45 pages 1 hour read

Morgan Talty

Night of the Living Rez

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 2022

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“The Name Means Thunder”Chapter Summaries & Analyses

“The Name Means Thunder” Summary

Dee, now much older, narrates the story of the birth of Paige’s first child. When Paige comes home from the hospital with her newborn, she becomes depressed. The child cries excessively because it became addicted to methadone while gestating. Paige refuses to name the child, so Frick and David name him Bedogi, which means thunder. Paige runs away from home, leaving her family to care for Bedogi. Frick says he’s going out in search of Paige, though David’s mother suspects he’s just out drinking.

Neither Paige nor Frick returns for a few days. David’s mother goes out in search of them, leaving David to care for the child. While David is alone with Bedogi, Marla, Paige’s caseworker, tries to come by to check on the child. Though she sees David alone with Bedogi inside the house, David pretends he’s not home. When Marla comes back to the house with the police, David takes Bedogi outside to escape them.

The older Dee narrator interrupts the narrative, explaining that his memory of events is not clear. He describes going outside with Bedogi, staying outside for a long time, and looking at the sun until he went temporarily blind.

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By Morgan Talty

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