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Chapter 24
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fools Crow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Individual vs. the Collective Good
Colonialism and Western Expansion
Dreams, Visions, and Storytelling
War
Spirituality and the Natural World
Summary
Analysis
Fast Horse watches a team of oxen from a distance with Owl Child and his gang. The men quickly open fire on the whiskey runners, killing them all. As they loot the team of many-shots guns and whiskey, Fast Horse thinks they have gone too far—they have struck too close to the Lone Eaters’ camp and it is sure to bring trouble.
Fast Horse’s concern that they have struck too close to the Pikunis’ camp is evidence that he still somewhat cares about his people. Even if he has no desire to live among them, he does not want to be the reason why they are harmed.
Themes
Owl Child agrees that they have struck too close to camp. The seizers will surely know that he is to blame, and they will make Mountain Chief pay. They decide to burn the wagons and the bodies, and Fast Horse wonders if Owl Child is losing his nerve. He tells Fast Horse that he never wished the Pikunis any harm; he simply wants to make the Napikwans pay for stealing their lands. As Owl Child rides away, Fast Horse “can’t help but feel that Owl Child’s days are counted.”
Owl Child seems to care less about the people as a whole and more about Mountain Chief. Still, this is first time Owl Child has shown concern for the Pikuni people, and this makes him appear weak to Fast Horse.
Themes
