The Hoosier Schoolmaster · Chapter
How It Came Out explained
Ralph and Hannah are married in a small ceremony attended by a few close friends and family.
What happens
Ralph and Hannah are married in a small ceremony attended by a few close friends and family. Bud Means and Martha Hawkins also become engaged, and Ralph helps Bud secure a position as superintendent of the poorhouse, where Bud and Martha can serve the community. The story concludes with a postscript revealing the future successes of the main characters: Ralph becomes principal of the Lewisburg Academy, Bud becomes sheriff, and Shocky becomes a writer on poorhouse reform.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
The chapter culminates in the marriages of Ralph and Hannah, and Bud and Martha, presenting marriage as a fulfilling and socially expected outcome.
Poverty and Charity
Bud and Martha's decision to take charge of the poorhouse highlights the theme of charitable service to the less fortunate.
Characters to notice
- Ralph Hartsook
Marries Hannah and helps Bud find a purpose as superintendent of the poorhouse.
- Hannah Thomson
Marries Ralph and becomes the head of the household at Mrs. Thomson's.
- Bud Means
Proposes to Martha Hawkins and seeks Ralph's advice on how to make a living and serve God.
- Miss Martha Hawkins
Accepts Bud's proposal and agrees to help him run the poorhouse.
- Shocky
Mentioned in the postscript as having become a writer on poorhouse reform.
Key passages
“We are all children in reading stories. We want more than all else to know how it all came out at the end, and, if our taste is not perverted, we like it to come out well.”
As readers, we are like children, eager to learn the ending of a story and hoping for a happy conclusion.
The narrator directly addresses the reader's desire for a satisfying resolution.
“And so Hercules cleaned the Augean stables.”
And so a seemingly impossible task was accomplished.
Ralph uses a classical allusion to describe Bud's new role in cleaning up the poorhouse.