Essay Questions

What is a saloon?

The term saloon refers to bars that used to exist in the western part of America. In those saloons, men could gather to drink, eat, play cards or other games and listen to live music. The presence of a saloon is important because in the past, a person’s social life usually revolved around the events that took place in a saloon.

What was a "sporting woman’’?

After Jake arrives in the town, he asks Gus about who the ‘’sporting woman’’ was in the town at that moment. While the term is no longer used today, in the past it was used to refer to prostitutes that would offer sexual services in exchange for money or goods. In the novel, the sporting woman was Lorena, the woman known as being the person who would offer sexual favors for money.

Why it was unusual for Lorena to wear pants?

When Lorena shows up, prepared for the long road to Montana, she shows up dressed in pants. When the men see her, they all are baffled to see a woman wearing pants. In the society and in the time when the novel took place, it was unheard of for a woman to wear pants. If a woman wore pants, it was considered as being a sign of rebelling against the authority of the man. For Lorena, the act of wearing pants is almost liberating because she lets the other men know that she doesn’t need someone to take care of her and that she is more than capable of taking care of herself.