Thomas Wolfe's "His Father's Earth"
by Eliana Liantonio
TITLE: "His Father's Earth" through the lens of Environmental Integrity
AUTHOR: Eliana Liantonio
PERMISSION to publish: Work Made for Hire
The Wilma Dykeman Legacy, in partnership with the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Site, and supported by grants from ArtsAVL, the North Carolina Arts Council, Buncombe County, and Thrive Asheville, created and hosts the Thomas Wolfe Short Story Book Club. For over a decade, the group has met every second Thursday in January, February and March to discuss different short stories written by Thomas Wolfe. This past February, a group of 15 people met in person to discuss environmental integrity, as told in Wolfe’s short story “His Father’s Earth”. In addition to the group of people gathered at the Memorial Site, people from various places joined the discussion online – ranging from Western North Carolina to Charlotte to Annapolis, Maryland.
The Wilma Dykeman Legacy works to honor its namesake, Wilma Dykeman, and her life by sustaining her core values of environmental integrity, social justice, and the power of the written and spoken word. Thomas Wolfe’s short story selection “His Father’s Earth” was selected to exhibit environmental integrity due to its poignant storytelling of land, food, and the life Wolfe's characters draw from their environment. Wilma Dykeman Legacy board member Daniel Clare hosted the event. Guest lecturer Brandon Johnson is the Director of the Madison County Arts Council and wpreviously taught English at Mars Hill University.
Clare introduced Johnson to the group by highlighting his graduate thesis on Thomas Wolfe, particularly its examination of the ecclesiastical attitudes in Look Homeward, Angel and the influence of T.S Eliot on Wolfe’s writing. With an understanding of Johnson’s scholarly work on Wolfe, the group was then guided by Johnson through the context of “His Father’s Earth” as informed by the author’s life.
Thomas Wolfe based his protagonists in his works primarily on his own experiences and based the location in Asheville – naming the town in his stories Altamont. An underlying theme noticed in his storytelling is the drive to get away from his hometown, and the desire to conquer his identity through finding himself elsewhere. Wolfe’s characters are famous for grappling with leaving home and then struggling to “stay away from the source,” as one of the short story group attendees observed.
Published in 1935, “His Father’s Earth” follows a young boy living in a traveling circus who enjoys the spontaneity of that life, but yearns for an unknown place he only recalls in his memory: his father’s earth. Focusing on sensory language and imagery, Wolfe paints a picture of a happy life for the boy, while still honoring his attachment to his father’s home.
Eugene Gant is the protagonist of Wolfe’s novel, Look Homeward, Angel, and has become synonymous with the little boy in this short story. Although not explicitly stated, Johnson says the young boy and Eugene are extremely similar in that they both experience a draw to life outside the comfort of an established home. Johnson gave the group provocative talking points, encouraging all to engage with the different themes of the text. In-person and on Zoom, participants chimed in with their perspectives, and offered historical context to the time period of the story. Many of the group members felt that the story was indicative of the young boy searching for meaning in his life through traversing the United States, and ultimately ending up in his father’s home – conveying a sense that it is possible for one to find peace in their origins.
