News of the World

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of racism.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Which moments or aspects of Captain Kidd and Johanna’s journey across Texas remained most vivid in your mind after finishing News of the World?

2. How does Jiles’s portrayal of the complex relationship between the Captain and Johanna compare to the portrayal of unlikely companions across age or cultural divides in other works, such as Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove or Charles Portis’s True Grit? Which portrayal felt more authentic to you and why?

3. What effect did Jiles’s decision to omit quotation marks and use sparse punctuation throughout the novel have on your reading experience?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. What forms of storytelling or news sharing in your own life parallel Captain Kidd’s readings?

2. Johanna exists between two cultures, unable to fully belong to either. Reflect on a time when you felt caught between different cultural or social worlds and how you navigated that experience.

3. In what ways has your understanding of “home” and “family” evolved throughout your life?

4. The Captain operates according to a strict moral code, even in lawless territory. What personal principles guide your actions when facing difficult decisions? Have these principles ever been tested in challenging circumstances?

5. Recall a relationship in your life that transformed or healed you in unexpected ways, similar to how the Captain and Johanna heal each other.

6. What aspects of your cultural heritage or early experiences have remained fundamental to who you are despite changing circumstances?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. What parallels do you see between the politically divided Texas of 1870 and contemporary political and societal divisions?

2. Throughout, the novel depicts the difficult transition of captive children returning to white society after living with Indigenous Americans. How does this historical phenomenon reflect broader questions about cultural identity, assimilation, and belonging?

3. Consider how the treatment of Indigenous Americans, formerly enslaved people, and other marginalized groups is an important backdrop to the story. What insights does the novel offer about America’s complex relationship with its multicultural history?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Analyze the literal and metaphorical significance of the “Curative Waters” wagon throughout the novel.

2. How does Jiles use weather as a literary device to reflect the emotional states of Johanna and Captain Kidd throughout their journey?

3. What narrative techniques does Jiles use to juxtapose Indigenous and European American cultures without portraying either as superior?

4. The jorongo (poncho) serves as Johanna’s security blanket throughout much of the novel. How does its meaning and function evolve as the story progresses?

5. In what ways do language and communication serve as both barriers and bridges in the novel?

6. The Captain takes pride in delivering “news of the world” yet deliberately avoids reading controversial political news (1). What does this selective approach to information suggest about the power and limitations of knowledge? Why might Jiles have taken this approach to the Captain’s characterization?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If Captain Kidd were alive today, what news stories would he choose to read to his audiences, and which would he avoid?

2. Imagine continuing Johanna’s story into her adult life as she balances her Kiowa heart with her life in white society. What challenges and joys might she experience that the novel didn’t explore?

3. The novel ends with the Captain’s final request to be buried with his runner’s medal, stating, “He said he had a message to deliver, contents unknown” (209). Create your own interpretation of what this final message might have been.

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