Lonesome Dove

By

Larry McMurty

Facts

• Written in 1986 by Larry Mcmutry • Won the Pulitzer Prize• Originally developed the tale in 1972 for a

feature film entitled The Streets of Laredo (a title later used for the sequel)

• Ten years later McMurtry resurrected the screenplay as a full-length novel, which became a bestseller

Tragic Hero

Aristotle: “A man cannot become a hero

until he can see the root of his own downfall.”

What is a tragic hero?

• According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero posses a defect, or tragic flaw, that brings about or contributes to his or her downfall.

What is a tragic hero?

• The flaw maybe poor judgment, pride, weakness, or an excess of an admirable quality.

• The tragic hero recognizes his flaw and its consequences, but only after it is too late to change the course of events.

Tragic Heroes are:

• Responsible for their own fate• Endowed with a tragic flaw know as

HAMARTIA• Doomed to make a serious error in

judgment• Realize they have made an irreversible

mistake• Face and meet a tragic death with honor

Symbols

• The Town of Lonesome Dove • The Kiowa Mare• Rivers and Borders

Themes

• Self-Reliance• Justice• Loyalty

• Friendship• Death• The American

Dream

Characters - Woodrow F. Call :• Part owner of the Hat Creek Cattle

Company along with Augustus McCrae• Hardest worker of the two• A former Texas Ranger and often called the

Captain. • He is a taciturn man who believes in

completing his duties above all else, living an ethical life, and responsibly caring for those whom he employs.

• He lives in denial about what’s really important and often hurts those for whom he cares the most.

Woodrow F. Call – played by Tommy Lee Jones

Characters - Augustus McCrae

• Also a former Texas Ranger • Won a merit award from the Governor of Texas

for his courage under fire• He is the more sensitive and understanding of

the two partners, although as Call says, he’s also the laziest.

• He has a deep understanding of what makes life work, but often makes mistakes that directly impact on people he least wants to hurt.

Augustus McCrae “Gus”

Played by Robert Duvall

Other Main Characters

• On your character sheet place a star by the following characters

• You will meet A LOT of characters but these are some of the MAIN ONES.

Main Characters

• Lorena Wood• Jake Spoon• Clara Allen• Newt Dobbs

• Pea Eye Parker

• July Johnson• Josh Deets

Attendance

• We will be watching this contemporary film over the next few weeks.

• It will be up to you catch up what you missed if you are absent.

Important dates

Write these on your Wild West sheet!

Webquest – May 16th Character list – May 18th

Quotes – May 18th

Major Test – May 22nd