Old Yeller

As the story opens, Travis believes he is already “nearly a man” (25). Confirming this feeling, Papa entrusts him with a man’s job: protecting the family and taking care of the homestead. Their man-to-man handshake seals Papa’s trust in Travis, and Travis takes on the new responsibilities with confidence. Travis respects Papa and does not want to let him down. Papa is a touchstone and role model for Travis: Travis is thrilled when he can kill a deer on the run as well as Papa can. He uses Papa’s words to assert authority over Little Arliss, and he adopts Papa’s opinions, choosing to believe Papa’s way of picking a puppy is superior to that of Lisbeth and her grandfather. Travis wants to be like Papa. Mama smiles at Travis’s initial efforts at asserting his adulthood; humoring, but supporting, his new role.

In his efforts to show he is grown-up, Travis distances himself from his childhood. Travis does not want Mama to remind him that was ever as childish as Little Arliss. He scoffs at the speckled pup, confident that he, like a grown man, has a “full-grown dog” (126). Travis exemplifies a traditional masculine gender role. Travis initially thinks that being a man means not showing weakness or fear. Unlike Mama and Little Arliss, Travis resists crying when Papa leaves—even though he wants to—suggesting that he thinks that grown men, unlike women and children, do not cry. He does not admit that he is scared of hydrophobia, instead assuring Sanderson he can fill his Papa’s shoes. Men show strength and overmaster fear and emotion.

Until Old Yeller arrives and the two bond, however, Travis is largely acting a man’s role. He still feels childish emotions, sulking and feeling disrespected as man of the family when Mama dresses him down. Old Yeller helps Travis grow emotionally and psychologically. When Old Yeller saves Little Arliss from the bear, Travis realizes his own limitations and admits he needs Yeller’s assistance: He could not have saved his brother from the bear, or the corn crop from the varmints, without the dog. Old Yeller helps Travis understand himself. The conflicts the two face and overcome help build Travis’s self-confidence and knowledge. Travis also demonstrates his maturing thought process when he masters the fear and repulsion, the “numbing terror” (107) of seeing his beloved dog’s terrible injury and acts maturely to save him. Yeller’s sacrifice catalyzes Travis’s emotional growth. Mama recognizes Travis is truly becoming a man when he declares he will return for Old Yeller despite her instructions.

Killing Old Yeller is the act that transitions Travis fully to adulthood. Travis now understands that being an adult is not simply a matter of mimicking a man’s speech or completing a grown man’s chores, but involves difficult decisions, complex emotions, and personal sacrifice. Travis must kill his best friend—one who saved his life—for the safety of his family. Travis internalizes the lessons Yeller taught him about love, loyalty, and sacrifice. He takes personal responsibility for shooting Yeller, not allowing his mother to do the deed, and in so doing brings the full weight of grief and guilt and the pain of injustice on himself. Travis struggles with emotions he has never felt before, learning that being an adult means having to balance the “cruel and unfair” parts of life with the good (156). Travis is now able to take on an adult, mentoring role towards Little Arliss and the pup, much as Papa did for him.