Driven Back to Eden · Chapter
The "Vandoo" explained
The family attends a farm auction (a 'vendue') where Mr.
What happens
The family attends a farm auction (a 'vendue') where Mr. Jones helps them bid on livestock and goods. They acquire a cow with a calf, an old horse, a wagon, harness, chickens, and houseplants. Junior reveals a tender side by buying plants for Mousie. Back home, the narrator struggles with the ill-tempered cow Brindle but gradually tames her through kindness, proving his theory that animals respond to gentle treatment.
Themes in this chapter
Community and Neighborliness
Mr. Jones assists the family at the vendue, and the auction itself becomes a community gathering with neighbors joking and helping each other.
Self-Reliance and Hard Work
The narrator learns to milk and tames the vicious cow Brindle through persistent kindness, demonstrating self-reliance and practical problem-solving.
Family and Parental Duty
The narrator buys a chair for his wife and a geranium for Mousie, and Junior shows care for Mousie by purchasing plants for her, reflecting familial bonds.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Jones
Arrives with a farm wagon, advises on bidding, and helps the narrator acquire livestock and chickens at the vendue.
- Junior
Fills the wagon with straw for a ride, punches a bully, buys houseplants for Mousie, and teaches the narrator how to milk the cow.
- Merton
Charged with watching the children at the sale; later laughs at the narrator's milking mishap.
- Bobsey
Eats heartily at the free lunch and gives a pert reply to a mountaineer.
- Winnie
Promises to obey orders at the sale and declares she will hear the first crow and get the first egg from the new chickens.
- Mousie
Consoled with the hope of a gift from the vendue; receives a geranium from the narrator and houseplants from Junior, who becomes her favorite.
Key passages
“There’s allers changes and breakin’s up in the spring”
Spring always brings changes and disruptions.
Mr. Jones explains why the family is selling everything and moving west.
“I believe she had been treated harshly by her former owners.”
I think her previous owners were cruel to her.
The narrator reflects on why the cow Brindle was initially so wild and vicious.