A Thousand Acres Chapters 26–28 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 26–28

Summary: Chapter 26

The family is consumed with trying to keep up appearances and tamp down any public judgment. Rose and Pete spend time in town, and Ty keeps the builders going. Ken LaSalle and Marv Carson both come by to talk about Larry and the farm. Marv is nervous. Ginny reassures him. Harold comes by, too, to say that Ginny and Rose ought to make peace with their dad, that they owe him everything, including loyalty. When Harold suggests that Rose is trouble, Ginny gets angry and tells him to shut up. Harold says they all should make up at the church supper on Sunday, and Ginny reluctantly nods in agreement. The builder from Kansas stays for dinner while Ty goes to bed. The next morning, on the Fourth of July, Ginny walks out to where the old farm pond used to be. The buildings have been bulldozed over, and there is no trace of the pond.

Summary: Chapter 27

Ginny imagines working the family issues out with a psychiatrist. Instead, she decides to talk to Henry Dodge, the pastor of their church. When Ginny gets to his office in Cabot, however, and looks at the casual and simple man that he is, she leaves without talking to him. That evening, Ginny meets Rose on Larry’s porch, and they try to talk about what’s next. Rose warns Ginny to stick to the truth. She is adamant that they have done nothing wrong. Ginny wants to talk to her father about the past, but Rose says it won’t make any difference. She thinks Larry is all about what he wants, feels, and believes, but that the truth is actually all very clear and simple. Rose finally agrees to see whether there will be some opportunity to talk after the church supper on Sunday.

Summary: Chapter 28

At the potluck church supper, Larry looks disheveled and old. Rose, Ginny, Ty, and Pete mill around making small talk as Ginny tries to corner her dad. Larry keeps repeating to people that children steal their parents’ farms and then force them into the county home. Rose thinks that Larry is only pretending to be mad to deflect his guilt. She wants him to suffer and be humiliated, an attitude that feels forbidden to Ginny. Jess tells Ginny about visiting a local organic farmer and how wonderfully healthy the food was. The family all sits together at a table. While they awkwardly eat, Harold stands up and announces that Rose and Ginny are bitches who have betrayed and neglected their father. Jess tries to silence his father, but he keeps going. Jess and Harold get into a fighting match. Tables and dishes go flying. Larry looks amused. Ginny, Rose, Pammy, and Linda flee. Ginny feels like there’s no escape from a play with no end, wishing for that secret apartment in the city.

Analysis: Chapters 26–28

Larry’s appearance at the church supper may be disheveled, but he is changed in outward appearance only. His looking toward Ginny with an expression of righteousness during Harold’s rant at the church supper is evidence that Larry knows exactly what he is doing. He’s using Harold as his spokesman so he can appear addled and confused. In this way, Larry can garner sympathy from the community and cast scorn on his daughters. On the other hand, Harold is somewhat blind to what is going on around him. He is skeptical of his son Jess and the new, organic methods he proposes. Harold calls Jess a coward who doesn’t even have the courage or honor to serve his own country, aggressively revealing his true feelings about his prodigal son in the same way that Larry reveals his contemptuous feelings about Ginny and Rose. Book Three ends in chaos as the women flee the scene and Harold and Larry likely gloat over the show of power they have just performed.

Although Ginny has come out of the shadows of her memories a bit, she is still hiding in these chapters. She hangs up when the psychiatrist’s receptionist comes on the phone, unable to imagine her family traveling and talking to that kind of professional. Ginny leaves Henry Dodge’s office abruptly, too, when faced with the prospect of confiding such dark family secrets to a man who is unwise and naive. She tries to talk to her father at the church potluck supper, but nothing works. It’s too public, too much, and besides, Harold steals the scene. However, Ginny is creeping toward the light and her power. She is edging toward exposing the truth. She is growing in the dark, with Rose to cheer her on and Linda and Pammy as an incentive.

Although readers are often reminded of the vast scale of these farms and the breadth of the Iowa skies, especially during an oncoming storm, these chapters remind us of how small this community is. At the church supper, readers see many characters they have met before, and everyone knows everyone else’s business. When Harold proclaims that the girls are bitches who have wronged their poor father, everyone knows what he refers to. Everyone has heard—in the feed store, the grocery store, and the church—that Larry Cook was found wandering and ranting in a downpour and that his daughters let him do it. Rose and Ginny try to get out in front of the gossip, but it’s too late.

Jess Clark predicts his father’s performance when he mentions he believes his father has some trick or scheme planned. Jess seems serious about a revolutionary farming venture, but his father quells his enthusiasm with his Larry-like rant and accusations. Ginny loses some of her former desire for Jess in these chapters. She simply has too many other things to worry about. When Jess approaches her to tell her about his visit to the organic farm, it seems self-centered and inappropriate, considering what is going on. In fact, Jess is self-centered and inappropriate, a bit like Larry and Harold.