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
The horse seems to sense that the situation is serious; the kid doesn’t even have to hold the reins. The kid fills his lungs with the fragrance of the rain-soaked land and feels drained from the previous night. He can’t fit together the bits of history his father has given him and he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. It’s not clear if he can do what will have to be done.
Suddenly the mare snorts and rears. They’ve come around a long bend, and the kid wasn’t paying attention to the wind direction. In front of them, standing on its hind legs, is a boar grizzly, roaring at them. The kid seizes the shying horse’s reins. Eldon struggles to keep himself steady in the saddle. The kid ties the horse to a tree and unties his father. He explains to his father that they can’t run, so he’ll have to face the bear.
Frank is so caught up in his situation that his awareness of nature—normally so instinctual—briefly fails him. The appearance of the bear, whom Frank can’t avoid facing, suggests that his father’s death (and perhaps Eldon’s whole legacy) is just as unavoidable and intimidating for Frank.
Themes
When the kid approaches the bear, it’s swinging its head back and forth. He knows that if he shows the bear his back, it will know he’s afraid. He walks toward it instead, making himself look as big as possible, widening his eyes and growling. He sees that the bear is a juvenile, but it’s still dangerous. The bear bellows back and drops to the ground. The kid holds the bear’s gaze and continues moving slowly forward. At last, it breaks its position and slowly retreats, looking back over its shoulder. When it reaches the next bend in the trail, it runs.
Frank’s approach to the bear—remaining steadfast and refusing to show his fear—reflects his approach to life in general. He faces situations with determination and honesty. This suggests that Frank’s years of experiences in the wilderness have shaped his attitude about life in general. Similarly, his attitudes about nature most fully reveal who Frank is.
Themes
The kid releases his breath and suddenly the air is full of sounds again. He makes his way back to the trees and calms the spooked mare, then he eases his father onto his back. Eldon says he feels booze sick and is in pain, so the kid takes a glass jar of medicine out of Becka’s sack. Its contents smell fungal and rotted. His father makes a face as he swallows some. After a little, he says the booze sickness is fading. He just feels lightheaded.
Frank’s success in intimidating the bear suggests that he’ll also be successful in facing up to his fears about his father’s death. Becka’s unpleasant medicine helps soothe Eldon’s painful craving for booze. Becka had understood that Eldon should be as clear-minded as possible for the conversations ahead.
Themes
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He asks the kid how he knew what to do about the bear and the kid replies that out here, you do what you have to. Anyway, everything takes guts. His father watches awhile and then, lulled by the medicine, gives in to sleep. The kid touches his father’s cheek, which is less fevered now. He rests his hand there for a moment before rising to make camp.
Frank’s comment that everything takes guts suggests that, with Becka’s prompting, he’s at least come around to appreciating his father’s courage. His tender gesture toward Eldon confirms that.
Themes
In the late afternoon, his father wakes up. He’s calmer and no longer shaking. When the kid offers him hooch, he declines it. They watch the snapping fire for a while, then Eldon asks the kid to pour out the remaining hooch; he wants to go clean and get by on Becka’s juice as best he can. When Eldon takes another dose, he grows dreamy and asks for a story. But he falls asleep while the kid is still trying to think of one. As the sun sets, the kid quietly withdraws the booze bottles from the pack, walks to the creek, and stands on the bank holding them.
By throwing out his remaining alcohol, Eldon is making an effort to end his life better than he’s been living it. His willingness to do this shows how important Frank is to him, and also suggests that Becka’s plain words got through to Eldon in spite of his indignation. Eldon’s request for a story recalls his fondness for his mother’s stories and suggests that even though stories pain him, he still finds them worthwhile.
Themes
