Anti-Racism
One of the elements which clearly set Hondo apart from the conventions of Western fiction is the unusually progressive stance it takes toward the inherent potential for humanity among the “savages” and the always lurking potential for malevolence among those usually deemed civilized. Hondo himself, of course, is the very definition of a good man, but in a break with tradition, he is equaled by an Apache chief. What Vittoro is to Hondo, on the other hand, the younger warrior with his eyes on the prize Silva, is to the degradation of the white race, Ed Lowe. Hondo the novel presents a portrait of a west that pits good guys versus bad guys which resorting to the easy stereotype of the cowboys always on the side of justice and the Indians always bloodthirsty killers. Men are judged by the content of their character in this vision of the frontier, not the color of their skin.
Chivalry on the Range
The Western genre has always been endowed with the mythos of European knights and damsels in distress, but Hondo more than most engages this transference of legend. He fully embodies the spirit of chivalry, always willing to join the battle for the forces of good and never less than gentlemanly in dealing with women. Even more to the point is the novel’s treatment of the less than chivalrous. Just as Hondo benefits from adhering to a code of honor, so do those who violate and betray that code—like Ed Lowe—wind up paying the ultimate price.
Transforming the Western Hero
Hondo is an expression of a theme and an embodiment of it at the same. He is a man often alone, but never lonely. He is just and chivalrous, but not above getting as violent as he needs to be when called for. He carries a bleakness about, but is not harsh and bitter. The lone hero standing tall against the forces of darkness existed in the western genre before the arrival of Hondo, but without him there might never have been Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name who looks almost as if leapt fully formed right off the page of L’Amour’s novel. The heroes of westerns before Hondo were less existential and more prone to active seeking either to do good or to settle down. Hondo changes the tenor of this figure from active agent for civilizing the west to reluctant participant willing to put everything at risk to ensure civilization continues unabated.
