Tex

Chapters 1-3 function to establish the character of Tex, the narrator and focus of the book. He is genial, empathetic, and a rule breaker. Tex is a conventional archetype in American literature, the “bad boy” with good intentions, with roots in everything from Huck Finn to Holden Caulfield. When considering the legality of riding on the back of Johnny’s motorcycle, Tex thinks, “I don’t go around trying to break laws, but I couldn’t get real worried about that one” (4). He’s not exactly a rebel, but he does tend to act out in ways that get him in mild trouble. In school, “I do get sent to the office quite a bit” (4). Later, Tex describes himself, “I’m not a bad-tempered person mostly. In fact mostly I’m real easy-going” (19). The only event that causes him to lash out—both in the physical altercation with Mason and in his sullen behavior with his friends—is when he must face the loss of his beloved Negrito.

The brothers’ financial woes also mark the beginning of the book. The horses must be sold for the brothers to be able to eat. This showcases the contrast between Tex’s socioeconomic circumstances with that of his friend, Johnny, from the wealthy Collins family. This difference in social class often results in discrimination: “Cole Collins didn’t like his kids hanging around me and Mason,” Tex says. “He thought we were bad influences” (23). Indeed, when Tex and Johnny get drunk at the encouragement of an older Collins sibling, Cole blames the McCormicks—even though his own son, unbeknownst to him, supplied the kids with alcohol.

In addition, the contrast between Johnny Collins and Tex also reveals a clash in cultures, even in values: While Tex spends his time riding his horse, while Johnny spends his time riding a motorcycle. In fact, Tex feels remorseful for spending time on the cycle with Johnny instead of spending it with Negrito. He tells the horse directly, “I’ve been wasting a lot of time with that cycle,” by way of apology (3).

Chapters 1-3 also establish the contrast and relationship between the brothers. Tex is easygoing and a bit rambunctious and Mason is disciplined, goal-oriented, and determined to keep up his basketball practice while making the difficult decisions for the family. These traits contribute to Mason’s frustration with Tex when he admires Lem’s marriage and fatherhood: “Happy for him? Scrounging around, beating the bushes for money, married to an empty-headed bottle of peroxide [...] They aren’t fit to raise a cat” (67). Tex yearns only for a simple and happy life, while Mason has ambitions that will take him out of the small town in which they were raised.