One's a Heifer

Homework Questions: “One’s a Heifer” by Sinclair Ross 1) At the tender age of thirteen, the main character of “One’s a Heifer” is able to assume a great deal of responsibility. As the audience reads, we find out that the protagonist’s uncle has a disease known as scatia. Also, he has two calves that have gone missing and he must go find them. Even though he is only thirteen years old, he is trusted to go out alone, via horseback and find the missing calf, “the heifer”. 2) As he leaves, he rides in a “jaunty fashion” because he wants to give the appearance that everything will be fine and he is very competent at completing the task at hand. By riding in a confident fashion, he believes that his mother will not worry about him as much. 3) The author describes the farmer’s house as following: “The yard was littered with old wagons and machinery; the house was scarcely distinguishable from the stables. Darkness was beginning to close in but there were no lights in the windows.” By describing like this, the reader feels an almost eerie mood or atmosphere, desolate even. 4) The boy bases his opinion on facts and fiction. He did in fact see some calves in the field. However, he did not investigate further and therefore; he does not know for sure if the calves are those that he is looking for. 5) The description provided by the author might lead one to think that the man is a bachelor because his house has tools lying around, it’s somewhat unkempt etc… “The table in the centre was littered with tolls and harnesses. On rust cook-stove were two big, steaming pots of bran. Next to the stove stood a grindstone, then a white iron bed covered with blankets and horse coats.” 6) Every time Vickers mentions his loneliness, he refers to the lack of friends in his life, a certain woman’s in particular. Although he denies that he has any feelings for this woman that he refers back to, he keeps bringing her up in the conversations. 7) The reader gets some