Medicine Walk Sparknotes

Eldon's Starlight’s Journey of Healing and Redemption

Throughout history, storytelling has played a significant role in connecting individuals and bridging the gap between generations. The sharing of stories provides comfort to both the storyteller and the audience, as it has the power to emotionally heal, shape personal identity, and aid in coping with the obstacles of life. In the novel, Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese, the author explores the concept of storytelling as a means of healing and coming to terms with the past. The story follows the life of a teenage boy, Franklin and his dying father, Eldon, as they embark on a journey into the backcountry. Eldon Starlight has made many mistakes in the past and hurt many people in the process,

Eldon Starlight's struggles with addiction and past traumas have led him to make numerous mistakes that have caused harm to those around him. His severe alcoholism has prevented him from fulfilling his responsibilities as a parent, leading to Franklin feeling hurt and abandoned by his biological father, “You lied to me! was all it said in big childlike letters.” (Wagamese 134). Having been absent from Frank's childhood, Eldon promises to be present on his son's tenth birthday. This can be seen as an effort made by Eldon to redeem himself and repair their relationship. However, he undermines this effort by sneaking alcohol in a thermos despite his promise to remain sober. Franklin's statement suggests that he feels rejected, lost, and betrayed by Eldon's actions. This reveals that alcoholism and Eldon’s inability to keep his promises continues to be a barrier in their relationship as it reflects a deeper sense of mistrust and disappointment between father and son. Eldon continues to forget the pain of his past through alcohol, choosing to drown his grief one sip at a time instead of facing it. Unfortunately, this led to another significant mistake when he returned home drunk from work just as

Although the medicine walk could not cure his physical illness, it was able to alleviate his emotional suffering and bring closure to both Eldon and Franklin. When Eldon reaches the end of his journey, Frank's anger towards him transforms into understanding and acceptance, “‘War’s over, Eldon,’ he said finally. ‘I hope when you get to where you’re goin’ that she’s standing there waitin’ for you.’” (238). By honoring his father's last wish of burying him in the warrior tradition, Frank is symbolically telling Eldon that his pain is over, and he wishes him to find peace in the afterlife. He begins to comprehend the challenges that Eldon faced throughout his life and the kind of person he once was. In the end, Eldon was able to pass away peacefully, knowing that Frank had learned about his mother and that he had finally understood the reasoning behind Eldon’s decisions through the story of his life. As Frank returns to the farm, he is left with a feeling that he cannot fully understand. However, it seemed to mark the beginning of forgiveness for the man, who had consistently let him down, “‘Don’t know. It’s all jumbled up in there. Maybe I was s’posed to forgive him.’ ‘Do ya?’ the old man asked. ‘Don’t know that either. Kinda like a thousand-pound word to me right now.’” (243).