Walter Dean Myers’s 1999 novel, The Journal of Joshua Loper: A Black Cowboy, illustrates how powerful and intimate indirect descriptions can be. In the story, Joshua Loper lives with his mother on a Mr. Muhlen’s ranch in Texas. Joshua communicates his feelings and observations through journal entries over the course of the first cattle drive he works from Texas to Kansas in 1871. New to the trail, Joshua joins the experienced Captain Hunter and other cowboys such as Isaiah and Chubb. Joshua’s indirect descriptions fit with the image of the 19th century American cowboy as a stoic man among men. Joshua’s words also align with the epistolary style of the novel. In his journal, Joshua writes his private thoughts for himself. As he does not write for an audience, Joshua does not see the need to over explain himself for others to easily understand. Instead, Joshua writes in a way that assumes understanding. He records events and observations in a way that implies his feelings. He uses idioms that other people may not recognize, and he uses similes that reflect his personal perspective. Joshua’s indirect descriptions, his implications, idioms, and similes, all serve as a window to Joshua’s mind, and allow the reader to infer Joshua’s feelings and gain a keen understanding of him.

Implications

Whenever Joshua communicates his feelings, he tends not to use adjectives or explain himself directly. Joshua writes of his father, Nehemiah: “…he decided to go up to Ohio, looking for work. He had a game leg from a wound he had got in Petersburg, Virginia, but Mama said he would be all right and when he found a steady job he would send for us. I knew he would, too” (p. 7). Joshua does not explicitly say so, but his words imply that he and his mother trust Nehemiah completely. They both feel confident that Nehemiah can find a job, and will tell them to join him as soon as possible. Despite his wound from the American Civil War, Nehemiah remains a highly esteemed, capable husband and father in his wife and son’s eyes. Joshua conveys his pride and confidence in his father without a direct declaration. At first, Joshua feels very differently about Captain Hunter. When Joshua sees the captain, he thinks: “[the captain’s] eyes were a light blue and he had a way of fixing them on your that made you with you could be someplace else” (p. 11). Joshua gives a direct description of one of the Captain’s physical features - his eyes - but he describes how the Captain makes him feel, indirectly. Joshua says that the Captain has the ability to look at him and make him so uncomfortable, he wants to go away. The description implies that the Captain intimidates Joshua, and that Joshua prefers not to draw the Captain’s attention. At some point along the trail, Joshua says of his friend, Isaiah: “I have never thought of shooting a man down in cold blood, but if I do shoot a man, it will surely be Isaiah Fatbelly Cotton. Either that or I would like to hit him across the head with a running iron and leave my mark on him” (p. 41). Joshua never says he feels angry or betrayed, but the emotions are implicit in the way he describes his thoughts about Isaiah in the moment. Joshua communicates his murderous feelings towards Isaiah are new to him. Isaiah clearly pushes Joshua to a new level of anger, where Joshua feels so enraged that he wants to cause Isaiah physical harm. Joshua gives specific examples, rather than explicit descriptions, that illustrate his feelings towards his father, Captain Hunter, and his friend, Isaiah.

Idioms

Throughout his journal, Joshua records the idioms he hears from older men, and while he understands them, he does not bother to explain them. Joshua reveals that while he takes pride in his schooling and ability to read, he must be careful with his education. Joshua writes, “Mr. Muhlen told me to go ahead and learn all I could, but don’t be washing nobody’s face in my learning because that is how people got themselves hurt. Isaiah said the same thing” (p. 37). People on the ranch tell Joshua not to “wash anybody’s face.” He understands the warning to mean that he must not correct or counter people, and thus embarrass them. If he behaves too forwardly about his education, he may put himself in a dangerous position with people who do not like him. Joshua tries to remain modest, but curious. One evening, Joshua asks Chubb questions Chubb does not want to hear. Chubb tells Joshua: “Let me ask you something…Did the Captain tell you to come over here and look out for horse thieves or come chew my ear off?” (p. 40). Joshua understands that when Chubb says “chew my ear off,” Chubb means that Joshua talks too much. The idiom emphasizes the unpleasantness of too many questions, and Joshua’s place as an irritating young person. When the cowboys reach their destination in Abilene, Kansas, Captain Hunter recognizes Joshua for his fine work as a cowboy. However, Captain Hunter tempers his praise when he tells Joshua: “…don’t go buying no bigger hat size, ’cause you still got a lot to learn” (p. 122). Joshua knows that the Captain says not to buy a bigger hat because Joshua should not develop a “big head,” or any arrogance regarding his skills. The Captain tells Joshua not to feel any conceit. The idiomatic expressions that Joshua hears, understands, and records in his journal, he does not explain. However, the idioms help explain the cowboys in Joshua’s life, his relationship to them, and what he learns from them.

Similes

At a particularly rough point for Joshua along the trail, he reflects on his experience as he rides the horse, Thunder: “With Thunder bouncing me around like that and all the drags acting like they had their own timetables to keep, my rear end felt like I had spent six months trying to hatch a porcupine” (pp. 42-43). Joshua doesn’t explicitly say that his bottom is painful. However, he relates the specific problems at that time. First, Joshua’s horse bounces him in the saddle, which lifts and drops him repeatedly. Second, the slowest cattle do not seem to care about the cowboys’ desired pace - the slow pace of the cattle keeps Joshua on his horse for long hours. The simile Joshua uses to describe his pain includes the image of a chicken that sits on a spiky porcupine instead of a smooth egg. As a cowboy on the trail, the image of a farm animal and a wild animal come naturally to him. He uses the images of the animals to describe the sharp pangs of pain he feels. In Late June, Joshua and the cowboys cross paths with a band of soldiers. Joshua says of the black soldiers: “They carried themselves like they owned the world…One got off his horse so slow he could have been a picture that was moving instead of a man” (p. 80). The black soldiers make an impression on Joshua; he perceives them to be confident and elegant. The soldiers are most likely similar to Joshua in that they live a harsh life outdoors. As soldiers, they most definitely answer to a leader, and have few personal possessions with them. However, Joshua imagines them as men who answer to no one, and want for nothing, men who “own the world.” He watches them move and appreciates their unhurried, “picturesque,” manner. Although Joshua may not realize the change himself, the great power of nature he experiences on the trail begins to empower him as well. Joshua observes: “Last night the sky was full of stars. It looked like they were crowding each other, tumbling and sparkling in the night sky…I felt like I could open myself and get as big as the sky” (p. 82). Joshua feels a connection to the night sky that invigorates him. He sees stars that “crowd each other” and “tumble” like playful youths, but at the same time, they “sparkle.” Joshua feels that although he is young, he is capable of greatness. Joshua communicates his feelings of pain, admiration, and empowerment in his own unique way.

Joshua Loper’s indirect characterizations make sense in the journal of a cowboy. He doesn’t say exactly how he feels about people like his father, Captain Hunter, or his friend, Isaiah, but he gives examples and descriptions that imply his feelings. Joshua implies that he trusts his father, feels uncomfortable around Captain Hunter, and becomes angry with Isaiah, all without the use of those words. Joshua’s use of idioms, that reflect the 19th century American West, also fit within the context of the novel. The idioms that Mr. Muhlen, Chubb, and Captain Hunter use when they speak to Joshua reveal a good deal of information. They highlight the opinions of Mr. Muhlen, Chubb, and Captain Hunter, and also how they view Joshua specifically. The idioms show the cowboys communicate with each other indirectly as well. Mr. Muhlen never says, “be careful,” Chubb does not say, “I’m tired,” or “I’m not interested in your questions, Joshua.” Similarly, Captain Hunter does not tell Joshua, “stay humble.” Instead, Mr. Muhlen and the cowboys express their feelings or give Joshua advice in an indirect way. Finally, Joshua often avoids direct professions of his emotions, and instead uses similes couched in his experience as a cowboy to convey meaning. The use of indirect descriptions not only adds to the realism of *The Journal of Joshua Loper. *The language also provides readers with raw glimpses into Joshua’s world and mind, and allows readers to make their own inferences.

References

Myers, W.D. (1999). The journal of Joshua Loper: A black cowboy. Scholastic.