Summary
Medicine Walk opens with “the kid” and “the old man,” where the kid takes his mare out of the barn for a journey. The old man milks the cow and suggests that the kid, later revealed to be Franklin Starlight, get himself some breakfast. The kid (Starlight) says that he has eaten already, and so the old man holds out a wad of a few bills to the kid, which Frank hesitantly takes. Unspoken between the two is that Franklin Starlight must visit his father, in town. The old man is not Frank’s father, but seems to be his caregiver. The old man merely says to Frank “He’s gonna be sick. You know that, don’tcha?” The unmarked pronoun “he” refers to Frank’s father.
Frank knows his father will be sick because sickness is normal for his father, and the old man warns Frank that visiting won’t be pretty. We don't yet know why exactly Frank’s dad is always sick. Frank replies that visiting is never pretty, but says “still, he’s my dad.” The old man dismisses this reference to Franklin’s relationship with his father, instead just warning Franklin to be careful because Frank’s father lies when he’s sick. Despite the old man’s suggestion that Frank not go, Frank insists that he go visit his father because of the familial connection the two share.
Frank sets out on the journey to his father, riding the mare. Wagamese includes a description of both the scenery that surrounds Frank and a physical description of Frank himself. Frank travels over the rugged beauty of British Columbia, where “the dark green fir leaned to a sullen greyness” and the bursts of color from the leaves strike Franklin like lightning bugs in a field. Frank smokes as he rides, and closes his eyes in attempt to hear the movement of animals in the bush. Frank is described as being big for his age, raw-boned and angular. While others read Frank as moody and pensive, Frank is neither of these descriptors. Rather, Frank appreciates being alone, the solitude of riding in the mountains, and has never experienced being alone as loneliness.
Chapter 2 begins with Franklin arriving in the town where his father resides, the town being an ugly thing that “lay spread out along the edges of the river like a bruise.” The kids from Parson’s Gap, the town, provoke Frank and throw stones at him. Frank keeps his head down and continues to ride. The town is filled with dilapidated houses, and Frank arrives at a farmhouse that belongs to friends of the old man, a family of mixed white and Indigenous descent. It is here that Frank leaves his horse and ventures off to find his father.
The evening is purple around Frank, and as he walks further into town he rolls a smoke. Franklin notices the working men of the town standing in their yards, drinking beer and smoking, but they pay Franklin no mind because of his “size” and “tattered look.” Frank arrives at the main street and then walks further on to the seedier part of town, where the bars are ablaze with laughter, smoke, and grime. Frank passes these, too, eventually arriving at a row of dim, unwelcoming rooming houses. It is here that Frank asks a nearby intoxicated woman if she knows his father, Eldon Starlight. The woman replies by asking Frank for a smoke instead of directly responding to his question, and so Frank proceeds to roll her a cigarette. The woman, a prostitute, puts her hand over Frank’s hand and eyes him suggestively. Frank once again inquires about his father. The woman replies that Frank’s father is probably passed out drunk outside of the bar, but asks if Frank would like to spend time with her instead. Frank declines and thanks the woman, to which she says “Suit yourself, Indian.”
Chapter 3 begins with Frank approaching a leaning, dilapidated rooming house where his father is said to be. There are men sitting on the front porch of the house, but Frank chooses to ignore them. Frank tries the door, which is locked, and turns to face the men. The first asks Frank “who the hell are you?” and spits tobacco juice at Frank’s feet. Frank tells the men that he is Eldon Starlight’s son, and the men joke about Eldon not even being aware he had a son. The men offer Frank a drink, which Frank declines. After passing around a jug of wine amongst themselves, one of the men asks Frank what brings him to the house. Frank replies “I’m aiming to see him,” and the men warn Frank that his father “isn’t right.” Frank assures the men he knows, and so the men unlock the door to the house and let Frank inside. One of the men farts loudly as the door closes behind Frank, and the men break out in laughter.
The interior of the house is drab and murky, with threadbare carpets and spiderwebs. The house is primarily a men’s boarding house, with “men sounds coming from every room.” Cursing, belches, raised voices directed at women. Frank comes to his father’s room. The door is shut, but murmurs seep through the door, along with the clink of a bottle on the floor. Frank knocks and opens the door to find a barren room, save Frank’s father in bed with a woman against his chest. The room is strewn with empty bottles and fast-food boxes, scattered clothing, hardware, a disassembled bicycle, and a crusted hot plate.
Franklin’s father, Eldon, does not recognize Frank. Frank introduces himself, and his father says “Got big, didn’t ya?” Eldon has become decrepit with alcohol and age, but his eyes still burn through the slack skin on his face. Eldon offers Frank a drink, which Frank declines, and a smoke, which Frank also declines in favor of Frank’s own hand-rolled cigarettes. Eldon introduces Frank to Deirdre, the prostitute Eldon is in bed with, and Eldon offers Frank a “turn” with her as well. Frank declines. Frank asks why Eldon summoned him. Eldon sips his bottle, and informs Frank that he has an agenda, that the two of them need to talk, but it shouldn’t be in the boarding house. Eldon offers to take Frank out to eat, to which Frank replies “guess you’re doing the father thing now.” Eldon replies that it’s really just a matter of being hungry, and exits the room. Frank looks back into the room, and then follows his father out.
Analysis
These first three chapters establish the nature of the relationships Frank holds with the old man and Frank's father. Chapter 1 expresses the sense of duty Frank feels towards his biological father, and expresses the normalcy of his father’s addiction. The effect of having the unmarked pronoun “he,” where Eldon’s name goes unspoken, means that both the old man and the kid know only one “he” who could be sick—Eldon, Frank’s father. The way Frank responds reveals his sense of duty towards his father: Frank must make the journey because Eldon is his father, sick or not.
This first chapter is important to characterizing Frank and to characterizing Frank’s perception of his father, where Frank privileges Eldon’s relationality over Eldon’s expected behavior. Duty calls, and so Frank must answer. Equally important is Wagamese’s omission of names; Frank is “the kid” in the first chapter, and the old man is just “the old man.” It is only through characters’ interactions and the stories they tell, later on in the novel, that readers learn names and their significance. The only necessary expository context in this first chapter is the nature of the relationships the characters share, not the names of the characters.
As Frank rides out of the bush into town, Wagamese reveals the importance of land in the novel through the vivid description of the scenery. There is a simile where the bursts of color from the leaves are compared to lightning bugs in the darkness. The simile likens flora to fauna, nature to nature, and so readers understand the beauty that Frank sees in the land and its creatures.
The dilapidated houses of the town can be understood as a symbol of Frank’s relationship with his father, Eldon. Frank does not like the town, much as he dislikes his troubled connection to his alcoholic father. To Frank, the town is decrepit and ugly; so, too, is Frank’s relationship with Eldon. Frank wishes to leave the town as soon as he arrives.
Chapter 2 is important in clarifying setting and, by extension, characterizing Eldon. In this town, Frank is subject to a kind of violent racialization when the prostitute says “Suit yourself, Indian” after Frank turns her down. It is a difficult place, a site in which the townspeople reject Frank for his being Indigenous. Frank’s father is the type of man who hangs around drunks and prostitutes, and this rough setting is the context in which Frank and Eldon reunite.
The imagery of the scattered boxes and broken items in Eldon’s room further articulates Eldon’s dysfunction. Eldon does not immediately recognize Frank, and this testifies to their distance and Eldon’s absence in the relationship. Eldon is clearly not prepared to have Frank visit him, despite Eldon asking Frank to do so. What is more, Chapter 3 expresses a kind of role-reversal characteristic in relationships between alcoholics and their children, wherein Eldon inappropriately offers his 16-year-old son booze, cigarettes, and a prostitute, while Frank has to take his father out to lunch.
