Essay On The Light In The Forest

There are many parts to what make The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter such a well written and entertaining book, but there are three parts that really stand out. These are the plot, the characters, and the author’s writing style. The Light in the Forest is not only a joy to read, but also informs the reader about America’s horrible past with the Native Americans.
John Cameron Butler is a white boy living with Indians. At age four he was stolen from his white family by Indians. Renamed True Son he has peacefully lived with Indians while believing that he is indian, even though he knows that he was born of a white family, and hates all whites like all the other Indians in his tribe. When his tribe signs a treaty that requires all the whites taken by the indians to be returned to their rightful family, True Son is forced to live with his white family. True Son experiences many difficult situations while living with whites. Eventually, Half Arrow, True Son’s indian cousin comes to visit. True Son thinks that this will make everything better, but really, it brings him even more challenges. …show more content…
In the book, there are many plot twists that make the reader never quite sure what is going to happen. There is never really anything predictable that happens. This helps to draw the reader into the book because they are always going to be wondering what is going to happen next and will never want to put down the book. For example, at the end of the book it looks like True Son is going to be killed for warning the people on the boat that it was an ambush, but Cuyloga, True Son’s indian father, defends True Son and puts the blame on himself. This makes it seem as if nothing is going to happen to anyone, but immediately after that Cuyloga tells True Son he has to leave and that True Son is no longer his