A Country of Strangers by Conrad Richter

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Description:

A Country of Strangers is a companion and sequel to The Light in the Forest. It elaborates on the treatment the stolen youths receive when they return to the white culture after years in Indian captivity. This story focuses on a girl who was released at the age of fifteen, already a wife of a tribe member and mother of an infant son. She is prevented from claiming her place in the white world because of her father’s rejection. She is left without her white family and was forced to leave her Indian family behind. The story ends with the main characters from both books being brought together to search for some new country where they one day may no longer be strangers. This novel expands the picture of American Indian tribal life and the treatment of stolen children.

Activities:

Activities foster students’ development of writing and thinking skills: creating imagery and mood, outlining story details, analysis of symbols and story structures. Students investigate methods of characterization and use of personification, parody, and poetry. They practice editorial writing in response to literature.

Supplementary materials include a test with answer key and optional activities.

Ethical Values:

Compassion
Courage
Equality
Family commitment
Peace