In Death Comes for the Archibishop, New Mexico is a meeting point for a lot of different races and cultures, including Native Americans, Mexicans, and Europeans. That means that you've got a lot of people trying to exist together despite some pretty significant differences in their cultural backgrounds.
Some of these people fare better than others, but Father Latour stays dedicated to overcoming the differences between himself and those around him. Other people like Kit Carson are unfortunately more interested in getting rid of everyone who isn't like themselves. In the end, Willa Cather sympathizes much more with people who try to be understanding and tolerant.
Questions About Race
- Do you think that Willa Cather portrays Native Americans fairly in this book? Why or why not?
- Do you think that the leaders in Rome are right for wanting a white bishop to take over New Mexico now that the U.S. has conquered it? What difference does it make, if any?
- How do the Mexican priests respond to having a white French guy come in and tell them what to do? Is it a reasonable response?
Chew on This
In Death Comes for the Archbishop, we learn that it's almost impossible to create total understanding among different cultures, especially when each of them has a very different way of looking at the world.
Death Comes for the Archbishop shows us that compassion and open-mindedness are the only things a person needs to deal successfully with cultural tensions.