What i saw in the documentary shocked me. I have grown up in many big cities and i know in bigger cities crime is more prevalent. So, therefore the crime rate in Vancouver doesn’t really shock me. However what does shock me is the ethnic groups that are being specifically targeted. The indigenous people, specifically women, that are targeted are mostly done so because the perpetrators know that in many cases the women have very little contact with their families as a consequence to the Canadian government in many cases splitting them up.

This added an element of depth to the problems that previous legislation and residential schools have done. I understood how due to the bad education and lack of cultural affinity, many of the native people had difficulties establishing themselves in society, and thus many became affiliated with crime out of despair. However I never considered that these exact reason made them into a perfect victim just because the perpetrators know that the women they assault have very little familial connections, and they also know that the system is sadly not in their favour either. This creates a two tier society concerning safety, the mostly white majority can live very safe and comfortable lives with police protection, whereas aboriginals and especially women live very unsafe, uncomfortable lives in a world where the system does not care much for them.

It is shameful that a country should let this discrimination to continue, the more we are learning about aboriginal issues in Canada, the more i realize how superficial the equality among citizens is. It has been shown that the equality exists purely on paper, and for the rest not much has been changed. As such the government is mocking the aboriginal people by giving them “equal” rights, that they know are just a sham in most cases. This in my opinion shows a very distinct image about the Canadian government.

I find it curious how the state on the whole does not try and fix the aboriginal issues to the satisfaction of both sides, and as such they can start to fix problems that affect the society on the whole. This truly shows how the problem concerning the first nations really isn’t something that the government can put aside, the problem is very much key to the development and the improvement of the country. I find it very shortsighted of the politicians to let the horrendous diplomatic and political situations to continue. Since the first contact, the relationship between first nations and colonists has been very difficult, so after hundreds of years, i don’t see why the government isn’t trying more to end it.

It is completely unjustified that the government does not act more on what it claims to be doing and furthermore, that it would allow for the creation of an unofficial and unequal system to be created. This shows that after all these years, the relationships have improved, but at the core, most problems have not changed since first contact. This is truly shameful.

I felt that the novel was in many ways very similar to the book “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque. In that it showed and discussed the events of the war through the eyes of those that lived them, also while demonstrating and showing the effects of the war on those who participated in it. Both books drew on the social situation during the war, and how the situation differed for the soldiers depending on whether they were at the front or at home. This i feel was seen through Xavier. This is because his “insignificance” in Canada due to his native heritage. Whereas on the front he is very much revered and at certain points even feared for his talent and skill in sniping. As a consequence it shows to what degree his status as being a native really matters, it shows and reflects how superficial they are. This is especially noticed in how when he is Canada he is not an accepted part of society, and in his passages reflecting upon his youth, he shows how he was alienated by the white man in Canada. When serving at the front, even with his limitations in the English language, his different race, he is still very much accepted as being one of the men, but also as a fellow Canadian. I feel that the novel does play really well into the idea that the distance that exists between white Canadians and natives is a very superficial one that can and should be fixed.

I feel that through the way the novel is portrayed as being a series of flashbacks to the past of Xavier, actual character development is not shown. Rather a more in depth explanation is given to why he is the way he is. The book gives the reader the opportunity to learn more about Xavier, rather than showing his development on a continuous scale. This would mean that in the beginning of the book, we learn about Xavier, and we read about him at that current state, but as the book progresses we learn as how he became the way he is. In that sense the book does not show a concrete characterization, but its an explanation of why Xavier is the way he is. The book is interesting in that our view of the character changes continuously throughout the book just purely due to the fact that we continuously learn about Xavier, and furthermore the conditions that he was forced to endure both at home and on the front.

I also believe that Niska holds an important role in the book in that she provides a background for Xavier’s story. Through showing her life we learn about the circumstances at which the natives are forced to live. As a consequence through Niska the reader learns about Xavier’s motives for going into the military, but most importantly, to show how the barriers that exist between the white man and the natives are largely superficial as under a common strife, all barriers between them fall away.