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Chapter 21
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
Around suppertime that afternoon, Jake and Lorena ride into the cattle camp. As soon as Dish sees them coming, he hightails it out of camp to avoid having to socialize. The rest of the cowhands don’t know what to make of the sight, especially because Lorena is wearing pants. Augustus welcomes them, helping Lorena to dismount when Jake, in a sullen pout because of Call’s fury, neglects to. When pressed, he tells Augustus that he and Lorena plan to ride along near the company at least as far as Denver.
Jake falls into a sullen sulk because he’s been emasculated both by Call (who is angry at him) and by Lorena (who’s gotten her way over his). Whether subconsciously or purposefully, he begins ignoring her now, as if to make it very clear how wronged he feels. This makes Gus look even more courteous in contrast. This scene very pointedly suggests, yet again, that Gus can provide what Lorena wants better than Jake can.
Themes
In the deepening dusk, Sean O’Brien begins singing a melancholy tune that brings tears to Newt’s and Needle Nelson’s eyes. Meanwhile, Bolivar watches on at a distance, unaffected by the tension and drama. He’s trying to decide what to do. He doesn’t really want to go north, but he also doesn’t want to go home to Mexico and his nitpicky wife. Pea Eye sharpens the knife he’s begun sleeping with thanks to his growing fear of heading back into Indian Territory.
Indian Territory was the designation for the lands onto which predominantly white settlers displaced Indigenous people as America expanded westward across the continent. Pea Eye fears encountering Indigenous people because he spent much of his Ranger career involved in the bloody, violent conflicts by which this displacement was accomplished.
Themes
By now, Call has collected enough cattle for “five ranches,” according to Augustus. If Jake wants to come along, he too can make his fortune as a cattleman. But Jake says he’d rather be poor than “chew the dust” as a cowboy. Augustus retorts that Jake might as well become a barber if he can’t handle a little dust.
Call’s exceptionally large herd is yet another sign of his drive nature. It isn’t enough to get some cattle—he wants enough to guarantee success, no matter what hazards they might find on the trail. Jake continues to complain without bowing out completely, because quitting now would mean facing July—and the consequences of his actions—on his own.
Themes
Jake finishes eating and mounts his horse, intent on making camp upwind of the herd. Much to his annoyance, Augustus helps Lorena mount. Moments after they leave, Call bumps into Newt, who’s peeing by the side of the wagon. Call tells him they’ll be starting north in the morning, the boy asks how long it will take them to get there, as if “north” is a place, not a direction. It strikes Call how limited Newt’s experience has been and how little they’ve done to properly educate him.
Jake and Lorena’s visit to the cattle camp ends as it began, with Jake pointedly ignoring Lorena and Gus chivalrously helping her. Call’s worry about the potential deficits in Newt’s education is about as close as he ever gets to admitting a mistake. And Newt’s excitement proves how ready he is to grow up and experience the world for himself, away from the limitations of Lonesome Dove.
Themes
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