The Wild West
As part of the genre, the novel employs a great deal of imagery detailing life in the open West where Hondo lives. It is 1870's Arizona, and the government has a faint control over the land that grows through time, but the Apaches are still actively attempting to save their lands from invasion. Hondo is at the crossroads of this Western setting, often on horseback, often in gunfights, and always challenged to problem-solve. This is especially true when the chaos of the Wild West removes him from his family members.
Chaos and the Natives
The Native Americans are depicted in full regalia, but because Hondo is part Apache by birth, the novel suggests a more symbolic reading of this Native imagery. The orderly, well-mannered society of the Europeans is contrasted with the wild spirit of the Apaches. War is depicted as a state of chaos, and one at which the Apaches are unparalleled in ability. To Hondo, his allegiance to the Apache nation makes him balanced, because he often sees more than one point of view at once.
Death and gunfights
The novel is full of violence and warfare. For all intents and purposes, it is a wartime novel. The Apaches are at war against these families for their land, but the land was taken by the military and given to the families. The families are not nearly as involved in the politics as the Apaches believe, so to them, the gunfights and the constant threat of death are completely unnerving. To those characters, this imagery is one of pure horror, even though the reader probably already associates the West with gunfights.
Treaty and peace
The novel struggles to exit the wartime imagery of gunfights and surprise attacks, kidnappings and murders. The emerging version of peace that the reader finds is one that emerges from Hondo himself. Although Hondo's life has been challenging and at times frustrated as a person of mixed-heritage, his dual point of view helps him to see when the Apaches might be sensitive to a plea for treaty. He is a skillful warrior because he sees the whole scope of the war and understands when the Apaches might be willing to find a truce.
