Novel Essay Chapter Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Novel Chapter Analysis - Essay Example â€Å"Tapakwewin† is one of the World War I chapters, and it takes place in September in the area around Hill 70, near the village of Lens. The action in the chapter involves Xavier and Elijah sniping and their squad managing to take the hill from the German troops. This chapter also features the German flamethrower troops who symbolize quite well all the really horrible things about war. Mixed in with this action and horror are important character developments on the parts of Xavier and Elijah both. They also meet another Anishnabe soldier who helps to clearly define the role that Xavier’s and Elijah’s people play in the war, and how that defines who they are and the problems they have in the story itself. In relation to the other chapters of the novel, the reason that â€Å"Tapakwewin† seems central is that is really focuses on the characters of Elijah and Xavier, and how they are different and similar to one another, in a way that helps the reader to understand the novel’s central theme of loss during war-time. This theme is not only loss of life and health, as Xavier experiences, but loss of innocence and a loss of sanity. It also highlights another of the novel’s themes, which is the problems that Native Americans had and still have in integrating with the mainstream population while simultaneously maintaining their own unique traditions and cultures. The Elijah and Xavier featured in this chapter have both begun to change from who they were, and both seem to feel that they are on a course that can no longer be altered. Xavier shares Elijahs thoughts, revealing that he â€Å"wonders what is growing in him† (Boyden 262). â€Å"In the end,† he says, the answer is simple: â€Å"Elijah has learned to take pleasure in killing† (Boyden 262). This point, roughly 2/3 of the way through the novel, seems a pivotal one. In the