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.