Tornado

Byars begins the novel in media res, which means that it begins in the midst of the action, with Pete yelling warnings about the tornado and telling the family to get into the storm cellar. Starting in the middle of the action builds tension and curiosity about whether the family will escape the tornado, who all the characters are, and what will happen next. The setting is described in relation to the ominous natural phenomenon in the sky as “a long, black funnel cloud in the west […] pointed from the dark sky right down to our farm” (1). The use of immediate, emphatic dialogue with Pete’s shouted “Twister!” alongside the description of the dark sky and the nearby funnel cloud characterizes the novel’s initial tone with suspense and imminent danger.

The chapter is in first person, from the perspective of the narrator, one of the children who lives on the farm. Byars does not specify the narrator’s age or gender, and they are characterized primarily through their responses to Pete’s story and investment in the narrative about Tornado. Byars establishes the list of characters present—the mother, Beth, father, Link, the narrator, a grandmother, two brothers, and the farmhand, Pete—as they are mentioned in the narrative or go into the storm cellar. Byars also introduces family dynamics through action in the first chapter of the novel. For example, the narrator’s mother, Beth, hesitates before going into the storm cellar: “My mother was standing outside the door. She was worried about my daddy […] Still my mother hesitated. The cornfield seemed to be directly under the funnel” (2). Through this passage, Byars establishes Beth’s affection for her husband, Link, and that his role in the family is working in the cornfield. Pete instructs Beth to get into the storm cellar, which shows that as the farmhand, he is close with the family and is aware of both what the family members need and where they should go to stay safe in the storm.

Byars emphasizes the collective experience of the tornado through first-person plural pronouns in the passage: “We sat for a moment, silent. We listened to the storm and worried about my father in the cornfield” (3). Except for Link, the entire family and Pete are brought together by the storm. They are unable to go about their other business on the farm, and all have a shared experience of fear about the storm. The chapter also introduces the theme of Resilience in the Face of Natural Disaster. While fearful, the family members seem to know what to do when the storm threatens. This suggests that they have experienced the phenomenon before. Despite the risk to their lives and home, the family members remain strong and silent, waiting for the storm to pass.

Although he is not a member of the immediate family, Pete is instrumental in instructing the family members and helping them remain calm. After being the one to warn the family members that the tornado is coming, he helps the grandmother down the steps, reassures Beth that her husband can get into a ditch in the field, tells Beth that she needs to come into the storm cellar, shuts the doors of the cellar, and then thinks of something to distract the family members from their fear. Pete says, “You know what this brings to mind?” (3), which the narrator and brothers immediately recognize as the beginning of a series about his dog, Tornado, with which they are familiar. The narrator and their brothers are grateful because they know Pete is trying to distract them from their worries. This characterizes Pete as caring and perceptive about what the family needs.

The first chapter also introduces the framing device of the novel and that it will have two settings. It opens with the present situation of the family waiting in the storm cellar during a tornado. However, most of the action of the novel is in the past, in the form of Pete’s stories about his childhood experiences, demonstrating the theme of Stories as Sources of Comfort and Connection. The novel shifts throughout from descriptions of past stories Pete is telling and references to the family in the present waiting for the storm to pass. The dual timeline and settings make Pete’s childhood experiences with tornados parallel those of the narrator. Similarly, Pete and the narrator are connected by their affinity for stories and similar experiences with twisters.