Sees Behind Trees

Discuss the novel’s use of first-person narration. How do Sees Behind Trees’s patterns of speech—tone, word choice, etc.—contribute to his characterization and the work’s broader meaning?

The four adult names in the text are Sees Behind Trees, Three Chances, Brings the Deer, and Gray Fire. What is the origin of each name, and what does each name say about the character it describes?

The novel follows a partially linear narrative in which Sees Behind Trees matures into an adult. What are the major sections of the text, as determined by Sees Behind Trees’s focus, and how does the lesson of Sees Behind Trees’s journey change in each section?

Karna and Pitew’s presence introduces a broader lesson about potential violence from “strangers.” Why does Dorris include this cautionary tale about “strangers” while making Karna and Pitew friendly?

Part of Sees Behind Trees’s confusion with adulthood stems from the fact that he does not “feel” different after the coming-of-age ceremony. By the end of the story, does Sees Behind Trees feel like an adult? What does this suggest about the meaning of maturity?

Consider the figure of the weroance. How does the novel initially characterize her? How does that characterization develop, and why might Dorris have chosen to complicate what could be an archetypal figure?

The beautiful place introduces a supernatural element to the narrative with its improbable landscape, the mystery of Sees Behind Trees’s improved eyesight, and the statue of a man in the lake. Using evidence from the text, discuss what happened in the beautiful place. Are the events there meant to be read literally or symbolically? How can you tell?

What kinds of values or skills is the original coming-of-age test designed to measure? What does the altered test suggest about the role Sees Behind Trees will eventually fill in the community?