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Chapter 23
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
Newt can barely contain his excitement as he and the others make final preparations for the trip. Pea Eye sharpens his knife yet again, and Deets mends his pants. When Lippy arrives at camp, Call immediately puts him in charge of the remuda; he was a capable hand before he got shot. Call and Deets cull the herd one last time—allowing the Texas bull to stay even though the cowhands hate and fear it. Then Call makes Deets the company’s scout, an honor that Deets doesn’t take lightly. Augustus oils his guns. Dish Boggett dozes under the wagon until a terrible nightmare—in which he’s herding cows that turn into buffalos and run him and his horse off a cliff—wakes him. Throughout the afternoon, the men talk about the drive and wonder about the land they’re headed to.
This chapter gives snapshots of the men’s excitement and dread. Remember that they’re embarking on a trip of at least 1,500 miles on foot and horseback to a place none of them have ever seen before. All they have to go on are Jake’s reports. And—as Pea Eye’s anxious knife sharpening and Gus’s gun cleaning hint—they’ll be crossing territory full of outlaws and people from Indigenous nations with whom the United States is currently at war. Newt’s excitement speaks more to his innocence and inexperience than anything else.
Themes
