The Light in the Forest

Section III

40. How does True Son compare the value that whites and Indians put on messages

they receive?

The whites carelessly rip open the message and then throw it aside.

To the Indians the arrival of a messenger is cause for celebration. The messenger is received with honor, and he delivers his message with dignity.

41. Why does the call of the turtledove make True Son so homesick?

It reminds him of his carefree days in his Indian village. The call of the turtledove would awaken him and Half Arrow.

42. How does Richter’s use of point of view increase the reader’s understanding of True

Son’s illness?

His emotions shows True Son’s tension.

He has awaited a message from the Indians for months.

Now in June, he has given up hope. This leaves him susceptible to fever and has lowered his resistance.

43. How does Richter use imagistic language to explain the contrast between

True Son’s white and Indian parents?

Harry Butler –His heads bulges like a storehouse, packed with facts and figures

Myra Butler – He is reminded of a white rat in a cage.

Indian mother – She is like a sugar maple, providing nourishment and warmth.

Cuyloga – He seems like a strong protective oak.

44. Why are Half Arrow’s comments on True Son’s speech patterns significant?

This shows that True Son has undergone many changes.

He sounds like a white man trying to speak Lenni Lenape.

45. Why does Half Arrow fail, but True Son succeed, in understanding Mr. Owen’s

reaction to Little Crane’s stories?

True Son recognizes the prejudice of Uncle Wilse.

He knows that the stories that make fun of whites would infuriate Uncle Wilse.

46. During the attempted scalping of Uncle Wilse, what clues show the impact of “civilizing” forces on True Son’s character?

True Son recognizes blood ties with Uncle Wilse.

He has also grown wary. He does not want Uncle Wilse’s employees to discover them during the scalping.

The Attack on Uncle Wilse

47. What is True Son’s only regret in leaving the Butler home?

He will honestly miss Gordie.

He says that Half Arrow must now take Gordie’s place as his brother.

48. Why does Richter carefully point out which Indian tribes used the mountain path

that True Son and Half Arrow are using?

He wants to emphasize the contrast between the early Indian history and colonial American history.

Where once only Indians walked, the white have now created roads.

49. Why does Half Arrow’s plan to steal the two dugouts disturb True Son and how do

the boys resolve their differences?

Half Arrow believes that anything taken from the white man is a victory. True Son has had time to realize that not all whites are bad.

Half Arrow takes only one canoe saying that because the trader is half Indian and half white, he will take only one of the canoes.

Actually, the other canoe was chained to the land.

50. What does True Son think about as he and Half Arrow float by Fort Pitt?

Although True Son is frightened by the military structure, he rejoices in the thought that on this passing he is free and happy, not bound and tormented.

51. Why does Richter use most of Chapter 13 describing True Son’s and Half Arrow’s

time in the forest?

This is a time between childhood and adulthood where the boys have no worries or responsibilities.

This is the time when they practice the skills of hunting and fishing that will show that they can be self-sufficient adults.

52. How does True Son’s and Half Arrow’s behavior toward their relatives change

because of their experience in the forest?

They are restrained and self-controlled.

They act like adults, not boys.

53. What interrupts the village‘s celebratioon of True Son’s return?

Thitpan demands revenge for the death of Little Crane.

The celebration ends because the battle is near.

54. As the war party advances, why do the scalps taken by Thitpan’s warriors upset

True Son?

True Son must face the fact that children’s scalps have been taken.

He realizes that there is violence among the Indians as well as with the whites.

55. How does Thitpan try to justify the taking of children’s scalps?

Because his brother was young, he has the right to take children’s scalps.

Also, children are a hindrance when the war party is going out. On the return trip, children could be taken back as prisoners.

56. How is true Son’s Indian mother similar to the woman on the riverboat who accuses

the men of being cowards?

Both women protect the children and call the men around them cowards.

57. How does True Son’s dream about the Butlers influence his decision to warn the

riverboat passengers of the ambush?

He identifies with the people on the riverboat. They could be his parents looking for him.

He feels as if he is call the Butlers and Gordie to their deaths.

58. How do the memories of Be-Smoke and Heavy Belt help True Son during his trial for

treason?

Both men calmly accepted their fates.

They realized that they were dead to their relatives already.

True Son can use them as models to accept his fate with dignity.

59. Why does Cuyloga blacken his face with charcaol?

Since he raised True son, he takes responsiibilty for his actions.

60. Contrast The characters’ explanations for True Son’s “treason”.

True Son—He simply does not understand his behavior. He does feel more Indian now than ever before.

Cuyloga – He has the head and heart of an Indian, but the blood of an Indian.

Warriors –They label him as a cowardly spy.

61. Why does Cuyloga refuse to say good-bye to True Son?

Enemies do not bid one another fare well.

If they ever meet again, they must try to kill one another.

62. How does True Son’s second crossing of the white territory differ from his first crossing with Colonel Bouquet and Del

Hardy?

The first crossing was sorrowful, but there was the chance of return.

After this crossing he knows he may never return to the Indian village.

Where does he go now?