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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in McTeague, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed and Self-Destruction
Naturalism
Gender Stereotypes
Class Struggle
Isolation vs. Connection
Summary
Analysis
Every Sunday, McTeague, a dentist living in San Francisco, eats dinner at 2:00 p.m. before stopping at the saloon for a pitcher of beer. McTeague brings the beer back to his office where he drinks it while playing his concertina (a free-reed instrument similar to an accordion). Playing his concertina reminds McTeague of his childhood, which he spent in the Big Dipper Mine of Placer County where he hauled ore. McTeague’s father was a shift-boss at the mine and was known for working hard. However, whenever he drank alcohol, he became uncontrollable and abusive. Meanwhile, McTeague’s mother cooked for the men in the mines. She also worked hard and dreamed that McTeague would one day work a respectable job.
McTeague is a work of naturalism, a literary movement that rejected romanticized depictions of life in favor of a more detached, scientific look at human behavior. Naturalist writers examine how a character’s environment and upbringing influences their behavior. Already, McTeague’s taste for alcohol—which he drinks ritualistically every Sunday—links his behavior with his father’s, suggesting that he is subject to his biological makeup rather than social norms or morality.
Themes
McTeague’s father died due to his excessive consumption of alcohol when McTeague was still young. A few years later, McTeague’s mother met a traveling dentist and convinced him to take McTeague on as an apprentice. While McTeague was away studying, his mother died, leaving him just enough money to set up his dental practice in San Francisco. Over time, McTeague grew his business, despite his crude methodologies (McTeague is a rather unintelligent and brutish man, and he often extracts teeth with his fingers rather than forceps). Upon opening his dental practice, McTeague felt that he had risen as high as he possibly could in life. However, he does have one goal left to accomplish: next to his signboard, he wants to hang a “huge gilded tooth” to attract customers. However, at the moment, he cannot afford it.
Characters in naturalist works often have problems or issues that are out of their control, with alcoholism being a common example. Additionally, it is implied that the traveling dentist who trains McTeague is not a licensed dentist, which he is why he travels around for work. In other words, not only are McTeague’s methods brutish, he also never received proper training. Meanwhile, the fact that McTeague wants a golden tooth suggests that he equates success in life with material gain. And indeed, this is how society measures success, too. This introduces one of the book’s main focuses, which is how social conditions influence behavior and sometimes go against human instinct.
Themes
After McTeague finishes his beer, he looks out at the San Francisco streets. The streets are packed with tradespeople, animals, and citizens who are casually strolling about. While looking out his window, McTeague sees his only close friend, Marcus Schouler, entering the building. Marcus lives in a flat above McTeague, and the two became friends after McTeague helped Marcus with an ulcerated tooth free of charge. Marcus works as a veterinary assistant, though like McTeague, his training and skills are highly suspect.
The fact that Marcus is McTeague’s only close friend highlights McTeague’s limited social circle and possibly his need for companionship. Marcus’s role as a veterinary assistant, despite questionable training, mirrors McTeague’s own dubious professional skills, suggesting a parallel between the two characters in terms of their professional standing and societal perception.
Themes
Marcus stops in to see McTeague and tells him about Trina, Marcus’s cousin who recently lost one of her front teeth. Marcus speaks about Trina a lot, and McTeague suspects Marcus is infatuated with her. After discussing the accident, Marcus changes the topic and discusses politics. Marcus does not really know what he is talking about, but he has learned enough political phrases and talking points to impress McTeague, who is similarly uneducated. Blindly, McTeague agrees with whatever Marcus says. After ranting about politics for a few minutes, Marcus tells McTeague that he plans to send Trina over to see him tomorrow, so McTeague can help her with her missing tooth.
The shift to politics and Marcus’s superficial understanding of them, coupled with McTeague’s blind agreement, demonstrates their ignorance and their susceptibility to persuasive rhetoric. This reflects their shared lack of critical-thinking skills and their vulnerability to manipulation. The book seems to suggest that the political opinions of the lower class are simplistic messages that someone with more influence has drilled into their heads. Certainly, Marcus does not have any original thoughts of his own. Contemporary critics are critical of author Norris for this reason; he depicts immigrants and the working poor as inherently more stupid and animalistic, championing racist social Darwinist principles that were popular at the time of the book’s writing.
Themes
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