Emilio

Informal Assignment #5
13 September 2016
I wonder if the other escaping Indians see this. I wonder if it gives them hope. I wonder if this
act of love makes it easier for them to face death. In the midst of all this madness and murder,
one soldier has refused to participate. He has chosen the opposite of revenge. Somehow that one
white boy, that small saint, has held on to a good and kind heart. A courageous and beautiful
heart. Pg. 93
1. Zits witnesses a young white soldier rescue a young Indian in the midst of the battle. Moments
before he was horrified to see the young Indian get murdered but instead the Indian boy is saved.
As the Indians are assaulted and murdered Zits wonder if the small act of kindness he has
witnessed will give hope to the rest of the Indians as they try to protect themselves from their
attackers. Zits describes that young white soldier as having a good heart. One thats filled with
courage and kindness. An act like that couldnt have come from anywhere except from the heart.
After all the atrocity Zits has witnessed he is glad that some good has come out of his error.
2. The beginning of the scene in which Zits, as General Gus, attacks a group of Indians with
soldiers depicts a very gruesome reality in American history. The Indians desperately tried to
defend themselves against the small army but they are very unsuccessful. Many die and the
women and children are slaughtered. This scene emphasizes the horror that Alexie showcases in
this part of the novel. At the same time the scene portrayed above introduces the theme of innate
goodness in people. When the young soldier rescues the Indian child the soldier is putting his life
at risk because hes now seen as a traitor to others and thus must be killed. Zits nicknames the
young soldier small saint to symbolize his actions and hopes that the small action will give
hope to the rest of the Indians.