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Recap / Little House On The Prairie S 4 E 18 The Inheritance

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  • An Aesop: Don't spend money you don't have yet. Charles was counting on inheritinng a huge company and so started buying products on credit as investment for his new business, only to find that all that was left from the inheritance was a crate full of worthles confederate currency.
  • Auction: What Mrs. Oleson holds to liquidate the Ingalls' assets once they go into debt. Dr. Baker, Jonathan, Rev. Alden and the others stage a plan — about 50 years later, during the Great Depression, this action would be called a penny auction — to foil her. It's later revealed that Nels (who actually originated the plan) was willing to take a short-term loss, telling the sale-goers that the auction had ended and everything sold; going on past experience, he trusts the Ingalls would eventually repay him (and Word of God is they do).
  • Et Tu, Brute?: Charles' initial, shocked reaction when Jonathan reveals that he bought the Ingalls' farm at the liquidation auction. Subverted when Jonathan goes on to tell his friend that he only paid about 10 cents for it and that other close friends also paid pittances for the Ingalls' other property (as part of what was essentially a penny auction), that Nels told auction goers the sale had already ended, and that Charles should have no problem buying everything back (with no interest). Charles breaks down in tears of joy, knowing that his friendships and relationships with neighbors are secure.
  • Wham Line: When the lawyer handling Charles' uncle's estate provides the Ingalls family with the entirety of the inheritance (a locked box), they open it and Caroline screams "It's money!" But an instantly crestfallen Charles (who is buried in huge debt due to borrowing lots of expensive goods on credit) despairing says "Caroline, it's Confederate money!"- totally without value and useless.
  • Worthless Currency: The Confederate money.
  • Worthless Treasure Twist: The Ingalls learning that the crate of money they've inherited is Confederate currency – now worthless.

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