1. Cuyloga's final assessment of True Son is encapsulated in the words, "Your heart is Indian. Your head is Indian. But your blood is still thin like the whites." Do you believe the lack of courage, symbolized by "thin blood," accurately represents True Son's character following his betrayal?

2. Richter's objective in writing The Light in the Forest was to illustrate that the white settlers' "ideals and restrained manner of existence repelled the Indian." How do True Son and Bejance's reactions to white civilization compare? Are their responses justified?

3. As a historical novel, what insights into early American history does The Light in the Forest offer? Has reading the novel enhanced your understanding of Native Americans and their loss of political rights?

4. Is True Son's attempt to scalp Uncle Wilse consistent with his character and upbringing? How else might he have responded to the murder of Little Crane and Uncle Wilse's assault on him?

5. Although True Son's life is spared by the tribal council, he is banished from the forest forever. Why does he view banishment as worse than death? Where do you think he will go next? Is this open-ended conclusion satisfying, or should the author have provided a definitive resolution to True Son's fate?

6. With the possible exceptions of Uncle Wilse and Thitpan, the characters in The Light in the Forest possess both good and bad traits because "evil and ugly things have been committed against the will of God on both sides." Does this moral ambiguity undermine your sense of right and wrong, making it harder to identify the book's main conflict? What is the central conflict?

7. Amidst the racial bias and violence depicted in the book, the adoption of white children and marriages with white women are readily accepted by the Native Americans. What other solutions does Richter propose for resolving differences between ethnic groups and, potentially, between nations?

8. To Half Arrow, taking the trader's boat was not theft but reclaiming what was rightfully his, as the whites had stolen and destroyed Lenape land. Is it ever acceptable to steal under certain circumstances?

9. The Light in the Forest highlights the idea that children lack personal independence and are subject to the decisions of others. True Son's wishes are disregarded by Colonel Bouquet's army and by both his Native American and white families. Should he have been forcibly returned to his white parents? Who has a greater claim to him—the adoptive parents who loved and raised him for eleven years, or the biological parents from whom he was taken as a child?