GHBC III

Grim's Hall Book Club: Bendigo Shafter, Chapters 4-13

Several things happen in this part of the book:

1) The town is set upon by raiders, who are wiped out by the citizen's militia. Webb irritates many of the citizens with his part in it, which is to end negotiations and 'open the ball.' Bendigo Shafter believes Webb saved them by doing so, however: the raiders had come with evil intent, and therefore the 'negotiations' were only a fraud. Webb's quick action had, Shafter says, thrown the raiders off balance and allowed the victory that followed.

2) The town assists some Mormons, who are attempting to cross very difficult terrain with hand-carts. These Mormon pioneers represent an interesting moment in American history; L'amour mostly includes them, I think, in order to tell an interesting story that is not well known by most Americans.

Yet it's also a moral decision point -- will the small society of the town try to be kind to strangers and offer hospitality to those in need, even though they have little themselves? Will they undertake physical dangers in order to help those who need help? There are consequences to the decision.

3) The introduction of Drake Morrell, the gambler, and his charge. Bendigo takes a particular attitude toward him: even though he knows of his past, he purposefully sets what he knows aside and insists on judging the man according to his present behavior. Yet he also warns Morrell about Webb, in order to prevent a conflict between them.

What do you think about the attitude that L'amour suggests here? How much does a man's past matter? Is his character more important? His present actions?

4) The issue of how a young man ought to think about marriage. Ben doesn't feel ready to marry, and the one young lady who seems ready to marry he doesn't think is right for him. Yet he doesn't seem to take a negative attitude towards her: he regards her as dangerous to himself ("a trap"), but in every case he attempts to avoid that danger without rudeness or by causing her anger. He's just... careful.

Is that enough? Does he behave towards the (obviously interested) young lady in the right way? If not, what might he have done better?

5) Throughout, his education continues and he begins to think about what he wants to do with his life. He settles on a first step: a cattle drive. He begins to prepare for that, and we'll have more to discuss later on that subject.

Thoughts?