50 pages • 1 hour read
Carol Ryrie BrinkCaddie Woodlawn
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1935A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Self-reliance and the Importance of Work
Hard work and self-reliance are recurring themes in the novel. Mr. Woodlawn, in particular, imparts these ideas to his children through conversation, example, and expectation. When Caddie demonstrates an ability and interest in repairing clocks, Mr. Woodlawn encourages her industriousness and her “eager fingers” (81). He asks that Caddie be his partner in his clock repair business, and when he and Caddie finish their first job, “one [is] as proud as the other” (81). By promoting Caddie’s interest in completing a job, Mr. Woodlawn instills within her a lifelong work ethic, and Caddie’s ability to fix clocks makes her more self-reliant.
When Mr. Woodlawn reveals his family’s past, he tells the children that he earned everything he has in live with his “own two hands” (97), communicating that doing so is valuable and superior to being handed everything. The Woodlawn children get the message that working hard and being self-reliant is important. Tom works at the Dunnville store to earn enough money to buy Katie’s valentine, and all three of the Woodlawn adventurers excitedly agree to plow the back field. Even Tom’s story about Pee-Wee highlights a man who does duplicitous things to earn his way, and Caddie is outraged at the way that Pee-Wee cheats his way to success, an outrage born of her father’s lesson about the importance of honest hard work. Additionally, Mr. Woodlawn stresses to Caddie the importance of the work that women do, changing her point of view about growing up and taking on household duties.
When the children must decide between moving to England, where they will be given everything, and staying in Wisconsin, where they will have to work, the children vote to stay. This decision demonstrates the depth to which their father’s lessons have sunk in.
Growing Up and Navigating Societal Expectations
Caddie Woodlawn is a proud tomboy. She runs wild with her brothers, wishes she could wear “boys’ clothes” (5), and scoffs at the idea of becoming a lady. When the circuit rider asks when they plan to “make a young lady out of this wild Indian” (14), Caddie is incensed at the idea and thinks, “Who wanted to be a young lady?” (17). However, Caddie recognizes that her desire to stay a tomboy is sometimes “uncomfortable [...] even with Father’s loyal support” (17). Caddie realizes that society will not be as accepting of her decisions as her family has been. Even Caddie’s mother, who often expresses exasperation at her daughter’s wild tendencies, does not pressure her to conform to the usual expectations for 11-year-old girls.
When Caddie turns 12, some of her behaviors become more mature. She spends her dollar on the Hankinson children, buying them treats as well as combs and handkerchiefs to address their appearance and hygiene. Young ladies at the time were expected to take care of their younger counterparts, and Caddie’s purchase of practical items conforms to that expectation. Caddie also begins to recognize hidden facets to people she once believed frivolous. When Katie touches the scalp belt, Caddie recognizes a “resolute bravery about her” (176). Though Caddie tricks Annabelle, she acknowledges that Annabelle has more to her “than met the eye” (236) when she does not cry or tell on the Woodlawn children. Caddie sees merit in some ladylike behaviors and recognizes the strength that women have, regardless of how they present themselves.
After Mr. Woodlawn explains that Caddie does not have to give up the outdoors or speaking her mind to become a valuable and hardworking woman, Caddie matures even further. Relieved of rigid social expectations, Caddie is able to explore what being a lady means for her.
Fear in the White Settlers Relationship with Native Americans
Fear drives much of the white settlers’ behavior in their relationships and reactions with the Native Americans. In the early chapters, Mrs. Woodlawn expresses her fear of the Native Americans when they show up to see her children’s hair, and concerned that “they might want a red scalp to hang to their belts” (7) even though they never act aggressively. Fear born of stories about scalpings, uprisings, and massacres pervades the white settlers’ understanding of Native Americans, causing them to not “trust the Indians, even when they seem friendly” (17). Brink’s portrayal of people’s tendency to spread fear based on rumor and prejudice reveals that many of the white settlers’ reactions and terror are outsized. While the settlers wait for the massacre they believe is inevitable, they are fearful even when nothing happens, convincing themselves that “the redskins might only be awaiting the moment when they should scatter again [...] to begin the attack” (123). In these moments the Native Americans’ behaviors are not responsible for the white settlers’ terror. Instead, the fear is rooted in rumor and imagination. Sometimes the fear drives good people to do terrible things, such as when Caddie overhears the men planning to attack the Native Americans first. Even in the aftermath of the massacre scare, white settlers behave with fear, moving back east or perpetuating hatred toward Native Americans.
Though readers get a clear picture of how fear can affect people’s behaviors and actions, Brink also gives a tiny glimpse of how the Native Americans behave as well. When Mr. Woodlawn tells Indian John that the white settlers are afraid of the Native Americans, Indian John acknowledges that his people are afraid of the settlers too. After the massacre scare, the Native Americans move farther west to avoid the white settlers’ racism and potential for violence.
