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Lesson 1 (from Foreword by a Man of Letters | Chapter 1, A Terrible Mistake)

Objective

Foreword by a Man of Letters | Chapter 1, A Terrible Mistake

Jack and his family are in a wagon train that offers whiskey to a Cheyenne band. The drinking leads to a misunderstanding that causes the Indians to kill the men and rape the women. Discuss the historical aspects of this chapter and the conflict that will propel the novel.

Lesson

1) Class Discussion: The narrator is introduced as an old man who is telling his life story to a fictional writer/editor. Discuss this writing style with the students. Why has the author chosen to write his novel in this format? What does this introduction say about the narrator? Is the narrator a reliable narrator? What evidence is there that his story is true? That his story is false?

The story begins with Jack and his family traveling cross country in a wagon train. They make a...

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