# Chapter XXII explained — McTeague

> Chapter companion for McTeague by Frank Norris.

## What happens

In the heart of Death Valley, McTeague and Marcus Schouler confront each other in a final, desperate struggle. Their mule, crazed from locoweed, bolts and is shot, destroying their only water supply. Realizing they are doomed, their old enmity resurfaces over the five-thousand-dollar sack of gold. They fight, and McTeague kills Marcus, but in the last moment Marcus handcuffs himself to McTeague, leaving the dentist chained to the corpse in the vast, desolate wasteland.

## Themes in this chapter

### Greed and Avarice

The five-thousand-dollar gold sack becomes the fatal object of contention, driving the two men to murder even as they face certain death from thirst.

### Violence and Brutality

The chapter culminates in a savage physical fight where McTeague beats Marcus to death, highlighting the primal brutality that emerges under extreme duress.

### Isolation and Loneliness

The setting of Death Valley emphasizes the utter isolation of the characters, with no hope of rescue and only each other for company in their final moments.

## Character check-ins

### McTeague

McTeague is captured by Marcus but ultimately kills him in a fight over the gold, only to be handcuffed to the dead body.

### Marcus Schouler

Marcus tracks McTeague into Death Valley, shoots the mule and loses their water, then dies after handcuffing himself to McTeague.

## Key lines

> We’re dead men.

Marcus acknowledges that they have no chance of survival.

_After the water is lost, Marcus accepts their fate._

> McTeague did not know how he killed his enemy, but all at once Marcus grew still beneath his blows.

McTeague kills Marcus in a blind rage, unaware of the exact moment of death.

_The violence is instinctual and uncontrolled._

> Marcus was dead now; McTeague was locked to the body.

McTeague is physically chained to the corpse of his enemy.

_The handcuffs symbolize their inescapable bond even in death._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/xxii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mcteague_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mcteague_se/chapters