The Indian Lawyer: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Indian Lawyer: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the lives of key figures navigating complex identities and relationships within a culturally rich narrative. At the center is Sylvester Yellow Calf, a Blackfeet Indian and successful lawyer, who grapples with his dual existence between Native American heritage and upper-middle-class white society. As he contemplates a congressional run, his affair with Patti Ann Harwood, the wife of a convict, leads to a blackmail scheme that forces him to confront his own vulnerabilities and the societal issues affecting his community.
Jack Harwood, the convict, presents a juxtaposition to Sylvester; despite his intelligence and a loving marriage, his paranoia and hatred towards Indians stem from his prison experiences. Meanwhile, Patti Ann, caught between loyalty to her husband and her burgeoning connection with Sylvester, embodies the emotional turmoil of their circumstances. Other characters, like Shelley Hatton Bowers, Sylvester's girlfriend, and Lena Old Horn, his mentor, further enrich the narrative by exploring themes of race, betrayal, and personal growth. As these intertwined lives unfold, the story highlights the complexities of cultural identity and the struggles against societal expectations.
The Indian Lawyer: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: James Welch
First published: 1990
Genre: Novel
Locale: Helena, Montana, and surrounding areas
Plot: Moral
Time: 1988
Sylvester Yellow Calf, a Blackfeet Indian who is a model of achievement. Formerly a college basketball star, he went on to study law at Stanford and then to become a well-regarded lawyer in a firm in Helena, Montana. Far more materially successful than the childhood friends he has left behind, but not entirely comfortable in upper-middle-class white society, he feels caught between two cultures. As the novel begins, he is being courted by national political organizers as a possible congressional candidate. He also serves on the state parole board, as one member of a group that decides which inmates will be paroled. Vaguely dissatisfied with his relationship with his girlfriend, he is easily seduced by Patti Ann Har-wood, an attractive young woman trying to help her husband, a convict who has just been denied parole. As the resulting love affair becomes the focus of a blackmail plot, Sylvester realizes for the first time how easy it is to make a disastrous, life-changing mistake. He discovers that the distance between himself and the convicts he evaluates is smaller than he thought. Fearing that his relationship with Patti Ann will haunt his political career, he withdraws from the congressional race. Disappointed because he thinks he has let down the Indian peoples of Montana, he realizes that he can still serve them. As a lawyer for Indian causes, he will combat the problems of poverty, racism, and alcoholism.
Jack Harwood, a convict in his mid-thirties who was sent to Montana State Prison for two armed robberies. No one in the prison system can understand why he is there. Smart, educated, and married to a lovely, loving woman, he seems to have no reason to commit crimes. Paranoid and fearful, he develops a hatred of Indians after he is stabbed by a tough Indian inmate. His belief that he must leave prison immediately or be killed drives him to concoct a blackmail scheme. He convinces his wife, Patti Ann, to sleep with Sylvester Yellow Calf, who is the only Indian on the parole board. Despite his outward callousness, Jack was once capable of great tenderness toward his wife. He ruined his chances of an early release from prison by escaping to be with her when she needed surgery.
Patti Ann Harwood, Jack's wife of nine years. Married to Jack for one and one-half years before he went to prison, she has remained faithful to him despite many opportunities to stray. She feels guilty for enjoying her affair with Sylvester. The happiness it brings her contrasts sharply with her sad personal history. Her four pregnancies ended in near-fatal miscarriages; ultimately, she required a hysterectomy, which was paid for with the money from one of Jack's robberies. Her relationship with Sylvester eventually offers the promise of a deep friendship.
Shelley Hatton Bowers, a financial analyst and single mother. She is a prominent senator's daughter and Sylvester Yellow Calf's girlfriend. Her relationship with Sylvester has been growing distant for some time. She is not entirely sure how she feels about the difference in their races and is further troubled because Sylvester will not or cannot be open and frank with her. She is cool and collected when Sylvester tells her of his unfaithfulness, her emotions betrayed only by her wet eyes. Their relationship remains in question at the end of the novel.
Lena Old Horn, Sylvester's high school guidance counselor, who first encouraged him to become a lawyer, the new kind of Indian warrior. Their relationship was more intimate than is usual for students and counselors, although they were never lovers. Sylvester seeks her counsel again as he considers running for Congress.
Buster Harrington, Sylvester's boss and political mentor. As the cap to his long career, Harrington hopes to convince his protégé to run for office. Deeply pragmatic, when he hears of Sylvester's entanglement with the Harwoods, he is not angry. Instead, he is merely disappointed that Sylvester did not come to him right away, so that he could have used his considerable power to end the scheme before it snowballed.
Woody Peters, a paroled convict who is Jack Harwood's eyes and ears outside the prison. A key actor in Jack's blackmail plot, he decides to drop Harwood's scheme in favor of one of his own, and he attempts to blackmail Sylvester himself.
Bobby Fitzgerald, another paroled convict, a partner of Woody Peters in the blackmail plot. Although equally as unscrupulous as Woody, Bobby is the less threatening of the two because he is less intelligent.