Previous
Chapter 73
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
The circling buzzards lead Call, Gus, Pea Eye, Deets, and Newt to the bodies of Chick, the nameless cowboy, and Frog Lip. They quickly bury what’s left of the bodies. By the time they’ve followed the horse tracks to the tent of the burned farmers, Deets is certain that Jake is with the horse thieves. Late in the afternoon, they find Dan, Roy, Ed, and Jake sitting by a creek and getting drunk on whiskey stolen from a travelling salesman whose body lies nearby.
Although the men bury these bodies, too, their deaths feel even more tragic than Wilbarger’s—not only because they happened in isolation, but also because there are no families to notify. No one knows these men’s histories, and so their deaths on the frontier render them anonymous and forgotten. But that doesn’t mean that their murderers will go unpunished.
Themes
It doesn’t take long for Call, Gus, and Deets, to move in, disarm, and bind Ed, Jake, Dan, and Roy. Ed and Roy can’t believe that their big brother Dan got himself—and them—caught. Jake tries to smooth-talk Call, claiming that he fell in with the Suggs by accident and planned to leave when he had a chance. Call says he should have found that chance sooner.
Fate—and the consequences of his choices and actions—finally catch up with Jake. Like everyone else in the book—and in the world—he’s not immune to chance and circumstance. And, in this case—as Call points out—he made his situation worse himself. His lack of moral clarity and strength dooms him in the end.
Themes
As Call and Deets prepare to hang the four men, Jake tries to defend himself to Gus. Gus doesn’t budge either. “Ride with an outlaw, die with him,” he observes. Newt is overwhelmed with sadness at the thought they’re about to hang Jake Spoon, his mother’s friend and his old hero. He offers to lead Jake’s horse to the tree. Dan makes a racist comment about not wanting a Black man—Deets—to hang him, but no one cares. Soon, there are nooses around the necks of all four men. Gus slaps Dan’s horse first, and Ed’s horse spooks, so oldest and youngest brothers die together, followed quickly by Roy.
Although Gus is more laid back and forgiving of human nature than Call, he draws a line with Jake, who has had multiple opportunities to grow a spine and do the right thing. Gus can forgive accidents and tricks of fate, but he cannot forgive Jake’s choice to break the law, his choice to abandon Lorie to her fate, or his choice to ignore the loyalty he owed his friend. Jake’s behavior has been unmanly and unworthy in the eyes of the book, and so he meets a fittingly dishonorable fate.
Themes
Before executing Jake, Gus tells him that he rescued Lorie. In his drunken, panicked confusion, Jake can barely remember who she is. He recovers his gallantry enough to say he’d rather be hanged by friends than enemies. He leaves his horse to Newt and his money—nearly $800 in winnings from Fort Worth—to the rest. And then he spurs his own horse out from under himself. The men cut down Jake, Ed, and Roy, burying all three—and the murdered salesman—but marking only Jake’s grave. They leave a sign pinned to Dan’s shirt identifying him as a horse thief and a murderer.
It's a final sign of how utterly self-centered Jake is that he doesn’t even remember Lorena anymore. Although she pinned her hopes on him, she meant little to him other than the momentary pleasure she provided. Still, Jake salvages his dignity and his character somewhat in the end by spurring his own horse. By doing so, he avoids forcing his friends to execute him, and he takes responsibility for his actions—only tragically, it’s far too late to do him any good.
Themes
Get the entire Lonesome Dove LitChart as a printable PDF.
