The never-ending hatred and mistrust between aunt and nephew electrifies the scene here in Chapter 9: Kate indicates that True Son's facial similarity to Grandfather Espy emphasizes the fact that True Son is part of the Butler family, but she is tempted to criticize the boy as unfit because he acts as though he were raised "the offshoot of some squaw and no-account trader."Īfter Kate serves whiskey, True Son refuses his portion.
#A son of the forest chapter summary Patch
True Son has stolen knives, a rifle and patch box, powder and lead, and corn meal, or so Aunt Kate accuses.True Son justifies the Indian point of view and value system.True Son won't converse and belittles white discussion as uninteresting.True Son shames the family before their kin and neighbors.True Son eats only when he's hungry, not at scheduled meals.True Son tries to run away and takes Gordie with him.Aunt Kate's assistance in combing Myra's hair and helping her into another gown suggests that Myra's withdrawal has sapped her strength for even small personal tasks.Īunt Kate's role as antagonist - a character opposed to the main character in a story - reveals the problems that the family faces in reorienting True Son, the novel's protagonist, or main character, into white family life:
#A son of the forest chapter summary windows
She prefers a dim room with windows closed as if to shut out the beauty of spring. The image of a mother suffering over a child makes us sympathize with Myra Butler, a loving character who took to her bed after Johnny was kidnapped. Myra Butler's chronic illness is a paradox, a contradiction between an emotional illness and its physical effects, caused by the poignant loss of a child and - ironically - worsened by his return.
Richter presents the complex human drama from alternate points of view. The parson hopes that agricultural field work and a future attraction to a white girl may help settle the boy into the white way of life. After the boy departs, the parson consoles the mother by commenting that True Son was brought up by an above-average savage and is now acquiring white traits and behaviors. The parson rationalizes the attack as a local peacekeeping measure against the perceived threat of hostile Indians. The parson admits that white people are often less than moral.Īs the discussion between True Son and the parson becomes more confrontational, the boy identifies the parson as Colonel Elder, captain of the Peshtanks, who slaughtered the Conestogo. The parson admits that he seeks to improve the boy's behavior, to which True Son replies that his behavior is morally ethical by Indian standards: He honors Cuyloga and Quaquenga and doesn't swear. He concludes that the parson wants him to undergo Christian baptism. To keep peace in the family, the parson agrees to talk with the boy.Īfter True Son joins the trio in Myra's room, he dismays his mother and the parson by sitting on the floor and refusing hospitality. Myra winces at Kate's angry accusations against True Son. Kate believes that Parson Elder is the person most responsible for Johnny's return, and she tells the parson that he must help restore Myra's low spirits in the face of Johnny's poor behavior. Aunt Kate interrupts Myra's sad memories to announce that Parson Elder is paying a pastoral call. She recalls how Indian raiders kidnapped Johnny as he made a bark playhouse under a hickory tree.
In March, Myra Butler, still confined to her couch in her upstairs room, remembers the July eleven years earlier when workers were harvesting wheat.
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