Heroism

The Color of Lightning engages with the theme of heroism, loosely a hero’s journey, as Britt courageously embarks on journeys into the unknown world of the Texas frontier. Britt is an everyman hero who overcomes the severe oppression of slavery and fulfills his American Dream. When his family is taken, Britt faces a choice that both defines his character and sets him on a path of transformation. He meets Tissoyo, who becomes his guide into the worlds of the Comanche and Kiowa. His new perspective forged through harrowing events gives way to a bolder self who wants the Comanche and Kiowa to know that “he was not afraid” (233). He is rewarded time and again when he completes two separate rescue missions and builds a successful freighting enterprise. But Britt is only human, and his fateful mistake of killing Tissoyo contributes to his own demise. Even...