News of the World Themes

In News of the World, Captain Kidd, a tough solitary Texas wanderer, embarks on an arduous journey to return Johanna, a former captive of the Kiowa tribe, to her family. As the novel progresses, Captain Kidd becomes increasingly affectionate and invested in Johanna’s emotional well-being, eventually viewing himself as a father figure to her. This role draws on the conventionally masculine skills he’s honed over decades, but he must also develop skills…

Just a few years after the Civil War ends, an itinerant news-reader, Captain Kidd, agrees to return Johanna, a young girl recently recaptured from the Kiowa tribe, to her family. Part of Mexico only decades before, Texas is now populated by people from a wide variety of backgrounds, from freed slaves to European immigrants to Native American tribes. The vibrant mixture of cultures that informs Texas’s nascent society demonstrates the centrality of immigrants…

In News of the World, Johanna, who was captured by the Kiowa tribe as a young child, must grapple with the challenges of reentering a home she barely remembers. Traumatized by repeated dislocations and totally immersed in Native American culture, Johanna often behaves with a maturity beyond her age yet is unable to navigate basic customs like wearing a dress or eating with silverware. Her inability to conform to social norms convinces many…

In News of the World, Captain Kidd travels through Reconstruction-era Texas while reflecting on a lifetime in service to the American military. In various wars since his youth, the elderly man has served as a runner and a manager of communications, tasks that play on his physical and professional skills and have given him a sense of purpose. However, in the aftermath of the Civil War, Captain Kidd sees that although the Union…