The Light in The Forest - Part II

I understood and liked the purpose, experience, and values within the text. I think the purpose of the story was to show the perspective of the Indians on the American frontier. In the majority of my history classes I learned about the Europeans annexing land from the Native Americans without many details of what it was like for the Europeans and with almost no details of what it was like for the Indians. In the text I learned what it was like for many of the Native Americans which I found interesting. The experience of the text was seen as European and Native Americans clashed. You can see the experience throughout the plot as True Son deals with his white family and how he handles his situation mentally and on a personal level. I liked how you saw the world from the Indian perspective because True Son looks at the world in a completely different way than the white characters did in the story as well as the majority of people certainly do today. He views everything in nature as beautiful. Everything has a purpose, works in harmony, and is perfect in its natural state. The values expressed in the text were often from the Indian perspective because True Son never has a good connection on a personal level with his white father. Even though the hands of both sides are dirty, True Son often remarks that the white men kill and scalp innocent women and children and Indian men would never be so dishonorable. True Son also often thanks different parts of nature such as the sun, the moon, the earth itself, and the river because spiritually he considers them his family members.  I personally find his personal hatred of white customs more interesting because the way he rejects everyday things such as clothes or scheduled meals is somewhat humorous.  I connected to the text better in my opinion because the main character is around the same age as me. Reading the story from his perspective makes True Son’s opinions, emotions, and reactions similar to what I would possibly feel if I were in his place. I was definitely able to identify with the purpose, experience, and values expressed in the text because the author wrote the story with incredible detail which made all of the character’s actions fairly clear and understandable depending on whether they supported the whites or the Indians.