Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in News of the World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fatherhood and Masculinity
American Multiculturalism and Racial Violence
News and Storytelling
Childhood and Innocence
War and Reconstruction
Summary
Analysis
By morning, Captain Kidd and Johanna arrive at a ravine fed by a small spring. With great effort, he coaxes the horses up the hill, hoping to take cover on high ground. But Johanna seems surprisingly cheerful, taking out the stove to cook and handing the Captain a piece of divinity, telling him in broken English to eat it. While she gathers wood, the Captain reflects that for all his hopes of bettering the world by reading news, he still has to carry a gun and protect a child from villains.
Captain Kidd hoped to improve the world and prevent conflict by bringing the news to different places. However, his current situation reveals the naiveté in believing wholeheartedly that mere exposure to global news can change the world. Rather, it’s by actually experiencing different cultures (as Captain Kidd does in his travels) that people can abandon prejudice and develop new understanding.
Themes
Preparing for a confrontation, the Captain puts on his best boots and loads his guns. He wishes he could return to the road and see if the wagon is visible, but he doesn’t dare. Instead, he lies down on his stomach and looks down at the faraway road. Just as he begins to see a horse’s swishing tail, a gunshot hits the stove and sends it flying away. Johanna and the Captain quickly scramble under the wagon, and he knows the men are running up the ravine with rifles.
The sudden explosion of gunshots contrasts with the mundane chores Johanna was performing just a few minutes before. This juxtaposition hints at the violence lurking beneath seemingly peaceful aspects of American frontier life.
Themes
Captain Kidd retrieves his revolver, but he knows it’s no match for a rifle; his shotgun is even worse, only working at close range. Johanna hands him a box of ammunition, which she’s retrieved from inside the flour keg, but he motions her back under the wagon. While the Captain is startled and fearful—he had thought the men would threaten and offer money before turning to violence—the young girl simply braids her hair for battle in perfect calm. Holding the guns, they both wait for further action.
Captain Kidd feels that he alone is responsible for protecting Johanna; she should hide in the wagon, rather than taking part in the battle. However, while he’s scrambling for ideas, it’s she who seems perfectly prepared to do battle with their enemies.
Themes
Suddenly, another rifle shot from below hits the wagon, luckily missing the people and horses. From the direction of the shots, the Captain realizes that all three men have come up one side of the ravine, an overconfident gesture. When he sees one of the Caddos run into the open, crossing the ravine, he fires several times, managing to knock the rifle out of his hands. While the man tries to retrieve the gun, Johanna, who has tucked up her dress to form pantaloons, edges along the cliff. Finding a suitable rock, she begins levering the stove lid beneath it.
Captain Kidd and Johanna are united both by their apparent vulnerability and their actual ingenuity in facing battle. The Captain leverages his quick thinking to understand the men’s positions, while Johanna’s familiarity with battle allows her to proceed without fear.
Themes
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Captain Kidd fires again; from the shouts he hears he knows he’s wounded one of the Caddos. Using her improvised lever, Johanna tips the stone up and rolls it over the cliff, where it hits the other Caddo in his hiding place. Laughing, the Captain fires at the man, but he manages to scramble away.
Johanna’s military ingenuity—as well as her eagerness to harm her enemies—makes her more like a Kiowa warrior than most of the children the Captain knows.
Themes
