Love Medicine

by

Louise Erdrich

Man in the Bar / Andy Character Analysis

June meets Andy at the bar in Williston, North Dakota, and he drives her out to a deserted country road. June and Andy begin to have sex, but he passes out drunk. June leaves him in his truck and walks out into a snow storm, later dying of exposure. While Andy did not kill June outright, he cares little about her beyond using her for sex, and he is certainly complicit in her death. Andy represents the general disrespect for women that is seen throughout the novel, and, more specifically, he embodies the oppressive force of the white man on Native American women.
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Man in the Bar / Andy Character Timeline in Love Medicine

The timeline below shows where the character Man in the Bar / Andy appears in Love Medicine. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The World’s Greatest Fisherman Part 1
Female Oppression and Strength  Theme Icon
...Easter Sunday in Williston, an oil town in southern North Dakota. June Kashpaw, a Chippewa woman, walks down the main avenue. She is “aged hard in every way” but attractive and... (full context)
Native Culture, Assimilation, and Racism Theme Icon
God and Religion  Theme Icon
Inside the bar, cartons of brightly color eggs are everywhere, and the man sits peeling the shell of a pink egg. June sits down, and the man remarks... (full context)
Female Oppression and Strength  Theme Icon
June tells the man that she doesn’t have much time until her bus, but he tells her to never... (full context)
Female Oppression and Strength  Theme Icon
Sitting at the bar with Andy, June suddenly feels “fragile.” She gets up and heads toward the bathroom, thinking that her... (full context)
Native Culture, Assimilation, and Racism Theme Icon
God and Religion  Theme Icon
Female Oppression and Strength  Theme Icon
Andy drives June out to a country road on the outskirts of town and parks. He... (full context)
Tribal Connection and Family Ties Theme Icon
Female Oppression and Strength  Theme Icon
Andy is deadweight on top of June, but his breathing is deep and easy. She begins... (full context)