The Light in the Forest

Conrad Richter

Characters

True SonProtagonist.15-years-old.Raised by the Lenni Lenape

tribe for 11 years.Rebellious and passionate

Cuyloga

Brave, fair, stoic warrior.Deeply loves his white son.True Son’s hero.

Del Hardy

20-year-old soldier.Sympathetic toward True

Son.Believes in superiority of

whites.

Uncle Wilse

White supremacist.Leader of the Paxton Boys.True Son’s uncle.Stubborn and passionate.

Harry Butler

True Son’s white father.Weak, pale, insignificant.Endured extraordinary guilt.

Half Arrow

True Son’s cousin.Overconfident and

naïve.

Colonel Bouquet

Military leader who forces the return of the white prisoners.

Myra Butler

True Son’s white mother.

Views his mother as disgraceful b/c she does not work.

Little Crane

True Son’s friend.Deeply in love with his

white wife.

GordieTrue Son’s naïve younger

brother.Symbolizes hope for the white

man.Represents innocent children

who are destroyed by the racial war.

Aunt Kate

Opinionated white aunt.Does not trust True Son

and has anger for the boy.

Thitpan

Name means “bitter”.Little Crane’s brother.Bloodthirsty and

ruthless.

THEMES

Indian Freedom vs. White Civilization

Natural, free world vs. restricting “civilized” domain.

Indians roam the land free of burdens.

Whites concerned with creating stable settlements.

Victimization of ChildrenTragic effects of frontier life

on children.They become victims of racial

violence.Taught how to hate by their

elders.

Struggle for Identity

White teenager raised by Indians then forced to return to white family.

Search for true identity.

Imperfection of Both Indian and White Societies

Both sides committed horrific deeds.

White claim to be Christian but they kill innocent people; same as Indians.

SYMBOLS

Fort Pitt

Gloomy, dark structure.Restrictive white

culture.

English Clothes

Lying, deceitful, and murderous ways of white people.

KEY FACTS

Point of View

3rd Person Omniscient

Setting

1764-1765Ohio-western, Pa.Indian village of Tuscarawas

and white settlement of Paxton Township.

Protagonist

True Son a.k.a. John Cameron Butler

Major Conflict

1: True Son’s fight against restrictive customs of white family.

2: True Son’s internal struggle to find true identity.