three day road response #4

A rifle shot explodes and the child goes still,

a red hole punched in her chest by the bullet.

In many ways, this section of the novel horrified me. As the story progresses, we begin to see more and more how horrible the war truly is and all of the things Elijah and Xavier are losing. The contrast between the two men becomes starker and starker as Elijah descends into a strange madness and thirst for killing. It's obvious that he loves what he does, and he is no longer killing to survive, but killing because he likes it. On the contrary, Xavier is becoming less and less thrilled about the idea of killing and has even said he would rather go home; I wonder how many soldiers in the wars turned to either of these ways. I wonder how many soldiers didn't make it home even though they wanted nothing more.

I wonder, too, about what was lost in both Elijah and Xavier when they killed the innocent civilians. I think that, had this happened at the beginning of the war, they might not have even killed the mother and her child. As the war goes on, they become more prone to killing and are not afraid to do so. Perhaps if it had been near the beginning of the war, they might not have acted so quickly -- and I think Elijah would have been more horrified by his actions. 

They could have lost some innocence, but in all honesty, I think they lost it long ago. Killing a mother and her child might not have affected them at all because in some ways, I think it's just another thing they've done. Another part of the war, another casualty they'll have to live with. It's not the same as the German snipers that they've been killing all along, but I'm afraid to think Elijah doesn't exactly care. 

It's sad. But that's war for you.