Walk Me to the Distance: Analysis of Major Characters
"Walk Me to the Distance" is a narrative that delves into the complexities of its major characters, particularly focusing on David Larson, a young Vietnam veteran grappling with his sense of purpose. After relocating to Wyoming, Larson begins to redefine his understanding of family and honor, navigating the challenges that come with this exploration. The character of Chloe Sixbury, an elderly rancher with traditional frontier values, provides a stark contrast to Larson's journey, as she cares for her mentally impaired son, Patrick, whose actions lead to pivotal and tragic events in the story.
Patrick's character serves as a catalyst for conflict, culminating in his lynching by locals, which highlights themes of justice and morality. Other key figures include Howard Dale, a veterinarian who shares a bond with Larson through education, and Jill, Larson's sister, whose relationship with him evolves throughout the narrative. The story is further complicated by the presence of Butch, a young girl abandoned by her family, who becomes intertwined with both Larson and Chloe’s lives. The interactions among these characters reveal deep emotional struggles and societal challenges, offering a poignant exploration of love, duty, and the search for belonging in a changing world. Through these interconnected lives, the narrative invites readers to reflect on the nature of humanity and the bonds that define us.
Walk Me to the Distance: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Percival L. Everett
First published: 1985
Genre: Novel
Locale: Savannah, Georgia, and Slut's Hole, Wyoming
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: The Vietnam War era
David Larson, the protagonist, an aimless young Vietnam veteran in search of a purpose in life. Leaving his native South, he settles in Wyoming, where he discovers a sense of place and redefines the concept of family. He comes to see preservation of the family as a matter of honor, of dignity, of duty, and, most painfully, of love.
Chloe Sixbury, an elderly female rancher with a prosthetic leg. She lives alone with her retarded son, thirty sheep, and some chickens. She embodies traditional frontier values.
Patrick Sixbury, Chloe's mentally impaired son, whom she says “ain't a part of me.” Larson recognizes Patrick's human qualities—his “passion,” however “unfortunate” and “pitiful”—only after he catches Patrick copulating with a ewe. Patrick's abduction of Butch precipitates the major crisis of the novel. He is lynched by several of the town's men, who believe he molested Butch.
Howard Dale, a veterinarian who becomes Larson's closest male companion partially because they have the shared experience of a college education. Although he is a Wyoming native, his medical training makes it impossible for him automatically to accept the code of Western justice.
Jill, David's sister, who initially rejects him after her marriage to Rodney, an antiwar activist. She later courts him to curry favor with the members of a support group that she and her husband have founded, Action for Vets.
Butch, a seven-year-old Eurasian girl abandoned by her Vietnamese family at the highway rest area where Larson works. She is consigned to his care because he was wearing his fatigue jacket when she was found and admitted to fighting in the war. She is “adopted” by Sixbury and Larson and becomes the victim of rape and the catalyst for murder.
Joshua Lowe, a local rancher who functions as Larson's surrogate father. As a fellow participant in Patrick's lynching, Lowe is regarded by Larson as a “solid, decent man with whom he had committed a premeditated murder.”
The Reverend Damon Zacks, a traveling preacher who makes three stops at the highway rest area where Larson works, each time assuring the protagonist that he can live on the edge and not fall off.
Olivia, a twenty-year-old prostitute whose services Larson and Sixbury purchase on Patrick's behalf. Although the experiment does not work, Larson responds to what he sees as Olivia's childlike qualities. He buys her a doll and, despite all evidence to the contrary, persists for a time in regarding her as someone misplaced in her line of work. Olivia serves to spark certain latent, protective feelings in Larson, emotions that find their full flowering in his relationship with Sixbury and Butch.
Katy Stinson, a pretty young woman Larson meets on his flight east to visit his sister after Patrick's lynching. She becomes the focus of Larson's yearnings for a stable love life.