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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lonesome Dove, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
American Mythology
Family
Luck, Fate, and Chance
The Good Life
The Meaning of Masculinity
Feminine Strength
Summary
Analysis
Even when he’s hard at work, Newt finds his mind wandering north. He and Sean have become friends, and Sean has told him about life in Ireland, the beloved mother who died before he left and the abusive father who died (thank God) before she did. Newt, who had always keenly felt the absence of his own father, begins to think that maybe he hasn’t been so unlucky after all.
The comparison between Sean’s and Newt’s stories allows the book to investigate the idea of luck and chance further. Newt is lucky to have grown up with four generally kind and loving father figures even though he lost his mother. Sean had a beloved mother but a terrible father. Neither picked their family, and both had to live with what fate gave them.
Themes
During the day, Newt often works with Deets, who grows pensive as the start of the drive approaches. He worries that the Captain doesn’t have a good plan and that they’re facing too much uncertainty and danger, but he will never openly question Call. And he doesn’t want to ruin Newt’s enthusiasm. So he says nothing about how hard life can be. And he stays up with the moon at night, gathering strength from watching it.
Deets’s concern doesn’t bode well for the trip, and his role as a sort of oracle continues to perpetuate the Magical African American trope. But his loyalty to Gus and Call despite his misgivings speaks to the trust among the Hat Creek men, and further reinforces readers’ sense of Gus’s and Call’s determination and leadership skills.
Themes
It pains Newt to know how unpopular Jake is among the men. They gripe about him taking Lorena off the market while they’re playing cards. (Newt, Sean, Allen, and the other younger cowhands are barred from the games, thanks to the high stakes, but they play among themselves for pebbles when they can get ahold of the cards). Pea Eye sourly observes how often Jake shirks work. Newt thinks this is unfair; no one complains about Mr. Gus, who works even less than Jake. Plus, Jake arrived worn out, and Newt knows he’ll do more once he’s rested.
Newt shows a loyalty of his own when he stands up for Jake, even if it’s just in his head. But readers are privy to information that Newt isn’t, and they know that Jake’s reputation for shirking work and taking advantage of others is warranted. It’s clear that Newt wants a father, not just a father figure, and that he’s impressionable enough to model himself after even someone like Jake. Whether he will become as disillusioned as Call, Gus, and Pea Eye remains to be seen.
Themes
