Lonesome Dove Essay Questions

Discuss the implication of Call's return to Lonesome Dove.

Although Call initiated the cattle drive in the first place, he is the one to return to Lonesome Dove at the end of the novel. The image of pristine and unsettled land in Montana initially appealed to Call for various reasons. Firstly, the rapidly changing American nation and landscape pointed in the direction of settler expansion. Call desires to be among the first to settle Montana before the bankers and lawyers arrive. Secondly, Call feels restless and obsolete in his retirement. The name "Lonesome Dove" itself spells out Call's feelings during the now peaceful era. As a workaholic and purpose-driven man, Call needs danger to respond to in order to feel any sense of fulfillment. The cattle drive is meant to replace Call's duty as a former Ranger.

Thus when Call returns to Lonesome Dove at the end of the novel, he ends up right back where he started. Worse than that, Augustus's death (as well as all the other deaths that occur on the trail) drains Call of any sense of purpose or interest in his work.

Why can't Call claim Newt as his son?

After everything—playing a role in Newt's upbringing, witnessing Newt develop as a cowhand and horse trainer, and trusting the young man to run the new Montana ranch—Call still cannot bring himself to verbally claim Newt as his son. In Chapter 100, Call describes how Newt is a living reminder of his hypocrisy. Despite always demanding honesty from the men under his command, Call himself was dishonest about his own son. Shame physically and mentally impacts Call.

Although Call does not verbally name Newt as his son, he does gift Newt his prized mare, gun, and a pocket watch that belonged to his father. This—coupled with leaving Newt responsible for the ranch—is as close to filial acknowledgment as Call is capable of. Pea Eye even points out that Call "acts like [Newt's] kin." But Call was always reticent (as Augustus frequently pointed out), and he is ultimately unable to verbally bridge the distance between himself and his son.

What does the novel's narrative style achieve?

Lonesome Dove's sprawling narrative follows a large ensemble of characters. The length and scale classify the book as an epic novel, further bolstered by the overall cultural significance of the work and the way McMurtry relies on the mythology of the American frontier. McMurtry is known for writing well-developed characters, and is particularly lauded for his portrayal of women. By including the perspectives of so many different characters, McMurtry accurately portrays a full range of human lives. For example, the women in Lonesome Dove have different personalities, circumstances, and outlooks on life. Whereas Lorena closes herself off from others due to the trauma of her past, Clara welcomes people into her home and her life, giving them the space to undergo personal transformations while helping Clara run her business. Elmira, on the other hand, uses and discards people in order to get what she wants. Ultimately, McMurtry's use of a third-person omniscient narrator expands the scope of the novel.

Discuss McMurtry's portrayal of Native American and African American characters.

Lonesome Dove portrays American Indians as villains or as struggling survivors, and largely adheres to colonial associations between Native people and savagery. The main antagonist is a Comanche man named Blue Duck who is known for violence, kidnapping, and horse theft. He abducts Lorena and sells her to the men under his command, who include both white and Native men. At other points in the novel, various members of the outfit interact with American Indians. These encounters range from friendly to hostile. Both Deets and Augustus die from such encounters. Those who read Lonesome Dove with a historically informed perspective about the violence of colonization might critique Call's unwavering certainty that he, the other Rangers, and American society as a whole are doing right by opposing Native people.

African American characters in Lonesome Dove hold positions of power, but they also face rampant racism. Joshua Deets is one such character. A former Texas Ranger, he stayed working at the Hat Creek Cattle Company. Of everyone in the outfit, Call feels the most affinity with Deets due to the latter's calm, observant, and hard-working personality. The other men in the company highly respect Deets and enjoy his presence. However, this is more due to Deets as an individual rather than respect for Black people in general. Some of the men on the cattle drive pointedly avoid talking to Deets because of his race. The only other Black character in Lonesome Dove is Frog Lip, an outlaw who travels with the Suggs brothers. Ed Suggs shoots Frog Lip when he is mortally wounded in a shootout.

What role does nostalgia play in the novel?

The rapidly shifting American culture and landscape cause some of the characters (particularly Call) to feel out of place. Both Call and Augustus are nostalgic for the days when they served as Texas Rangers. Augustus demonstrates his desire for acknowledgement and heroic reverence when he breaks the nose of an insolent bartender (Chapter 42). Call, on the other hand, cannot function without danger to give him a sense of purpose in life. While McMurtry set out to write a novel that deromanticized the American cowboy era, many readers felt that he instead evoked an intense nostalgia for the culture of the Old West.