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| Author | Conrad Richter |
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| Country | USA |
| Language | English, Marathi |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, Historic, Young Adult, Coming of age |
| Publisher | Vintage Books |
| Publication date | 1953 |
| Pages | 180 |
| ISBN | 1-4000-7788-5 |
The Light in the Forest is a novel first published in 1953 by U.S. author Conrad Richter. Though it is a work of fiction and primarily features characters, the novel incorporates several real people and facts from U.S. history. Walt Disney Productions made a 1958 film adaptation under the same title, starring Fess Parker, Joanne Dru, James MacArthur and Wendell Corey.
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Synopsis
When John Cameron Butler was four, he was taken by the Lenni Lenape Indian tribe. The chief, Cuyloga, took him and trained him really hard to become part of the Lenni Lenape. Eleven years later a treaty was signed, and True Son had to return to his family. When he met his blood family he refused to adapt to their way of life. After several months, his friends Half Arrow and Little Crane came to see him. When Little Crane was killed by True Son's uncle, Half Arrow and True Son ran away. When they returned to the Indian village, everyone except Little Crane's family celebrated. The warriors decided to attack the whites in revenge. While trying to lure a boat full of whites toward an ambush, True Son saw a child who reminded him of his white brother. He warned the white people, and the boat fled. While the rest of the tribe said True Son betrayed them and should be burned, Cuyloga defended him, but told him to leave as he was truly white and that would never change.
Characters
The major characters in The Light in the Forest are as follows: True Son, Cuyloga, Del Hardy, True Son's actual parents, and his Uncle Wilse.
True Son
True Son (or John Cameron Butler) is the main character of The Light in the Forest. He had been kidnapped by a tribe in Pennsylvania when he was four. True Son was then raised by his adopted Indian father, Cuyloga. For eleven years, True Son idolized his father who has told him that he was a full blooded Indian. Cuyloga trained True Son for almost his entire life with lessons of strength and patience. However, True Son had never been trained for the ordeal that he would soon face. Near True Son's fifteenth birthday, his tribe signed a treaty that would agree to let their captives free. At this point, True Son thought his life was over and considered suicide by eating the roots of a May apple tree. Although he was a good example of his father, being the teenager that he was, his rebellious and stubborn attitude led people to think wrongly of him. True Son was not a trouble maker; he was just opinionated and proud of what he believed to be his real home and family. True Son's name is actually an antonym of what he he is, he was never true to either of his fathers.
Cuyloga
Cuyloga adopted True Son eleven years before, and firmly believed that he had been transformed into an Indian. Cuyloga is described as a wise father figure, but also as a primitive, savage person, according to True Son's real family.
Del Hardy
Del Hardy originally helped True Son by translating English in Delaware, so that True Son could communicate with other white people. He also protected the Butlers from an attack during a time when True Son was anything but stable. Del stayed with the Butlers for a period of time, then left. True Son missed his brother no Del when he left.
