Finding an Identity

Throughout the book, Sonny is trying to figure out who he is. As Jake once points out, the boy seems to harness the worst from his Indian side and the worst from his white side. Jake encourages Sonny to focus on pulling out the best from each of the races in his heritage. At the beginning of the book, Sonny is doing everything he can to escape from the Reservation. Jacob wants him to become a Running Brave, and Sonny doesn't want to have anything to do with that. He knows the old man loves him, but he doesn't want to listen to him. He thinks the man is somewhat crazy.

Sonny is a fighter, and he also has a gift for drawing. He loves to draw, but he doesn't want others to know about this talent. It is a source of embarrassment to him. When...