Tennessee's Partner

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1869

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Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

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Discussion Questions

Literary Devices

Verbal Irony

Verbal irony involves a distance between what is said and what is meant. “Tennessee’s Partner” frequently uses this kind of irony, as the narrator wittily recounts the events of the story, communicating much by implication rather than explicit statement.

A good example is the narrator’s account of Tennessee’s partner’s marriage. He recounts the tale of how Tennessee’s partner’s wife broke a plate of toast over his head “somewhat coquettishly” before mysteriously accepting his proposal immediately after. The description of the wife’s actions as “coquettish” pokes fun at both her and Tennessee’s partner; violence is neither flirtatious nor (by the standards of the time) feminine, so the anecdote raises doubts about the wife’s morality and the partner’s judgment. Moreover, the seeming impossibility of the events cues the reader to understand that the narrator is relaying the story with a sense of irony; it is town gossip that likely deviates significantly from reality. At the end of the story, Harte’s narrator goes a step further and analyzes his own use of irony; he claims to be “aware that something more might be made of this episode” but articulates his goal of recounting the story as it is told in Sandy Bar (Paragraph 2). This speaks to The Utility of Humor in Sandy Bar, where the objectively serious and emotionally fraught subject of a broken marriage becomes the subject of jokes.

Foil

A foil is a character whose qualities or behaviors contrast with those of another character, allowing the author to emphasize their respective traits. Tennessee is a foil to his partner. Tennessee has a name while his partner is only known in relation to Tennessee. Tennessee is a gambler, a grifter, and a thief while his partner seems to partake in more honest trades, working his homestead with his reliable donkey, Jenny.

The most significant differences between the men relate to their demeanor. Interpersonally, Tennessee is witty and sharp in all the ways his partner is plainspoken and humorless. Though a criminal, Tennessee seems more like an insider in Sandy Bar than his partner, participating in the humor that the narrator claims characterizes the town. By contrast, his partner mostly seems to be the butt of the joke. Tennessee never expresses any genuine emotion of fear, anger, hope, or love, instead couching all his comments in gambling-related jokes. Tennessee’s partner, on the other hand, expresses genuine feelings of love and grief as he appeals for his partner’s life and buries him. This opposition between Tennessee and his partner therefore dramatizes the dichotomy between humor and sentiment.

Setting

The setting—the time, place, and environment in which a story unfolds—plays a crucial role in communicating the ideas of “Tennessee’s Partner.” The story takes place in a mining town called Sandy Bar in 1854, during the California Gold Rush. Harte was keenly interested in portraying authentic details of local life in the mining camps, so he carefully renders this setting. The story describes the cultural conventions of life in Sandy Bar, from the way the townsfolk communicate to the way they mete out justice collectively under the loose authority of a judge. Harte’s use of local dialect further creates a sense of verisimilitude.

The natural world that surrounds Sandy Bar plays an especially notable role. The miners are at the mercy of the landscape; they have come to this remote place to seek their fortunes at great risk to themselves. Harte acknowledges this in his descriptions, elevating the landscape to an almost divine status. He uses religious imagery, describing the Sierra like a deity crowned with stars, “etched on the dark firmament” (Paragraph 6). He describes how the cool breeze was “withheld” from Sandy Bar on the night of the trial, as though nature has the power to give or hoard its bounty. In the absence of any acknowledged religion or spirituality, Harte implies that the landscape has taken on a divine role in the townsfolks’ lives.

Point of View

A story’s point of view is the perspective from which the story is written. An unnamed but first-person narrator tells “Tennessee’s Partner,” which limits the reader’s knowledge to whatever the narrator has seen or heard. Though Harte provides little concrete information about the narrator, his language implies that he is an inhabitant of the town, an insider in its witty and humorous communication style, and a relatively educated and literary person. He often relates anecdotes about the characters that he has heard as though passing on a piece of gossip or town legend. This narrative choice situates the reader as an insider with voyeuristic access to the lives of fellow townsfolk.

Because the narrator is a character, he is also subject to change and growth based on what he experiences. As the narrator learns about the intensity of Tennessee and his partner’s friendship, his ironic and humorous derision of the partner gives way to a much more sentimental portrayal. By grounding the story in the narrator’s perspective, Harte allows the story’s position on topics such as The Pros and Cons of Self-Created Justice to remain fluid. While the narrator’s growing respect for Tennessee’s partner tentatively aligns the story with sentiment over irony and mercy over strict justice, the limitations of his perspective leave much ambiguity.