerizes) from the diary of an actual Western pioneer. It is the story of a woman in late 19th century who leaves her intellectual Boston home to marry an engineer in first Mexico and then the West. Kind of a Henry James heroine, who followed the Westerner, rather than remaining in the East.

I've always been interested in the clash of cultures in this country's literature around 1900 between the eastern establishment, trying to be more European than the Europeans, and the emerging frontier culture.

(There is also a modern subplot which is interesting to me because it involves a handicapped person dealing with his handicap)

[BarbStAubrey]

The concept of Chet as a 'man' and his new association with his father I think will be as a welcome part of the family team rather than Chet feeling he has to stand up to his father - homesteading to work requires team work and now the father has another set of experienced hands and a mind rather than just he and his wife pulling from the land their source of life.

Sounds like a wonderful venture Jude - have you read any of the native American Literature - Did you come home with a suitcase full of books or at least a list?

I only learned recently that Louise Erdrich's husband was an Indian who before he committed suicide was heading up the Native American literature department at Dartmouth where they both were professors. After his death she moved west. Her books are mostly about the northern tribes that Jude, you mention.

There is research finally published as a book about how the translator gussied up Black Elk's story to fit his stereotypical views -  Black Elk speaks, doesn't he? - Facts and Fiction of an Autobiography by Katharina Reese - Black Elk moved with the times - converted to the Catholic Religion and became a missionary among his people.

Sure is a fascinating part of our history that last year Harold and Ella did a great job with the discussion of  Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe

Interesting how folks hang on to their views and expressions to identify folks - my take is we need to feel superior and so we need an underclass so that even if those who were on the bottom of the heap or that we had demagogued onto a heap, make it, many of us keep them there in our minds-eye so we can justify our superior status therefore, our skills and abilities have more value.

Although we are uncomfortable today with the expression half breed it does help us realize as half Indian the half breed would not be able to hold his liquor very well and could easily become aggressive or out of control.

Chat's use of his gun is an example of why I hate this concealed handgun law - if you are going to confront someone do it up front with the knowledge and experience of using a gun and in a way to be safe while confronting someone on your property. Chet knew to be outside grabbing distance and he was as comfortable using the gun as he was milking a cow. He knew how to protect himself, his home and his father's liquor. When I first started to read this I was shocked to realize how much the current fear culture and vulnerability of kids had become part of my psyche.

[JudeS]

In his story  Stegner  uses the term "half breed" as real slur. Perhaps the characters had to look down on someone so those of mixed race were designated to be the low lifes.

 Barb

Both great authors who you mentioned, Louise Erdich and Michael Dorris , (her ex-husband) were "half breeds" since both had one parent who was part Indian.
Their real life stories, as well as their famous novels, are fascinating. Dorris's is terrifically sad as was his suicide in 1997. Erdichs' success only keeps growing with each new novel she writes.

[pedln]

Jude, what a great gift, the book you were given.  And you make a good point – we learn so much more about a place and its people when we go there. But we can still become more knowledgable from books and films.  I see where Longmire is based on the series by Craig Johnson, and the first season is available from Netflix.

That’s interesting, JoanK, about Angle of Repose and the controversy of Stegner “using’ the real letters of a pioneer woman.  That seems to be the book of his that’s most praised, and it did receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1972.  From what I understand, he had permission to use these letters.  If I had to choose between reading this book and Big Rock Candy Mountain, I’d go for Angle of Repose.

Barb, I don’t know if I can see Chet in partnership with his father.  But that’s mainly because of the little I’ve seen about novel this story is in.  Bo Mason does not appear to be a loving father.

I’ve been familiar with the name Louise Erdrich, but have never read any of her books, nor any of her husband.  (I didn’t know he had committed suicide)  Her recent Round House is getting good reviews.  Wasn’t there a book by one of them about a child with fetal alcohol syndrome?

Knowing that this story is incorporated into Big Rock Candy Mountain I’ve had trouble looking at it as just a short story.  How did Chet turn out so well?  He didn’t become a responsible, caring, creative kid in a week, though he must have learned things about himself while “holding the fort.”  I don’t think he’s a “chip off the old block.”

For those interested (I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone) here is a summary of Big Rock Candy Mountain, with a brief summary of the beginning (sec. 1) and the same of “Chip Off the Old Block”  (sec. 5)

Novel summary

Section I
In this section, Elsa leaves her family home after breaking with her widowed father when he becomes remarried to Elsa's best friend. She moves to North Dakota where she meets Bo Mason, who runs an illegal saloon or blind pig. Despite being disturbed by Bo's sometimes violent behavior, Elsa strikes up a romantic relationship with him. Against her father's advice, she becomes engaged to Bo.

Section V
This section is set against the historical backdrop of the 1918 flu epidemic. Down on his luck, Bo realizes that because of the flu epidemic he stands to make a small fortune if he begins bootlegging whisky to Canada, due to the perceived medicinal benefits of alcohol. While Bo is away in the United States purchasing whisky, the flu epidemic hits his home town and eventually Chester is forced to guard the family homestead himself while all the other family members are sick.

[JudeS]

An excellent book by Louise Erdich is "Plague of Doves".

It deals with some interesting Indian related themes while remaining a  good mystery .
Nominated for many prizes. Takes place in North Dakota.

Her husband, Michael Dorris, was an anthropologist and one of the best explainer of Fetal Alcoholic Syndrome . I admired his work. Sadly he got caught up in a child abuse scandal and committed suicide while his wife was divorcing him.

In reading an article today in the New Yorker there was a reference to "The Yellow Wallpaper". Because of reading the story here I understood what the author was getting at. So, again, thanks.

[pedln]

Thanks for the Erdrich recommendation, Jude.  It sounds like a good place to begin reading her work.

It's about time to wrap up our discussion of this short story and  I'd like to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts about the story's various elements, and about western and Native American literature itself.   I feel I learned a lot in a short period of time.

I'll probably keep thinking of our young protagonist as a young Wallace Stegner, and perhaps  try to meet the man himself in his autobiography Wolf Willow or in one of his other books.

We'll keep this page open for a few days for anyone who would like to comment.

[BarbStAubrey]

that one went fast didn't it - nice story when the world was a simpler place - not having read the entire story I did not have the same impression of the father - but then his behavior from what you are saying would have been typical of the times so with every good memory there is as much muck. I am beginning to think there is as much muck today only we gentrify it with either legal or psychiatric names.

[PatH]

Thanks for the summaries, pedln.  So Bo DID make his living by selling illegal alcohol.  He has a problem coming in 2 years when America goes dry too.

I don't think Chet will team up with his father.  There is too much anger between them.

I particularly like Stegner's description of the highly developed sense of injustice someone that age feels when unfairly scolded for something.  An excellent story.

[JoanK]

Thanks Pedlin for your good leadership (as always).

[PatH]

Thanks Pedlin for your good leadership (as always).

Indeed.  An excellent job, as always.  Thank you.

[JoanP]

I agree, we learned a lot in a short period of time.  Like speed-dating, isn't it? Definitely would like to meet this  man again!  Reminds me of Ivan Doig a.Bit - his Dancing at the Rascal Fair.  Thanks for leading us, through,Pedln .