A scene that I thought was very important was when Xavier, Elijah and their fellow soldiers were out of the lines, and sitting near a stream. A duck was by itself on the stream, and the other troops were coaching Elijah on to hit the duck, so that they could eat it. Elijah, soaking up the glory, took aim, steadied his focus and shot, but narrowly missed the duck. Xavier, sick of Elijah taking all the glory, quickly took his rifle, loaded it up and hit the duck. The other men went quiet and Xavier walked away, happy that he could prove himself.
I think that this scene is important, because throughout the novel it seems that Elijah has overshadowed Xavier on the front. Whether it is the language barrier, or the sniping of soldiers, Xavier comes up lesser in pretty much all situations. Though he never says to the other soldiers, you can tell that Xavier is very jealous of all the treatment Elijah gets, and wishes he was more respected. An example of this is through his narration. When Elijah receives his military medal, Xavier is very envious of this. With Elijah slipping up on the duck, and all the men to witness it, this was a great opportunity to show the men that Xavier wasn't just the one scoping the men. The fact that none of the men know that Xavier taught Elijah how to hunt seems to aggravate him, as he never seems to get any of the glory. In my opinion, the fact that he walked away right after poses for two reasons. One, it is dramatic, and two, it makes him not have to try and speak English and ruin the moment of being a true hunter.
The following is an excerpt from the scene:
"His shot cracks out and the water a foot ahead of the duck sprays up, sending the animal into a panicked flight. I watch as it lifts up high, then circles, looking for another place on the water to land. The men laugh and say, 'Nice shot,' anyway. The duck comes back in and lands not far from its original place.
I pick up my rifle and slip in a round, then take careful aim through my scope. With half a breath released, I pull the trigger and my rifle barks. The duck's feathers spray up, then slowly float back onto the water, landing on the surface and around the ripped carcass. The men around us stare at me as I stand up and walk away. Me, I won't let them forget who I am." (Page 244)
This scene connects very well with both Xavier and Elijah, as well as adds a bit of foreshadowing of the two characters' relationship. Up until now, Xavier had one of the biggest kills in the novel, the Hun Sniper who killed Sean Patrick, but still was not given a lot of credit for it. The men celebrated more when Elijah would make a kill much less significant than that. This scene really shows Xavier's skills to the soldiers, but more importantly, proves that he can one up Elijah. I don't think Xavier really needs to show off his talent. I think he just wants to show that Elijah isn't the only one with that much skill. Unfortunately for him, the circumstances have made Xavier Elijah's right hand man, but just like the sniping competition in training at the Exhibition Grounds, Xavier had his moment to shine.
This scene also foreshadows the tension between Xavier and Elijah. Through Xavier's narration, we start to see the frustration slowly building between the two, and how Xavier can sense the changes in Elijah. Though this scene shows no real conflict, as it was more a friendly game rather than a competition, I think it signifies the signs of more clashing to come between the two best friends.
