Themes

There are two important themes in the short story “Mule Killers” by Lydia Peelle: the first is the theme of sacrifice and the second is the theme of father-son relationships.

Sacrifice

This theme is explored from different points of view in the short story. First of all, the narrator’s grandfather sacrifices his mules so as to be able to buy two tractors for his farm:

My father was eighteen when the mule killers finally made it to his father’s farm. He tells me that all across the state that year, big trucks loaded up with mules rumbled steadily to the slaughterhouses (…) In the spring of that year (…) my father’s father goes to Nashville and buys two International Harvester tractors for eighteen hundred dollars, cash. (ll. 1-6)

He does this to keep his farm running and to make it more competitive, but this also means sacrificing innocent animals and his love for them.

...

Father-son relationships

Before discussing this theme, keep in mind that neither the narrator nor his father had a mother figure for long enough in their lives. Although it is never stated when the two women died, we can assume that it was when their children were fairly young.

The narrator’s father has been influenced by his own father his entire life. The man’s traditional take on life made the young man think twice before telling him about getting a girl pregnant:  “My father has rehearsed what he will say dozens of times to the fence posts and ice-box,...

...