Riders of the Purple Sage is considered a novel that inspired the formula for the Western novel genre. Can you think of other books that follow the same kind of formula seen in this novel? Are there movies that follow the same formula? What do these books and movies have in common? How are they different?

How does the novel view the Mormon church? Is the text’s view nuanced in any way? How does its view of the Mormon church impact representations of gender? Use passages from the text to explain your answer.

Why does Tull confront Jane in regard to her friendships with non-Mormon settlers in the Cottonwoods area? How does the time period of the novel impact this distrust of non-Mormon people? How do Jane’s friendships with non-Mormon people create the conflict within the plot?