Sundown (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Joseph Mathews
- First Published: 1934
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The 1880’s to 1930
- Setting: Osage Indian country, near the Oklahoma-Kansas border
- Principal Characters: Challenge (Chal) Windzer, John Windzer, Chal’s mother, Cousin Ellen, Blo Daubeney, Running Elk, Jep Newberg, Charlie Fancher, Professor Granville
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Biracial people, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, West, U.S., Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Native Americans or American Indians, Oklahoma, Multiculturalism, World War I
- Locales: Oklahoma
The Novel
John Joseph Mathews’s Sundown traces the disintegration of Chal Windzer’s character. Chal is a mixed-blood Osage Indian torn by conflicts within Osage tribal values and confused by both the aggressiveness and the vices of the white Americans whom he encounters. The chronicle of Chal’s life ends with his decline into boastful, passive dreaming, womanizing, and alcoholism. Chal becomes a sad caricature of the manhood exalted in the ideals of the Osage’s warrior culture.
Chal’s life of declining faith and growing insecurities unfolds through...
[The entire page is 2463 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
