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Chapter 5
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
Until her death, Newt’s mother Maggie was Lonesome Dove’s resident sex worker, and Jake Spoon was her best customer. When he was a little boy, Newt idolized Jake. He still secretly hopes that Jake is his father. It’s been years since Spoon (who once was a Texas Ranger with the Captain, Augustus, and Deets) grew tired of cattle trading and left to seek out new adventures. But now, much to Newt’s delight, he’s back
As a teenager and—readers now learn—an orphan, Newt desperately longs for a role model to show him how to grow up and be a man. Although Call has thus far acted the most like a parent—sending Newt to bed, for instance—Jake cuts a more glamorous and exciting figure.
Themes
Jake and Deets dismount. Jake is visibly surprised to see how old Newt has gotten. Both Augustus and Call eye Jake cautiously. His horse shows signs of having been ridden hard, like he’s been trying to outrun trouble. Both men like Jake, but neither trusts him. But Jake isn’t interested in answering their questions, at least until he's had a chance to wash up—a handsome man, he’s always cared about his appearance and his clothes—and eat something.
Through Gus and Call’s eyes, readers immediately get a sense of Jake’s character, and it isn’t good—suggesting that Newt would do well to find a better role model. Jake comes across as vain, shallow, and impulsive. And it’s clear that both Gus and Call expect him to want or need something from them, probably protection from whatever he’s trying to outrun.
Themes
In the confusion, Dish Boggett feels forgotten, so he reiterates his intention to accept Call’s offer. Call distractedly sends him to help Newt and Pea Eye with the well, a task that Dish feels beneath his dignity as a capable cowboy. But when he looks in the Captain’s eyes, he can’t bring himself to say so. Begrudgingly, and only to keep his reputation as a good worker intact, he heads toward the well.
In contrast to Newt, Dish doesn’t need someone else to tell him how to be a man. He has his own idea of masculinity, and it’s tied up entirely in the idea of being a cowboy. Still, it’s a testament to both his conscientious nature and the force of Call’s will that he goes to dig the well without complaint.
Themes
Augustus fries some meat for Deets and Jake. As they eat, he and Call press Jake for his story. Jake starts by describing a trip to Montana, where he claims he was scouting buffalo with the U.S. Army. He describes it as the perfect country for cattle ranching, claiming that the three of them stand to make a fortune if they can rustle up a herd, drive them north, and stake a claim in the territory. This rosy vision makes Call and Augustus suspicious, because neither has known Jake to be an ambitious or hard-working man. Finally, Call asks directly what Jake—and his exhausted horse—have been running from.
The vision that Jake uses to evade his friends’ initial questions plays right into Call’s desire to find adventure by driving a herd north—it’s as if Jake can read Call’s mind and offer the exact thing most likely to manipulate him. Readers should note this talent, which Jake will use again elsewhere in the book. But, although Call can be influenced, he clearly can’t be dissuaded once he gets an idea—or a question—in his head.
Themes
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Jake explains that he was in Fort Smith, Arkansas, doing a bit of gambling. When a drunk man pulled a gun on him during a game, he grabbed the nearest available weapon, a buffalo gun, to defend himself. He missed his antagonist, but the bullet from the powerful gun tore through the saloon’s thin wall and killed the town’s mayor-cum-dentist. To complicate matters, July Johnson, the town sheriff and the dead man’s brother, had heard that Jake was a gunfighter and asked him to leave town a week before the accident. The ironic nature of Jake’s crime strikes both Call and Gus, who know that Jake’s gunslinger reputation derives from an equally accidental—albeit far luckier—shot early in his career with the Rangers.
Jake’s story points toward the role luck and chance play in life. A lucky shot earned him a good reputation back in the day, but an unlucky shot recently threatens to undo that. It's more bad luck that the victim of the accidental shooting was both powerful and well-connected. But the story also highlights the weaknesses of Jake’s character: his love of gambling, impulsivity, and unwillingness to accept the consequences of his actions. Through his negative example, the book further emphasizes the traits it values in a good character, including bravery, cool-headedness, and responsibility.
Themes
Still, Call points out, July Johnson could hardly hang Jake Spoon for an accident. Jake replies that he wasn’t going to stick around to find out. Johnson is a determined man. Slowly, the talk turns to how the town has—and hasn’t—changed since Jake left. When he asks about Maggie, an uncomfortable silence immediately fills the room. Finally, Augustus says that Maggie died soon after Jake left and that the Hat Creek boys adopted Newt after that—since one of them is probably the boy’s father.
July Johnson’s reputation precedes him—as does Jake’s. Readers know now that Jake’s isn’t entirely deserved, and they should pay attention later in the book to see if July deserves his. Regardless, the idea of reputation speaks to the role the frontier plays in the American imagination. The frontier was populated by people who became legendary—whether they deserved the honor or not. The issue of Newt’s parentage comes up with increasingly strong hints that Call is his father—Gus clearly isn’t and, Deets can’t be since Newt isn’t mixed race. Jake might be, but Call has thus far behaved most paternally toward Newt.
Themes
