The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Jones alludes to Blackfeet traditions and cultural values without explaining them, suggesting that his readers should enter the text with some knowledge of Blackfeet culture. How does this subvert traditional power structures in literature? How does his approach reflect his experience as an Indigenous American writer in the American literary landscape?

Good Stab blurs the lines between heroism and a flawed sense of morality. How does he both conform to and challenge the conventions of an anti-hero? What do his final appearances and actions in the novel highlight about the kind of hero he is?

Comment on Jones’s reinvention of the vampire. How does Good Stab compare to other famous vampires in literature? Use their shared qualities to explain why the vampire remains such a staple monster in contemporary horror literature.

Discuss the novel’s ideas on truth, faith, and belief. How do characters react to “fantastical” or unbelievable situations? What do these reactions reveal about their relationship with the world in which they live?

Based on the novel, what is Jones’s position on restorative justice? Who should participate it, and what form should it take? Do the communities that participated in a crime have a right to administer restitutions for that crime? Why or why not?

Etsy is the only female character who plays a significant role in the narrative. Discuss how Jones portrays the other female characters. Do these portrayals strengthen or undermine the narrative? Explain your answer with textual evidence.

Compare and contrast the novel’s two antagonists—the Cat Man and Arthur. How do their differences delineate their functions in the narrative? How do their similarities drive the larger conflict that the novel’s two protagonists—Good Stab and Etsy—face? What are the thematic concerns behind this larger conflict?

Discuss how Jones uses voice to distinguish his three narrators. What are the vocal peculiarities that distinguish each of these narrators? What other novels use a similar narrative conceit? How does it compare to this novel?