# Little Jim — A Cycle of the West character guide

> Little Jim in A Cycle of the West by John G. Neihardt.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Jamie, the wistful Jamie

**First appearance:** 0012-the-song-of-hugh-glass

## Snapshot

A blue-eyed, femininely fair youth among bearded trappers, whose reckless charge up a Ree bluff binds him to old Hugh Glass as a son to a mothering father.

## Who they are

Little Jim, called Jamie or Petit Jacques, is the beardless boy whose changeful moods and thunder-squall rages mark him as much child as man in the rough company of trappers. When Hugh Glass carries him down from the lead-harrowed slope and spanks him into his first lesson about fear, the two become inseparable, and the old man earns the name 'Mother Hugh.' His presence gives Glass a late, aching love to fight for, and his later betrayal of that trust becomes the wound around which the whole cycle turns.

## Relationships

### [Hugh Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/characters/hugh_glass)

_friendship_

Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a protector and mentor to the younger man.

### [Jules Le Bon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/characters/jules_le_bon)

_rivalry_

Jules Le Bon and Little Jim are antagonists, with Le Bon's treachery and cruelty directly opposing Jim's innocence and survival.

### [Hugh Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/characters/hugh_glass)

_friendship_

Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a protector and mentor to the younger man.

### [Jules Le Bon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/characters/jules_le_bon)

_rivalry_

Jules Le Bon and Little Jim are antagonists, with Le Bon's treachery and cruelty directly opposing Jim's innocence and survival.

### [Hugh Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/characters/hugh_glass)

_friendship_

Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a protector and mentor to the younger man.

## In the story

### [The Song of Three Friends](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-three-friends)

The third friend, a wistful and younger man whose presence highlights the theme of friendship and loss.

### [IV: The Net Is Cast](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iv-the-net-is-cast)

Little Jim is mentioned as one of the men who accompanied Carpenter on the cache-lifting expedition.

### [The Song of Hugh Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-hugh-glass)

The young, remorseful member of the group who stays with Glass briefly before being forced to leave, highlighting the moral conflict.

### [The Song of Hugh Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/the-song-of-hugh-glass)

A fair-haired, reckless youth who is saved by Glass and becomes like a son to him. He later betrays Glass by stealing his essential survival tools, leaving him to die.

### [Graybeard and Goldhair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/i-graybeard-and-goldhair)

A fair-haired, impulsive youth, Jamie is both childish and brave. He forms a filial bond with Glass, tending to him after the bear attack but ultimately fleeing with Le Bon when Rees are spotted.

### [II: The Awakening](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/ii-the-awakening)

Implied to have been present at the camp and to have abandoned Hugh, taking his gun, blanket, and flint.

### [III: The Crawl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iii-the-crawl)

Referred to as 'Jamie' in Hugh's vengeful thoughts; the object of Hugh's desire for revenge.

### [IV: The Return of the Ghost](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/iv-the-return-of-the-ghost)

Mentioned in Glass's memory; his eyes haunt Glass as he passes the empty Ree lodges, and Glass imagines hearing his laugh at the fort.

### [V: Jamie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/chapters/v-jamie)

The 'wistful Jamie,' now blind and sick after being shot by his own stolen rifle, he confesses his guilt and longs for peace, finding it in Hugh's forgiveness.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/characters/little_jim
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_cycle_of_the_west_se/characters