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Chapter 24
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Medicine Walk, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fathers and Sons
Nature and the Land
Identity and Heritage
Memory and Story
Love, Loss, and Grief
Summary
Analysis
It takes the kid all morning to dig his father’s grave. The ground is hard and full of rocks that take time to root out. He also gathers a pile of heavy stones to place on top so that no creatures can get at his father’s remains. Then he washes his hands and looks at his father’s body. He suddenly shouts that he doesn’t know what he’s doing and cries again, feeling a new pain.
After finally getting to know his father in a deeper way, Frank loses him all over again and carries the heavy responsibility of burying him. His tears are a clear reminder that despite his maturity, Frank is still just a kid, and he’s suffered great losses.
Themes
The kid cradles his father, who isn’t very heavy, and sets him down beside the hole. He gets some boughs and moss to line it with and also sprinkles some tobacco, the only ritual he knows. Trying to think of something to say, he feels only a deep silence inside him, but he is content with that. He climbs down into the grave with his father and arranges him with his arms across his chest and his head against his knees.
As he buries his father, Frank does for Eldon what Eldon couldn’t do for Jimmy and buries him in the warrior way. Though Frank said earlier that he couldn’t see Eldon as a warrior, he now acknowledges that he was—not just a war veteran, but a lifelong fighter who’s finally getting to rest.
Themes
Then he climbs out and piles the dirt and stones on top, suddenly feeling a deeper anguish and weeping and cursing freely. He screams as he hefts the largest rock on top. When he’s done, the sorrow feels lighter. He tells his father the war is over, and he hopes he’ll find Angie waiting for him. He knows there are more words to say, but they’re beyond him for now, so he just looks at the valley for a while. Then he breaks down the campsite and gets ready for the trip home.
Frank has always treasured the land; now it will also bear the memory of his father’s death. Like Bunky, Frank has also always found solace in work, and the effort of burying Eldon brings some release. Eldon, too, can finally rest.
Themes
