How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Roscoe felt warm and sleepy and sat back down. It was like he was in a warm bath. (58.25)
This is one of the first deaths we get from the point of view of the person doing the dying. It's like going to sleep, right? In a nice warm bath? Perhaps this is McMurtry's way of softening the blow as Roscoe is brutally murdered by Blue Duck.
Quote #8
Roscoe was dead, Joe was dead, the girl was dead, and Ellie not found—maybe she too was dead. All he had to report was death and failure. (69.3)
Death and failure go hand in hand in Lonesome Dove. It's a high stakes world here, and to fail usually means to die, so death is often an indication of some kind of failure. It's not comforting in the least.
Quote #9
"I never expected to be fool enough to let them murder me. It's humbling. I lived through the worst war ever fought and then got killed by a damn sneaking horsethief. That galls me, I tell you." (72.79)
This is Wilbarger talking, reinforcing the sudden, unexpected death motif in the book. We'll see it again later when Gus is killed by an Indian's arrow. He never expected to get killed by an Indian, especially not in a land where they were no longer supposed to be living.