Reading Group Guide: THE WILD GIRL by Jim Fergus The title of the novel is THE WILD GIRL, and yet much of the novel is narrated from the perspective of Ned Giles. Which character did you respond to more? Why? Do you consider Billy Flowers a moral person? What were his varying attitudes toward whites, Mexicans, Native Americans, and animals? What do you think of the portrayals of women in the novel? Did you find the wild girl and Margaret to be believable? Did you think the author accurately imagined the way women in these situations might think and feel? The novel takes place during the Depression, and Ned is very conscious of class. What are his attitudes toward the privileged, and how justified do you think his attitudes are? Wealthy and homosexual, Tolley is at once privileged and an outcast in society. Which do you think affects his life in a greater way-his wealth or his sexuality? Did you find his character's flamboyance believable from a historical perspective? Did anything surprise you about the history of the time period depicted by Jim Fergus? Did anything surprise you about the depiction of the Apaches, as well as their relationship with the Mexicans? Did you feel that the author was making any judgments in his depiction of the Apaches, Mexicans, and whites? How did you feel in reading the story about the murder of Charlie McComas's parents, and Charlie's kidnapping? Did it surprise you that a boy would embrace the people who murdered his parents? Consider the choices made by Goso over the course of his life. Do you understand those choices? Did you find him sympathetic? In much of 20th century film-making and writing, continuing to the present, Native American cultures have been represented in black and white terms. Do you think Jim Fergus's depictions of the wild Apaches, Mexicans, whites, and their interactions differ from other depictions? Do you think that the Apaches and the whites and Mexicans could have coexisted peacefully, or was a violent outcome inevitable? What did you think of the love story between Ned and the wild girl? Did his choice to go back to the white world surprise you? Do you think he should have made a different choice? Consider the course of Ned's life after his experiences with the Apaches. Why do you think his life took the turn it did? Is it due to what happened to him and his relationship with the wild girl, or does it stem more from the losses he experienced prior to meeting the wild girl? How does Ned use photography to express himself? What do you think this says about how artists deal with emotion and human suffering? In what ways is THE WILD GIRL similar to the author's first novel, ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN? In what ways is it different? Which did you like best, and why? Reading Group Discussion Questions for ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN The Cheyenne are often referred to as "savages," even by the women who voluntarily travel to live among them. During this time period, what is it that makes the Cheyenne savage, and the white "civilized"? Are there ways in which you would judge the Cheyenne in the novel are more civilized than the whites? Are there ways in which you consider them less civilized? Were you surprised that Little Wolf, the Cheyenne chief, was so aware and seemingly resigned to the fact that his culture was doomed? How does this differ from our attitudes and assumptions as United States citizens? Did you admire May Dodd's rebelliousness? Did you find it shocking that she would leave her children behind? Do you consider her a sympathetic character? Did you find it believable that the US government might undertake a covert project such as the "Brides for Indians" program? Do you think the author had more modern history in mind when he developed this idea? Were you surprised by elements of the Cheyenne Culture as depicted here? Do you think that the Cheyenne culture was respectful of women? Consider what might seem contradictory elements--for example, it is a matrilineal society, and yet warriors could have multiple wives. Compare what the Cheyenne culture valued in women compared with what white culture at the time valued in women. Contrast Captain Bourke's fiancée, Miss Lydia Bradley, with May Dodd. In what way do May and Lydia represent different types of women? In what ways have cultural expectations of women changed since this time period, and in what ways have they remained the same? Did you find it believable that the white women embraced the Cheyenne culture, and willingly married with them? Compare your concept of romantic love, and married love, with the relationship that develops between May and Little Wolf. Were you surprised by the violence among tribes as depicted here? Did it contrast with your understanding of Native American cultures? What similarities were there between the violence among tribes, and the violence between whites and Native Americans? While depicting the slaughter of Native American culture, Jim Fergus also portrays the imminent decimation of the natural landscape. Consider both tragedies. Were they equally inevitable? Are they equally irreversible?