DATE by
Dec
1st
by
Dec
2nd by
Dec
3rd
pages 386-396
(about the book, the author and the interview) pages1+2 pages 3-24
-main character descriptions
-inspirations for book
-influences on author
-chronology of story
-unsung heroes
-cautionary tale
-the art of storytelling
-Elijah and Xavier
-hook
-importance of animals
-developing themes
-setting changes
-multiple narrator changes
-animals + nature
-dual culture
-X’s personality+insecurity
-innocent victims
-pathetic fallacy
-moccasins and boots
-walking ghosts
(p.22)
-notches on the gun p.23
-“I nod but know enough not to smile again” (p.24)
What is the Great war?
What are “Orangemen”?
What is moral dissipation?
What is “Mick Catholic?
Determine Boyden’s greatest influences.
Who is Francis
Pegahmagabow?
Why is the story not told chronologically?
What are residential schools?
What is the Three Day
Road?
What does X think of E?
What does E think of X?
Evaluate the ‘hook’ used to introduce this story
Who is in charge on pages
1+2?
Who is Auntie?
Who are
‘wemistikokoshiw’ ?
What is an iron toboggan?
What is a ‘hookimaw’?
Evaluate the authenticity of each narrator.
List each time nature or animals are described or even mentioned- what do you notice?
What is wrong with X, besides his leg?
How many days will it take to paddle home?
How does X feel about E?
Why is the rain so important in this setting?
What is important about:
-And that one, Grey Eyes.
Him, he’s a liar. (p.14)
-Elijah: “Now we can hunt”
(15)
-“Me I won’t sing their songs”(16)
-Perfect words” (19)

62-75
DATE
Dec.6
th p.25-49
Dec
7th
50-61
-bannock?
-“ we agree silently to share a space” (26)
- importance of storytelling to Native culture and for X?
-“war touches everyone, and windigos spring from the earth.” (49)
-X’s strange wording on p. 50, “I thought we had crossed into their world’
-and on p.54, “It didn’t look like you were too concerned about me.”
-description of Sister
Magdalene and her words p.56
-E’s words on p.59,
“Better to let them know you’re an angry warrior…”
-shocking change of setting-contrast from p.61
-p.63-64 violence of war-story about
Gerald
-significance of knife description p.67
-significance of differences in react ion to the dead bodies on p. 70 + killing on p.75
-significance of description of bird, then X “I inch out of my nest” p.72
-differences between
E +X described on p.74
-E wishes he could fly, X is happy to stay on the ground, “on my belly in the dirt” (p.29) what does this tell us about each of them?
-Why is this quote significant? “Already
Elijah is telling of his exploits.” (p.33)
-What is the purpose of
Niska telling the story of her childhood to X?
-Why is the ‘new growth’ on p.50 symbolic?
-On. 51 –what does x mean “their tongue is better for lies” –what does it tell you about X?
-find direct characterization of E on p.52 + 59
-E ‘suggests they make camp” (p.52) - what does this say about X?
-find direct characterization of X on p.58
-foreshadowing on p.61”Me, I think it would look good on me. But you….”
-What is the significance of “I don’t like soccer” – where did the game originate?
- Why does X like + trust
Thompson?
-“My head floats above this this cut…”p.74- why is this quote significant?
Think Native culture
-Why does E grab the helmet? (p75)
-“I have killed someone now” p.75 –How does X feel about this- how do you know?

Dec
8 th p.76-88 p.89-95
9 96-129
- p.89- As a child X refuses to speak
English- now speaks
English even while sleeping…
-p.91- 94 experience and effect of residential schools p.92- lynx –animal imagery
-death, carcassesrotting farm animals- not wild animals…
-importance of E’s statements about himself vs. X’s thoughts on himself.
Indian blood“”(101)
-“We will both be very good over there. But
Elijah, all he wants is that place. This war will make him into something
Elijah’s character on p108.” change in Xavier’s occupation and his character.(119) the horse’s bloated body.
“Can you imagine –
-Irony – top of p.76
-Characterization of
E on p.77
-Racism p.78
-Symbol-importance of the medicine bag
X holds
-X thanking the dead p.81
-reasons Sean
Patrick is a good shot
-contrast top of p.83
--p.84 –the “This is how they can…”
Explanation
-“Why can’t they change?” p.87
-X retches, but E smiles (p.88)
-What elements does
Boyden use to successfully establish the anguish that X is feeling on 76+77?
-What are manitous?
-What has caused the bad relationship between
Breech and Elijah?
-p.80- What does X mean when he says, “Elijah’s eyes tell me all I need to know.”?
-Why do the ‘old’ soldiers look down and ‘ignore the new ones’? (83)
-What is the significance of the following quotes + phrases on p.86, “Birdnest”; “It is hunting”; “I am made for this”; “I am part of the earth”
--How is shaving her own head an act of rebellion?
(95)
-thematic significance of the passage where Xavier overhears his friends’ conversation.
-significance of Elijah
‘help’ to find ‘his way to the spirit world? Explain.
How does Xavier respond?
What is happening to
Xavier’s sense of himself and of his relationship to
Elijah?
Explain the significance of
Explain the thematic significance of the foreshadowing comment
Why do Elijah’s words anger Xavier?(102)
-significance of McCann’s bestowal of a nickname on
Xavier?

10 130-163 the intensity of such a man?” foreshadowing –p.
130, “I’m feeling unsettled…”
‘sprit of the lynx’…AGAIN p.131
‘scratched his pretty head’ p.132
“that’s when it dawned on me that maybe I wasn’t the hunter anymore”
(134)
“Elijah likes to go out of the trench…”(p.136)
“Bash a
Bosche”(136)
Elijah is using British accents and terms- significance?
“He says he couldn’t speak in his old voice even if he wanted to now. It’s gone somewhere far away.” (138)
Importance of souvenirs
Intense moment on
141- but Elijah giggles…. contrast of ‘white man’s clothes’ with moccasins (p.141)
“Can you imagine anything more glorious?” (p.142)
“I know Elijah so well that…” (p.145) – move from 1 st person
-significance of the brief conversation ‘between’
Xavier and Niska (111)
Why does it surprise
Xavier that Elijah would whisper his own prayers in
Cree?
-significance of the caribou hunt episode.
What does Elijah’s final comment reveal about him?
-significance of Xavier’s discovery regarding the
German sniper. (121-122)
Why do the ‘awawatuk’ typically travel together in small numbers?
How do Niska’s recollections of the winter of her 17 th year connect to her references of herself being connected to a lynx?
What is the SYMBOLIC significance of the title of the chapter “Seduced”?
(no, it is not about the relationship between
Niska and this man)
What is the significance of
X starting every sentence with “Elijah” at the top of p.
137?
Find evidence that X desperately wants to maintain his culture, while
Elijah only uses it when it’s convenient for him.
List the differences between E and X that X points out in this chapter- what do these differences say about each of the characters?
To what animals is E compared on p.140-read carefully!
Comment on the irony of having to balance men’s egos with the ultimate purpose of the war as seen on p.145
What is the significance of name changing? Of

DATE
PAGES READ
13 164-200 narrator to omniscient…
“Nothing mentioned of me finishing things up for him …”(150)
Note the harsh contrast of the boys’ innocence versus the nun’s reaction
“I will strike the heathen from thee” p.
153)
E imitates an
OSPREY p. 163
AS YOU READ,
FOCUS ON: mother’s warning
(164) other’s advice (167) significance of town’s smell
“I realized that day that there were no others like me…”
(168)
Irony +symbolism of
Native people
‘blessing themselves and locking their doors” (168)
-significance of washing, bathing, becoming a ‘different woman’ –rubbing to
‘pinkness’
-Note the vulgarity of the white man’s words at the top of page 174 and how quickly his demeanour changes towards Niska. Think of the theme of losing identity- forced loss of identity- taking advantage of the vulnerable, etc..
-Note X’s bitterness at his lack of recognition -top of page 178
-Note the irony of
Elijah climbing the back of the Virgin
Mary- think of Niska’s
“making it their own”
(p.154)
What is the significance of the old man’s dream on p.163
-Why might the ‘animals be offended”? (165)
-Identify the importance of sweet grass to some
Native tribes.
-why would the
Frenchman be sullen when he discovered that
Niska was “…not just a young woman living in the bush alone” (p. 166)
-Why are the ‘converted’
Cree seemingly fearful of
Niska? (168)
-“A taste for red meat” – what does this mean??
-It is NOT a coincidence that this white man gives
Niska alchohol and then takes her to a church where he discusses the importance of being ‘holy’ with her- what does this scene signify? Why is it so symbolic?
* the howling of a hurt animal…falling on all fours….”(p.175)
-What does Niska ask of the animal spirits? What is the result? How is it ironic?
-What is the significance of X describing how much more comfortable he feels with the animals, then E trying to get the officers to pay attention to the suffering animals: “They

14 201-239
15 240-268 story and the importance of the church in the cultural genocide of the
Native people.
*Note Elijah referring to the trees in terms of men –what is the symbolic importance of this?
*foreshadowing on p.
207
*This is simply what this place and these conditions have done to him” (210)
*Note three days of paddling (p.217)
*Note the symbol:
The trees by the school helping her to forget- what was the purpose of residential schools?
*Note the symbolic power of the rifle- even in the residential school
*Note the whiteness of his teeth (231)
*Note the imagery of
Gilberto lending X his hand (236) and the repetition of reds
X’s character development
*p. 243- “It is as if I was not even there…” “He has not mentioned me once” p. 244 “Me, I won’t let them forget who I am”
*243 “No one had expected the
Canadians to take
Vimy ridge”
*Importance of threes
–foreshadowing?
(245)
*No one ever seems to notice that I’m around” (247) can wait” (187)
-Why does Breech have difficulty believing Elijah- note his racial slur (p. 196)
-What is the significance of Elijah’s last moments with the dead officers?
(200)
Why does E grow angry thinking about Peggy?
How does he react to this anger?
P.204-“they will buy you honour among us…and we are honorable men” what is the significance of this quote? Google
Shakespeare’s Julius
Caesar and see if you can find this quote, “and we are honorable men” (204) p.210-What is the significance of Elijah removing the man’s scalp? Think about his own identity
-who is Gitchi Manitou?
-what does Elijah keep in his bag? (228)
*Why would Fat stab his own leg?
* What is happening to the relationship between X and E? –“I fear many thing sin this place. But I do not want to fear my friend.”
246
* What is the significance of the little girl saying, “the dirty Huns killed him with gas” (250)
“I want to beat Elijah with my fists until he is bloody”
(253)
*Note the ringing in X’s ears- when does it seem to be especially bad?
*I need to find out if we

16 269-301
“…now that I am the one doing and not the one left behind”
(248)
“I realize the place hasn’t changed, it’s me” (250)
*I really must be invisible to them”
(254)
. *Note the blatant ignorance of Breech in his statements on p. 256
*To know that you have desecrated the ones you love, that you have done something so damning out of greed for life…is a hard meal to swallow”
(Niska, p.261) think of this quote in terms of the themes of this whole book.
“But I knew” (269)
*Note E’s recognizing something is
‘growing’ in him and
X’s response that he doesn’t want ‘this freedom’(283)
*Note the men bragging, even competing about how many they have killed.
“We do the nasty work for them and if we return home we will be treated like pieces of s*** once more” (287)
*Note that X is attempting to speak directly to Niska now, but only about the war and E in the war
*Note the significance of the statement made by
Ferguson on p. 296 to Niska share something, some magic” (246)- how is this a change for X?
*Note the instinctual response of the bird and
Breech’s response on p.258- why is this symbolic?
*The incident with the bird’s nest on p. 258 is extremely important.
Why?
*How many days does nephew wait to ask his
Auntie about what he saw her do with the Windigo?
*What happened to
Rabbit, according to
Niska?
*When did first Elijah come to stay with X, and why?
*What did the nun with the rifle do to Elijah? (267)
*How is E trying to influence X in this section- even as such a young boy?
*There is a repetitive reference to Elijah’s inability to go to the washroom- what is significant about this?
*E is described as looking
“anemic” – Google anemic and find out what it looks like- why is this significant?
*Niska describes X’s scars, “ white against his brown skin” (290) why is this important?
*Note how Niska feeds X- what does this remind you of?

Jan3 302-331
Jan4 332-363
*Note the many references to cannibalism so far in this book –and note that while X vomits his piece, E swallows his. (310)
*Note the great errors and misunderstandings which occur because of language and culture barriers.
*Note E’s ears ringing in this section.
*I feel both relief and something else”
(334)
Note X’s ears ringing on p.338
Note “His eyes have the wild look of an animal caught in a snare” (338)
*Note Elijah’s resemblance to
Macbeth (340)
*Note that E’s moccasins are falling apart-what d they represent? Why is he wearing them
*What is important about the inability to properly translate Niska’s words into English?
*How can you tell that although X judges E’s actions, he and E are not that different form each other?
*Why does X say he will never understand their god, their people? (307)
*Google the ‘trickster’ figures in Aboriginal mythology.
*On p 316 +317 X notices
2 very significant differences between himself and Elijah- one of these differences ‘crushes something inside’ him
(316)-the other pushes him to ‘burn sprigs of dried grass’ (317) what are these 2 differences?
*Is Elijah a cannibal?
*Try to determine what is happening in the strange moments between X and
E on pages 320,322+323.
What is X trying to do and why can he not follow through?
*What do cats often represent? What are they associated with?
*X says that E realizes something has changed- what is it? (331)
*Why does E kill the soldier in the makeshift hospital bed?(337)
*Why is it so important that E says he has no time for ‘these dreams in his head”? Would X have reacted the same way to this dream? What does this tell us about E? (338)
*I was always like this…Quiet and calm and listening. But never saying what Elijah needed to hear.”(342) What do you think E needed to hear? How is this need

Jan5 364-382 instead of the boots?
Note X’s treatment of his prisoners.
Note E’s blood smeared face, (349)
Note that X refers to
E as being a shadow-
Google ‘Windigo’
Note how she feeds him by the fire
Watch this video after reading Niska tell X about his adventure with the grouse: http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=tAmaxL
35JYA
“You always come back, in one way or another, to where you have been before” (360)
Note that Niska starts this story three times.(360)
Elijah repeated on p.143? Why can X never tell him what he needs to hear?
Respond to Elijah’s explanation of who is really ‘mad’ on p.350
*Niska explains how she has no medicine to cure
X’s addiction- how does this represent the cultural gap imposed upon them and symbolize the cultural differences and problems created by the white man?
*what does Niska mean when she says, “Now is when he will decide” (362)
Define ahcahk
A prophet of the Old
Testament, who opposed the worship of idols and incurred the wrath of Jezebel, the queen of Israel, who tried to kill him.
He was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.
Note how, now that X has killed E, he understands him better- where else have you seen this in the novel? (374)
Although X is actually alive, why is it important that everyone in the hospital thinks X is dead?
Note the line from
Macbeth, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles”
(366,367,368,369)
Note Elijah’s quote to
X on p.369 and the similar quote on p.2
Although everyone thinks
X is E, still, “the others pay little attention to me” (375)
Why is this ironic?
What takes place when
Niska brings X into the matatosowin
Note the similarity of this scene on p. 370 to Niska’s actions on the windigo when X was a child
Note X taking of his

white man’s clothes, and then, “our skin as tender as newborns”
(382) What does this signify?
http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/
http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/
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