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Chapter 19
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
Captain Kidd tries to explain to Wilhelm that Johanna needs peace, quiet, and a good deal of time to adjust to life in an Anglo-American household. But he knows that Wilhelm will soon invite all the neighbors to scrutinize her. As the Captain sits in a chair and drinks coffee, Johanna squats warily in a corner, examining all the strange objects in the house. Anna tells her sharply to get up, but Johanna just looks away.
While Anna thinks Johanna’s behavior is strange and unacceptable, the young girl sees the house as foreign and frightening. Each is having trouble adjusting to another culture. However, only Anna sees her culture as essentially superior.
Themes
Wilhelm brusquely tells Captain Kidd about the raid that killed Johanna’s parents. The Kiowa raped Johanna’s mother and spilled her brains all over the farmyard. Captain Kidd acknowledges that it was a horrible episode. They also cut Johanna’s little sister’s throat and hanged her in a tree. Anna looks at Johanna sternly and asks if she is glad to return “from the savages.”
Johanna’s mother was scalped, but Johanna herself tried to scalp Almay just a few weeks ago. Wilhelm has unwittingly summed up Johanna’s divided loyalties and suspension between two cultures. But while Captain Kidd wishes to honor her complex identity, Wilhelm wants to suppress all her Native American behavior.
Themes
Everyone looks at Johanna, who is singing to herself quietly. Wilhelm says that she must learn to work and adopt their ways. They have no children, only a nephew working far away, and Anna needs a lot of help in the house. Captain Kidd explains that Johanna believes she is a Native American, and will need time to adjust. Anna says she “must be corrected strong,” and is certainly not too small to work in the house. Wilhelm asks again if the Captain has a receipt for the wagon.
Wilhelm explicitly states that he sees Johanna as more of a servant than a relative, establishing himself as a much less fit parent than Captain Kidd. It’s also noteworthy that Wilhelm seems to think Johanna is lazy or unwilling to work because of her Native American upbringing. In fact, she’s capable and industrious, and his statements simply reveal how far-fetched his prejudices are.
Themes
While Captain Kidd sleeps in the house, Johanna remains in the wagon. The next day the entire town comes to celebrate but Johanna runs into the barn loft and hides, throwing objects at people who try to coax her down. In the end, everyone shares a celebratory German meal without her. The messenger from the day before, whose name is Adolph, sits beside Captain Kidd and remarks neutrally that Wilhelm and Anna work very hard. In fact, the nephew who once lived with them left home because they worked him too hard.
While Johanna initially distrusted the wagon that carried her away from “Indian Territory,” now it’s a site of stability in an increasingly frightening world. The wagon symbolizes both her lack of a fixed place in society and the security she derives from her relationship with the Captain. Meanwhile, Adolph’s comments undermine Wilhelm and Anna’s claim to Johanna even further.
Themes
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The Captain asks what can be done to help Johanna, but Adolph simply shrugs. No one from the town will intervene in what is seen as Anna and Wilhelm’s private business. The Captain acknowledges that things are similar among the English and stands to go, saying he’s helpless here. Adolph continues that Wilhelm and Anna have no adoption papers. They probably won’t adopt Johanna legally, because in that case they would have to provide her with a dowry. With sudden intensity, Adolph begs the Captain not to leave Johanna here. The Captain stiffly bids him farewell and leaves the party before he starts crying.
It’s interesting that Captain Kidd is so unwilling to take action. Perhaps because he’s always seen himself as a bearer of messages, he’s unaccustomed to making decisions about the information—or children—he delivers. Hiding his tears here, Captain Kidd is reverting to rigid standards of masculinity that he has largely abandoned over the course of his journey with Johanna.
Themes
