Previous
Bolivar
Joe Boot is the son of Elmira and Dee Boot. Clearly unwanted and unloved by his mother, he quickly strikes up a friendship with his stepfather, July Johnson, after July marries Elmira. Joe wants to be a cowboy and spends most of his free time practicing his roping skills. Elmira makes July take Joe with him to Texas in search of Jake Spoon. It’s there that Joe dies at the hands of Blue Duck.
Joe Boot Quotes in Lonesome Dove
The Lonesome Dove quotes below are all either spoken by Joe Boot or refer to Joe Boot . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 58 Quotes
July didn’t want to see it. He knew he had to, but he didn’t want to.
He felt a terrible need to turn things back, all the way back to the time when he and Roscoe and Joe and Elmira had all been in Arkansas. He knew it could never be. Something had happened which he would never be free of. He had even lost the chance to stay and die with his people, though Captain McCrae had offered him that chance. “I’d feel better in my mind if you’d stay with your part,” he had said.
He had not stayed, but when he had gone, he hadn’t fought, either. He had done nothing but ride twice over the same stretch of prairie, while death had come to both camps.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Lonesome Dove LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Joe Boot Character Timeline in Lonesome Dove
The timeline below shows where the character Joe Boot appears in Lonesome Dove. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 26
...He recently married a woman named Elmira and, although he’s become friends with her son, Joe Boot, his wife spends most of her time complaining about July’s failures. He got jaundice...
(full context)
Chapter 27
July, Elmira, and Joe live in a little, dirt-floored cabin outside of town. When July gets home, Joe has...
(full context)
...her freedom. So, she changes her tune, encouraging him to go and to take little Joe, who she says needs to learn something about the world.
(full context)
Chapter 28
Before sunrise the next morning, July and Joe are ready to go. Elmira cooks them a breakfast that July struggles to eat thanks...
(full context)
Chapter 36
...him, and she’s glad to have been relieved, finally, of the burden of her son Joe. Early one morning, she hears a fight break out between two men. When the sun...
(full context)
Chapter 38
When they set out, Joe is excited and curious. July barely answers his questions. He’s worried about leaving Elmira behind,...
(full context)
Chapter 50
According to their plan, July and Joe stop in Fort Worth to see if anyone has news of Jake Spoon and so...
(full context)
Much to July’s surprise, Joe guesses about Elmira’s disappearance. His mother, he says, doesn’t like to stay in one place...
(full context)
Chapter 51
The next morning, as July and Joe eat their breakfast, they hear cattle on the move. They mount their horses and discover...
(full context)
...Wilbarger for his help, he turns his horse east. His actions make no sense to Joe, who wishes he’d taken Wilbarger up on his offer.
(full context)
Chapter 52
...then July Johnson steps out of the darkness while both bandits are reloading. He and Joe had camped nearby, and he came over to investigate after the shooting started. He places...
(full context)
...Fort Worth. They break camp, mount the horses, and start riding west with Roscoe and Joe bringing up the rear. Roscoe regrets leaving Janey behind—she refused to come out, even after...
(full context)
...the horses to rest at a livery stable where the kindly owner feeds Janey and Joe some breakfast. She also offers to mend Roscoe’s clothes, but he decides to just buy...
(full context)
Chapter 56
...vicinity of the buffalo gun, then subsequently runs into none other than July Johnson, Roscoe, Joe, and Janey.
(full context)
...on going with Augustus. Near the river, they find a spot where Roscoe, Janey, and Joe can take shelter. Augustus doesn’t really want an untested man on such a risky mission...
(full context)
Chapter 57
...realizes that Blue Duck has already fled, he urges July to get back to Roscoe, Joe, and Janey who are defenseless against the dangerous and bloodthirsty outlaw. He promises to follow...
(full context)
Chapter 58
Roscoe, Joe, and Janey wait anxiously in the canyon. They try to rest, but Roscoe can’t settle...
(full context)
An hour later, July finds Joe, Janey, and Roscoe dead. Roscoe has been castrated. July has never felt so inadequate. Augustus...
(full context)
Chapter 65
...way his life will ever go back to normal—he should at least tell her about Joe. He keeps going. Eventually, he runs into a small cattle drive. He buys a horse...
(full context)
Chapter 69
...the post office and sends a note home to Peach, telling her about Roscoe’s and Joe’s deaths and adding that the town should choose a new sheriff. Amazingly, when July asks,...
(full context)
...a place, Jennie says, she just up and leaves. As for her cold treatment toward Joe, Jennie doesn’t think she should have had a baby in the first place.
(full context)
Chapter 80
July tells Elmira about Joe’s death and about how healthy their baby, Martin, is in Clara’s care. Slowly, he realizes...
(full context)
