1. Watch one of the movie versions of Smoky and compare it to the book. What has been changed in the film version?

Why?

2. In his purported autobiography, Lone Cowboy, James writes about a horse who he says is the real-life version of Smoky. Write an essay comparing the depiction of the horse in Lone Cowboy to the portrayal of Smoky in the novel.

3. Critic Stanley Walker says of Smoky, "Will James, the cowboy-artist-writer, has done the Black Beauty of the cow country." Write an essay comparing Smoky to Anna Sewell's Black Beauty.

Possible points of comparison include the major plot lines, settings, narrative techniques, and the writers' ideas about the treatment of horses.

4. At least one of James's biographers has pointed out that the cowboy way of life that he describes in many of his books, including Smoky, resembles that...