How are the men and women in this novel different? On page , Chess thinks about being measured by men. The influence of the media and pop culture on the lives of Indians is a theme in the book. How do the references to Indian culture and White culture interact in this story? Why do you think the Spokane Reservation community resents Coyote Springs? Often a point is made that Thomas is the lead singer. Even at the end of a missing persons report, a New York cop identifies Thomas as the lead singer.
What is the meaning of the horses screaming? Why do they scream when they do? Why does Robert Johnson seek out Big Mom? What kind of music does she teach? The guitar betrays Victor in New York. Were you surprised by what happened at the recording studio and how the characters responded? Why is Chess the one who takes charge after Victor and Junior disappear into the city?
Was it really a dream? Why is Wright more morally conflicted than Sheridan? Junior, it turns out, dropped out of college after a relationship with a white girl that led to a pregnancy and her decision to have an abortion.
The issue of White-Indian relationships keeps surfacing throughout the novel. How has this failed relationship affected Junior? How did that event in the book make you feel? Later, we learn that the guitar found Victor and promised him he could be whatever he wanted to be if he gave up what he loves most. In the next scene, Junior hears Victor whisper his name. What has Victor traded his best friend for? At the same time, Chess talks to Thomas and, without knowing it, to Checkers about leaving.
Why does she want to leave? What does she hope to find? Toward the end of the novel, we learn how Robert Johnson got his guitar — that he traded it for all the freedom he had and the horses screamed. Why does Thomas respond the way he does to the song that Betty and Veronica send him? Why is it so important for Chess, Thomas, and Checkers to leave the reservation? Are they turning their back on their own people? What did you think of the final paragraphs, as the horses run alongside the van?
What, in the end, is the significance of the title? What connection does the blues have to reservation life? Overall, what did think of this novel? The band gains popularity and begins to play shows. At a concert on a nearby reservation, they meet Flathead Indian sisters named Chess and Checkers.
The sisters join the band as singers, and Thomas and Chess start a relationship. For a while, two white women, named Betty and Veronica , also sing in the band. One day, two record executives arrive on the reservation and express interest in signing Coyote Springs to their label. The executives are named Sheridan and Wright , and they appear to be the same Sheridan and Wright who, as the US generals, were responsible for the murder of many Indians a hundred years ago.
Sheridan and Wright bring the band to New York but decide not to give them a record deal. Instead, they sign Betty and Veronica, whom they plan to dress in traditional Indian clothing and who will play Indian-influenced music.
They want to take advantage of Indian culture without giving the Indians anything in return. Defeated, Coyote Springs returns to the reservation where Junior commits suicide. Thomas, Chess, and Checkers leave their homes to start a new life off the reservation. Victor stays behind and becomes the town drunk. Plot Summary. Armstrong The-man-who-was-probably-Lakota. All Symbols Guitars Horses. LitCharts Teacher Editions.
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