The Arena

Chapter 22

  1. Describe the origin and destination of Thomas’s trip with Red.
  2. What kind of teacher was Red Dillon?
  3. What kind of lessons did Red Dillon try to teach?
  4. Why wasn’t Tom able to win at Aztec?

Chapter 23

  1. Why did Red Dillon act like a drunken braggart?
  2. Why did Tom go along with Red? What kind of cut was he going to get?
  3. Red encouraged Tom to treat horses in a certain way. How did this kind of treatment conflict with Tom’s Ute background?

Chapter 24

  1. What sort of man was Red Dillon?
  2. Would you like to work for Red? Why or why not?

Chapter 25

  1. How were Meo and Tom alike?
  2. What was Meo trying to get Tom to do?
  3. What were Meo and Tom talking about when they were talking to the beans?

Chapter 26

  1. What could Tom do to lose a rodeo ride?
  2. Why was losing a ride hard for Tom?
  3. What does “hard on the spirit” mean?

Chapter 27-28

  1. How old is Tom at this point?
  2. At what point does Tom’s riding become something more than riding?
  3. What does it become for Tom?
  4. Why do you think this change occurs?
  5. Is the change largely the result of influences inside Tom or forces outside?
  6. The author provides a great deal of information to explain rodeos and bronc riding. Why do you think he does this? How do you as a reader react to all this information?
  7. What signs do we have that Tom is changing his attitude toward the world, himself and the past?
  8. What new things does he do that reflect these changes?
  9. Describe the relationship between Tom and Meo. How are they alike? & How are they different?
  10. What do you think is most important to each?

29-30

1. Tom’s clothing style throughout the novel provides a clue to his identity. Examine his clothing as an Indian, at the school, as a rider for red and finally as a “dude” rider. How does each style reflect what is happening in Tom’s life and how he feels about himself?

2. How does Tom ride/treat the horses?

3. How is this treatment symbolic of his own life?

5. Why does he treat them this way?

6. What changes take place in Red and Tom’s relationship?

7. What factors cause these changes?

31-34

1. Philosophical mood: Doc Wilson says, “Time is the rider that breaks youth.” How does this statement apply to Red? To Meo? To Tom?

2. How does Red react to Tom when in chapter 31? What do his feelings for him seem to be?

3. In turn, what do Tom’s feelings seem to be for Red?

4. At the end of this chapter, do you think Tom will find himself in Odessa? Why or why not?

5. Do you think Tom is finding himself? What signifies he is? Or… Why do you think he isn’t finding himself?

6. Describe the relationship between Meo and Tom.

7. How do you think Tom feels at the end of Chapter 32?

  1. How do you feel?
  1. How did Tom show he had grown up?
  1. Why didn’t Tom tell Meo he had been named the best first-year man on the circuit?

chapters 35, 36 & 37

  1. What did the statement, “Old Man Satan never had to win a title to prove how good he was” mean?
  2. Why was Tom compared to the devil?
  3. What do you think was driving Tom?
  4. Tom’s life was lonely. How has he changed since he was a small boy?
  5. What was Tom remembering when he saw blue?
  6. What signs of prejudice does Tom encounter in New York?
  7. What is the outcome of Tom’s ride at Madison Square Garden?

38, 39, & 40

  1. What hospital scenes spark Tom’s memories of the past and what does he remember?
  2. What is Tom’s attitude in the hospital and why?
  3. What do you think Tom’s dream represents, where he says in chpt. 38 that all his dreams end in the same way of falling, being trapped in the saddle, and falling but never landing.?
  4. Why is Tom determined to return to the rodeo arena?
  5. Why is Mary Redmond angry when Tom tries to walk without Dr. Ferguson’s approval?
  6. What did the surgeon mean when he said, “You still got gravel in your craw?”

41 & 42

  1. Why does Tom decide not to convalesce at Nyack?
  2. Tom “almost wished the supervisor, or someone, would stop him” when he was leaving the hospital. Why?
  3. Whom did Tom recognize?
  4. Why do you think Tom went back to the reservation town?
  5. What was coincidental about Tom’s getting a sheepherder job?
  6. How does Tom react on his return to Pagosa?
  7. Why does the clerk laugh at Tom’s remark that he once herded sheep near Bayfield?
  8. What is significant about the name Tom uses to introduce himself to Jim Woodward?

43 & 44

  1. What pattern is emerging, that is, how is Tom’s life turning out to be “circular?”
  2. Is Tom following Dr. Ferguson’s order for recovery?
  3. In what ways does the analogy Tom makes between time and an onion anticipate the remaining action of the book?
  4. What does Tom mean when he says that he killed Blue Elk, Benny Grayback, etc?
  5. Explain the significance of Tom’s dream about Blue Elk.