The Worst Hard Time

The Worst Hard Time

by

Timothy Egan

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Doctor George “Doc” Waller Dawson Character Analysis

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Doctor George “Doc” Waller Dawson Character Timeline in The Worst Hard Time

The timeline below shows where the character Doctor George “Doc” Waller Dawson appears in The Worst Hard Time. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: The Wanderer
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
Anglo Culture and Racism Theme Icon
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
...tower there was a two-story sanitarium—the only hospital for hundreds of miles. On one side, Dr. George Waller Dawson , nicknamed “Doc,” had a medical practice. His wife, Willie Catherine, a woman known for... (full context)
Chapter 3: Creating Dalhart
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
Anglo Culture and Racism Theme Icon
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
Meanwhile, Doc Dawson bought two more sections of land and thought about planting cotton, which paid more than... (full context)
Chapter 5: Last of the Great Plowup
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
...John McCarty did not think that Dalhart would be affected by the troubles of 1929. Doc Dawson , on the other hand, was worried about the money he had invested in farmland... (full context)
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
...with “the literary society, the country club, and dinner parties.” At the beginning of 1930, Doc Dawson used the last of his savings to buy property in town. He was worried about... (full context)
Chapter 6: First Wave
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
Doc Dawson had put money into First National and was worried about his future. He had no... (full context)
Chapter 14: Showdown in Dalhart
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
...mad due to panic over the dust. He suggested that she find some relief at Doc Dawson ’s Dalhart Haven, where Dawson ran a soup kitchen. (full context)
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
People were hungry, however, and they got fed in Doc Dawson ’s kitchen, which he ran out of his sanitarium building. On some days, two hundred... (full context)
Chapter 17: A Call to Arms
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
...on a declaration the editor had drawn up. Another was Texas governor James V. Allred. Doc Dawson was the fourth. (full context)
Chapter 20: The Saddest Land
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
...wreckage of the plains. Hugh Bennett and cowboys on the XIT had offered similar messages. Doc Dawson ’s youngest son, John, shared their view. He left Dalhart in 1929 to practice law... (full context)
Chapter 23: The Last Men
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
Doc Dawson took some time away from the soup kitchen to try to farm one last time.... (full context)
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
...in the front of his house grew into “a blanket of green by early July.” Doc Dawson ’s withered section finally grew healthy corn. On Andy James’ ranch, there was “ankle-high carpet.”... (full context)
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
...later, smothering the garden and invading the White family home. Then they moved on to Doc Dawson ’s farm, chewing the corn down to thin stalks. They even tried to consume polished... (full context)
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
For Doc Dawson , Dalhart was a lonely place in his last years. He missed Dick Coon, John... (full context)