A Cycle of the West · Theme
Loss and Nostalgia
How A Cycle of the West develops Loss and Nostalgia.
A pervasive sense of mourning for a vanishing way of life runs through the text, as both Native Americans and the early trappers lament the passing of the wilderness, the buffalo herds, and the freedom of the frontier.
Where it surfaces
- To Hilda
The image of the forgotten, unreachable apple suggests a sense of loss and yearning for something that cannot be possessed.
- II: The Up-Stream Men
Moments of remembrance for fallen comrades and longing for home contrast with the adventurous spirit, highlighting the cost of frontier life.
- IV: The Net Is Cast
Fink's sentimental singing of love songs evokes a sense of lost innocence and nostalgia, both for his former self and for the past.
- VI: The Shooting of the Cup
Fink's Irish song about Nora and the men's reminiscences of home evoke a sense of loss and longing for the past.
- Vengeance
Talbeau is haunted by memories of Bill and the past, and the chapter is steeped in a sense of loss and longing for what cannot be recovered.
- IV: The Return of the Ghost
Glass is haunted by memories of Jamie and the past, as seen in the 'blue of Jamie’s eyes' and the 'chill wind sorrowed' through the frosted wood.
- V: Jamie
Hugh's search for Jamie is driven by a longing for the past and the 'golden time of Jamie's youth,' while Jamie's blindness and guilt symbolize irretrievable loss.
- The Song of the Indian Wars
Elder Sioux lament the loss of the old warrior days, saying 'the world was withered like a man grown old,' and the buffalo are vanishing.
- I: The Sowing of the Dragon
The chapter evokes a sense of loss for the 'ancestral pastures' and 'holy places of their dead' as seen by Native Americans, while also reflecting the soldiers' nostalgia for a world that 'had gotten strange.'
- II: Red Cloud
Spotted Tail's speech and the lament of the Brulé women reflect a deep sense of inevitable loss and the passing of the old ways.
- V: Rubbed Out
The aftermath of the battle evokes a profound sense of loss, with the winter storm mourning the slain and the barren hill serving as a stark memorial to the fallen.
- VI: The Wagon Boxes
The soldiers' longing for home and the 'good old days' of the bison herds reflects a deep sense of loss and the vanishing frontier.
- VIII: The Yellow God
The chapter mourns the passing of the old Sioux way of life, the buffalo, and the 'braver days,' as elders recall the giants of the past and the world withers.
- IX: The Village of Crazy Horse
The chapter is steeped in loss—the destruction of homes, the death of children, and the mourning of the survivors, evoking a deep sense of nostalgia for a way of life under threat.
- X: The Sun Dance
The lament for a 'warrior race' and the contrast with 'beggar chiefs' evoke a sense of loss for a vanishing way of life.
- The Seventh Marches
Veterans recall past campaigns with a mix of pride and melancholy, and the music of 'The Girl I Left Behind Me' evokes a sense of irretrievable loss.
- XII: High Noon on the Little Horn
The chapter contrasts the innocence of Hohay's play with the brutal reality of war, and the troopers' longing for water and home underscores the loss of life and innocence.
- XIII: The Twilight
The chapter is saturated with the sense of an irreparable loss—'the twilight of irreparable wrong'—and the vanishing of a glorious past.
- XIV: The Death of Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse's deep sadness and longing for the old free days of buffalo hunting and tribal life.
