Summary and Analysis Chapter 13
Summary
Once past Fort Pitt, True Son and Half Arrow travel openly, moving deeper and deeper into Indian territory. During the summer, they camp in a quiet glade and trap fish, swim, relax, and enjoy their journey. At the Forks of the Muskingum River, True Son rejoices that he's near home. When he finally reaches his Indian home, Cuyloga welcomes his son.
Analysis
Here in Chapter 13, Richter emphasizes a central theme in the book: a return to freedom "as the Great One had made it." True Son is glad to see no roads, cultivated fields, fencing, or clocks, all of which are symbols of white dominance. A "constant wheeling unfoldment of the river" becomes a seemingly unobstructed path back to Indian territory.
Traveling alone and freed of the control of their Indian fathers, True Son and Half Arrow enjoy days of "primitive deliciousness," hunting and fishing, "forgetting all else and by all else forgot, abandoning themselves to the forest and the bounty of its wild beasts." They hunt at night by jack-lighting. Lashing a lighted pine knot to the bow of the dugout, the rower steers close to animal watering spots. While the animals stand riveted by the light, the hunter shoots at the prey. To celebrate that their tribe will soon recognize them as men rather than as boys, True Son and Half Arrow notch their ears and pull out the hair on the sides of their scalps to produce a brave's roach, a tall ruff of hair that forms a defining ridge from the center of the forehead to the back of the scalp and trails off in a scalplock.
Another focus of the slow homeward journey is the diversity of characters whom the boys encounter on their way over the final stretch. They hear dogs bark and see Shangas, the Exhorter, a tribal preacher. Nearby is a strong man, a crippled son, and a girl who formerly flirted with True Son. Next is a man who was scalped in battle, a friendly squaw, a big black dog, and a stutterer. By describing this mix of people and animals, Richter avoids the one-dimensional savage or stoic natives who are too often found in second-rate frontier fiction.
Richter rounds out the scene with True Son's reunion with his Indian family. Richter's intent is twofold: to establish the normalcy of a native village and to contrast the hostility of whites who greeted True Son on his arrival at Fort Pitt, Carlisle, and Paxton with the warm welcome by True Son's father and the entire tribe.
Glossary
paroquet the small, long-tailed parakeet that once flourished in the eastern wild before hunters slaughtered them wholesale.
brush net a net dragged behind a boat to snare fish.
arbutus creeping forest heather that blooms pink and white and produces red berries.
thwart the rower's seat, which crosses a boat and attaches to each side To place an object athwart means to lay it crosswise, from side to side, which is the safest and handiest way to rest a rifle when the boat is in motion.
northern meridian the designation of midsummer, which falls on June 24.
FAQs
The Light in the Forest is about the struggles of a white boy, John Butler, who was taken captive as a boy in Pennsylvania by the Lenni Lenape Indians and became assimilated.
What is the ending of light in the forest? ›
While the novel ends on a note of uncertainty, with True Son alone on a remote road and unsure where his future lies, the film has him return to his family, to Shenandoe and, presumably, to life on a plot of wild land that his father has had deeded to him.
Why does Richter choose to have Del Hardy describe Fort Pitt as they arrive there? ›
Why does Richter choose to have Del Hardy describe Fort Pitt as they arrive there? Del's description confirms what True Son thinks about the white man's buildings. Del has been there more often and can give a more detailed description. Del has a larger vocabulary to describe Fort Pitt than True Son does.
Which two men are identified as leaders of the Paxton Boys? ›
On December 27, 1763, under the leadership of Smith and Stewart, the Paxton Boys broke into the workhouse and killed, scalped, and dismembered all fourteen of the surviving Conestoga, including the women and children.
Who killed little crane in The Light in the Forest? ›
Confronting Wilse, True Son blames him for killing Little Crane. Wilse admits the crime and then chokes his nephew into submission.
Who is little crane in The Light in the Forest? ›
Little Crane
True Son and Half Arrow's friend. Little Crane, is deeply in love with his white wife, who is being returned to Paxton Township as True Son is. Little Crane is very critical of white behavior, but his lack of discretion in voicing his opinions proves fatal.
Who is the antagonist in The Light in the Forest? ›
Wilson "Wilse" Owens is the main antagonist of Disney's 1958 live action film The Light in the Forest, which is based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Conrad Richter. He is John Butler/True Son's maternal uncle and archenemy who is a member of the Paxton Boys.
How do you get the secret ending in The Forest? ›
To achieve the secret ending, players need to complete some pre-requisites. Firstly, players must get Virginia as a companion and keep her alive. Additionally, players need to keep Kelvin alive and achieve maximum sentiment with Virginia.
What grade level is The Light in the Forest? ›
Conrad Richter's The Light in the Forest has a Lexile level of 870, and it is most appropriate for students between 6th and 8th grade. Students above 8th grade, as well as adults, would enjoy this popular novel as well.
What changes does True Son make in his appearance? ›
To celebrate that their tribe will soon recognize them as men rather than as boys, True Son and Half Arrow notch their ears and pull out the hair on the sides of their scalps to produce a brave's roach, a tall ruff of hair that forms a defining ridge from the center of the forehead to the back of the scalp and trails ...
In this rebuilt section, the Fort Pitt Museum is housed in the Monongahela Bastion, and excavated portions of the fort were filled in. A redoubt, a small brick outbuilding called the Blockhouse, survives in Point State Park as the sole remnant of Fort Pitt.
How does True Son act when he meets his birth father? ›
For a moment True Son feels hopeful that his white father does not care about him, but shortly thereafter his father arrives on horseback and is led to his son. A chill runs through True Son's body as he struggles to accept that the unimportant-looking person is his real father.
Why are the Paxton Boys significant? ›
On December 14, 1763, 56 vigilantes brutally murdered and mutilated six Conestoga Indian women and children. The mob, known as the Paxton Boys, rode into the small village east of Turkey Hill intending to murder all twenty residents. Satellite imagery of the Indian Town site today.
What race are the Paxton Boys? ›
The Paxton Boys began as a small group of mostly Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who lived in Dauphin County (then called Paxtang) in the later half of the 18th century.
Were the Paxton Boys punished? ›
Conestoga Indians Slain
The “Paxton Boys,” as the vigilantes came to be known, claimed the unarmed Conestogas were harboring enemy spies and providing material support to the Indian war effort.
What is the main idea of light? ›
Light is a primary tool for perceiving the world and interacting with it for many organisms. Light from the Sun warms the Earth, drives global weather patterns, and initiates the life-sustaining process of photosynthesis; about 1022 joules of solar radiant energy reach Earth each day.
What is the main idea of the light in the night? ›
Expert-Verified Answer. Light in the night highlights the history of street lights by the author Claire Horsburgh. It is a symbolic story written for comparing the lights in our life when the situation is not in our favour.
What is the message of The Thing in the Forest? ›
Antonia Susan Byatt, in the story “The Thing in the Forest”, provides her interpretation of the well-known scenario of encountering the symbolic monster. The writer invites us to search how one can or should act when faced with mysterious supernatural beings that, in this case, represent deep psychological trauma.
What is the main story of The Forest? ›
Summaries. A young woman's desperate search for her twin sister brings her to a ghost-filled stretch of wilderness known as the 'Suicide Forest. ' The majority of the story is set in and around the Aokigahara Forest, a forest at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan known as a popular destination for suicide.
