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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in McTeague, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed and Self-Destruction
Naturalism
Gender Stereotypes
Class Struggle
Isolation vs. Connection
Summary
Analysis
The story shifts back to when Marcus first left town. Within a month of leaving San Francisco, Marcus partners with an Englishman on a cattle ranch in the Panamint Valley, living the life of a cowboy. His headquarters are in Modoc, a small settlement about fifty miles south of Keeler. Marcus spends his days on horseback and nights around poker tables, even losing two fingers in a gunfight over a disputed brand. News trickles slowly into the isolated Panamint Valley. One day, Marcus encounters a wanted notice for McTeague, whom the authorities have traced to the region around Keeler. Determined to capture him, Marcus arrives in Keeler as a posse is being formed. Despite initial resistance from the sheriff, Marcus insists on joining, claiming personal ties and knowledge of McTeague.
Marcus’s move to the Panamint Valley hardened him, reinforcing the novel’s view that a person’s environment shapes their character and behavior. Despite ruining McTeague’s career, Marcus still despises him and assumes McTeague killed Trina to get his hands on her money, which is only partially true. Although Marcus implies that he wants to get revenge for Trina, he also knows that the $5,000 would likely fall to him if McTeague were dead. As such, once again, it seem gaining wealth is the primary motivating factor for Marcus.
Themes
The posse trails McTeague and Cribbens but loses the trail for a week around Gold Gulch. A peddler informs them of two men with a canary who struck gold nearby. The posse tracks them again, noting McTeague’s mule tracks leading east into Death Valley. The sheriff decides to circle the valley, but Marcus, arguing they are close, decides to follow McTeague directly into the desert.
Marcus’s decision to follow McTeague directly into Death Valley, against the sheriff’s advice, demonstrates his intense personal motivation to get revenge and make himself rich. Marcus does not care that there is a decent chance that he will die on his mission because his impulses blind him.
Themes
Two days later, Marcus’s horse collapses from exhaustion, forcing Marcus to continue on foot. He believes he is close to McTeague but underestimates the distance. By the third evening, Marcus runs out of water, realizing he is in dire straits if McTeague doesn’t have a water supply.
Like McTeague, Marcus fails to realize the dangers of Death Valley. Although neither man wants to admit it, they share a good deal in common, which is why they end up in the same place, fighting over the same thing.
Themes
Back in the present, McTeague, hearing Marcus’s shout, turns around and spots a man with a revolver aiming at him from a low crest. At first, McTeague is confused but quickly recognizes Marcus. Realizing the danger, McTeague instinctively raises his hands as Marcus commands. Marcus approaches, searches McTeague, and demands to know where the $5,000 is. McTeague indicates the canvas sack on the mule. Marcus, momentarily satisfied, tries to catch the mule, which starts acting erratically due to locoweed. The mule runs in circles, eluding capture. Marcus orders McTeague to help him catch the mule, as their water supply is on it.
Marcus enjoys wielding power over McTeague, though he knows it could easily slip from his grasp. Although the two men hate each other, they temporarily have to work together to calm the mule, lest they both perish in the desert. Notably, before he bothers to ask for water, which he desperately needs, Marcus asks for the $5,000. This suggests that money is the most important resource in his mind, a false assumption given his present circumstance.
Themes
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The mule continues to evade them, and the two men, now united by a common peril, run after the mule. The scorching desert sun beats down on them. Finally, Marcus decides to shoot the mule to retrieve the water. He wounds it, but as the mule falls, it bursts the canteen, spilling all the water. Facing the grim reality of their situation, Marcus and McTeague realize they are in the heart of Death Valley with no water. Marcus suggests drinking the mule’s blood, but neither man is desperate enough yet. They discuss their dire predicament and consider their next move.
The collaboration between Marcus and McTeague in trying to catch the mule shows that they will temporarily work together in order to survive. However, their plan immediately falls apart, and they are left alone without any resources. They have only each other to rely on, and neither trusts the other to do what is in their best interest.
Themes
Suddenly, both men think of the money in the canvas sack. The old enmity between them flares up. Marcus, unarmed after emptying his revolver, and McTeague, both reach for the sack. They grapple and fight fiercely. McTeague eventually overpowers Marcus, who manages to handcuff their wrists together before dying. McTeague finds himself chained to Marcus’s dead body, stranded in the vast, desolate expanse of Death Valley, with no water and only the feeble canary for company.
The fierce struggle over the money underscores the deep-rooted enmity and the destructive power of greed. Out in Death Valley, the money could not possibly help them, yet their minds have become so deranged that they think it is their most valuable resource. Marcus’s dying act of handcuffing their wrists together symbolizes the ultimate entrapment and the futility of their conflict. Meanwhile, the canary trapped in its cage signifies that this was the only way this conflict was ever going to end. Like the canary, Marcus and McTeague are trapped by internal and external forces they cannot control or understand. Their pursuit of greed only brings them misery and death, which is all the more tragic because it is a fate that they could not escape.
Themes
