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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
In the light of day, it’s clear that things could have been far worse. Everyone is soaked and muddy (except for Dish, who had the foresight to wrap a change of clothes in waterproof oil cloth), but the only person missing is Gus—whom Pea Eye saw riding out to check on Lorena and Jake. They’ve only lost about 25 cows. The Texas bull—a wild animal that joined the herd of its own free will before they left Lonesome Dove and which is notable both for its patchwork coat and its mean disposition—is still alive, too. Bolivar—who has come with the party thus far after all—sets about making breakfast.
Dish shows off hard-earned trail experience when he wraps up a change of clothes, but being wet isn’t the worst thing that could happen. The Texas bull joined the drive of its own will, suggesting that it has just as much of an adventurous (and ornery) streak as Call and Gus. It reminds the cowhands that they’ll need a great deal of strength and bravery if they want to see the drive through to the end. The storm, as dramatic as it was, is a mere preview of what’s to come.
Themes
