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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
Roscoe likes travelling much better with Janey along. The only downside is that she’s plagued by nightmares, and this makes her a restless sleeper, which keeps him up. Janey fears being found and reclaimed by Bill, so she hides whenever they encounter other travelers—which happens regularly now that they’re on the trail between Fort Smith and Fort Worth. She’s out of sight when Roscoe encounters two unpleasant men (later identified as Hutto and Jim) who ask him for tobacco and don’t believe him when he says (truthfully) that he doesn’t smoke. Eventually, they ride on, and so does Roscoe. But a little before sunset, Janey reappears with the news that she’s been tracking Hutto and Jim who in turn are following Roscoe. Although Roscoe and Janey attempt to outrun them, the bandits soon crash into their camp. They subdue Roscoe and Janey, then begin searching Roscoe’s possessions for valuables.
Janey’s sad history speaks to the harsh realities of life—especially for unprotected females—in the era. But life isn’t just hard for her—it’s also hard for travelers who face bandits and outlaws on the trail. Roscoe’s kind and simple nature makes him especially vulnerable to men like Hutto and Jim. Once again it becomes clear that Roscoe and Janey were lucky to find each other: he gave her an opportunity to escape Old Sam’s abuse, and she gives him a fighting chance at surviving long enough to complete his mission and find July.
Themes
While Hutto and Jim make Roscoe strip naked—thinking he must have sewn money into his clothes—Janey slips away and starts hurling rocks—with amazing accuracy—at them through the dark. One strikes Hutto in the face, one hits Jim’s throat, damaging his windpipe and making it hard for him to breathe. Both start shooting wildly, hoping to hit her. It looks bad, but then July Johnson steps out of the darkness while both bandits are reloading. He and Joe had camped nearby, and he came over to investigate after the shooting started. He places Hutto and Jim both under arrest.
Yet again, Janey proves herself to be much more resourceful and capable than Roscoe, notwithstanding that she’s just a young girl. July’s sudden reappearance suggests a deus ex machina—a plot device in which a difficult problem is resolved in an unlikely way. But it also speaks to the omnipresent force of chance in the lives of the book’s characters. Sometimes it’s bad, but sometimes, their luck takes a turn for the better.
Themes
July quickly decides that the best plan is to take Hutto and Jim to the authorities in Fort Worth. They break camp, mount the horses, and start riding west with Roscoe and Joe bringing up the rear. Roscoe regrets leaving Janey behind—she refused to come out, even after July subdued the bandits—but after a few miles, she jumps up behind Roscoe on his horse. They reach Fort Worth early the next morning.
July’s arrest of two feared outlaws makes him seem more fearsome to men like Jake, even though readers know that he did this by blind luck. Even without taking direct action, however, his reputation is growing. This slyly suggests to readers that they ought to take the stories about the American West’s legendary historical figures with caution, indicating that reputations don’t always reflect reality.
Themes
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In town, they leave the horses to rest at a livery stable where the kindly owner feeds Janey and Joe some breakfast. She also offers to mend Roscoe’s clothes, but he decides to just buy new ones. He and July stop at a saloon for a drink, and he tells July the little he knows about Elmira’s disappearance. July plans to ride north and find Ellie first, and Roscoe wants to join him. They’ll take Joe and pay the woman at the livery stable $6 to board Janey for two months. Joe is glad to see the last of the little girl, whom he resents for being more capable than him. But the next morning when he wakes up, he finds Janey squatting by the campfire. It seems they’re stuck with her.
Despite the fact that Janey held her own with Jim and Hutto—and was more successful than Roscoe in fighting them off—July and Roscoe fall back on sexist reasoning when they opt to leave her behind in Fort Worth. Notably, they take Joe—who’s about the same age—even though they know that they’re likely riding into more danger. When Janey follows them herself, she quietly rebukes their underestimation—and makes it clear that she won’t let men decide her fate anymore.
Themes
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