Preview of Hondo Summary:

One important theme of Hondo is the need for both men and women on the frontier, the male and female principle balancing so that home can be established. The narrator tells the readers that "There were things a man must face and things a man must do that no woman could understand, just as the reverse was true." Yet, as in the preceding sentence, L'Amour's sympathies and emphasis is clearly on the male — the silent, strong, capable John Waynetype (Wayne played the title role in the film version of Hondo) — rather than the female, who L'Amour portrays as drawing her strength from the male.

Another important theme is the judgment of men based on their motives and actions rather than on their races or affiliations. Both whites and Indians have good and bad men. Vittoro, the leader of the Apaches, is an intelligent warrior and is...