Andrea Montesano

Ms.Raposo
May 9th, 2017
NBE-3U2

Cries Too Often Unheard

 The destruction of the soul of a soldier is an inevitability the second that they enlist for 

combat. No man is able to escape the destruction of warfare, they either return mentally scarred 

or they do not return at all. Elijah is an inspiring, charismatic, ambitious young man when entering 

the war, yet he ends up discarded and dishonored, left to lay dead in No Man’s Land. The reason 

for Elijah's physical and mental deterioration is solely due to the horrors of war that he 

experiences and the lack of support he is given. He has the mental capacity to deal with almost 

anything yet he was unable to survive, just as no man is truly able to survive war. The environment 

Elijah suffers through is unsurvivable as proved when one takes into consideration that, Elijah is as 

prepared as a man could possibly both mentally and physically before the war. The setting he is 

exposed to during his childhood only makes him stronger. Additionally he is subject to horrible 

events that stem from the setting of war that ultimately change who he is greatly. Lastly the 

setting fails to provide him, and takes away the only support he so desperately needs with his 

disturbed mindset. Elijah is a tragic soul searching for recognition and honour in a setting that only 

rewards for killing.   

When a man is oppressed and stripped of his culture, his natural first instinct is to revolt 

violently or crumble, figuring there is no way for him to succeed in society. It takes true mental 

strength to deal with oppression the way that Elijah does in early 20th century Canada. When 

Elijah's life before the war is examined it is clear that he is as prepared for the trials the war would 

provide as any man could possibly be. One primary trait that would help in France would be his 

killer instinct and hunting skills. Elijah is a true specimen of nature, he is silent when he kills and 

deadly with a rifle. His life at home depended on his skills, if he didn't hunt, he didn't eat. 

Additionally Elijah’s lust for blood which is a major factor in his mental deterioration is nowhere to 

be found in his early life. Although Elijah does batter a snared marten in the opening scene he does 
not do it out of entertainment, he is trying his best to end the animals suffering. The flashback even 

states “He hesitates, then swings the stick” (Boyden, 2).This slight hesitation is proof enough that 

Elijah's character at the end of the novel is one created by the chaotic atmosphere. The shadow of 

his former self at the end of the novel would’ve killed the marten without hesitation, without even 

asking Xavier what they should do. Lastly Elijah's experience with oppression would help with 

coping with the uniformity that an army strives to accomplish. The first thing an army does when a 

man enters their ranks is to remove them of their identity. A effective fighting force is one that is a 

unit and not made up of individuals. This process can get to man’s heads easily during war but is 

not one that bothers Elijah. He has already had his identity taken from him before, and fitting into 

an ideal that every soldier should be the same is an easy transition for a man who has had to deal 

with barbaric attempts of assimilation. Unfortunately no matter how prepared Elijah is, as 

prepared as any man could be, nobody could expect the things Elijah had to deal with during the 

war. 

A man's character can often be defined based on the way he handles a situation. Certain 

situations have such a lasting impact on a man that they change their personality forever. There 

are moments such as this in the novel where specific events truly effect Elijah's personality 

eventually leading to his unavoidable demise. All of the events he encounters are created by the 

horrid war environment. The first significant event is Elijah's encounter with the French soldiers. 

One man explains to Elijah; “Take the scalp of your enemy as proof. Take a bit of him to feed you” 

and that doing this would “Buy honor among us… and we are honourable men”. (188). This 

exchange between Elijah and the French men begins Elijah's excessive killing ways and his future 
habit of feeding on the corpses of his unfortunate victims. When Elijah figures out that skinning 

men and eating them will buy him honour in this savage land he sets this as his main priority. Many 

times in the novel Elijah is simply looking to impress and to be dignified by his peers, and he sees 

excessive killing as a way to become dignified among these men. Later on while Elijah has been 

racking up kills and skins he then shows his next example of how the war has conditioned him into 

a savage, when in a quick response he shoots before thinking, killing a child. His excuse for his 

actions are simply “I am trained not to hesitate in situations of danger”(283) . This cold response 

shows how he now believes he must kill without thinking. The restraint he showed on the marten 

was no longer there, he responds now with action before thought. This event highlights the 

brainwashing that occurs on soldiers when they enlist. It depicts how the army trains you to kill 

should any possible danger arise no matter how slight it may be. The final event that shows Elijah's 

change was when he got to achieve his dream of flying in an airplane. The importance of this event 

is not the physical effects that occur because of the flight but rather the mental effects that occur 

later on. Elijah is destroyed by this experience, his sense of immortality is gone and for the first 

time in the novel he displays signs of legitimate fear of the setting. More importantly Elijah finally 

admits that everything he's experienced has changed him. “I can see that I went too far into a 

dangerous place for a while”(323). Elijah says this pleading for help from Xavier. He says this to ask 

for forgiveness but Xavier knows more than anyone else that the things Elijah has done, are 

unforgivable. At this point Elijah had lost his last form of support. 

When World War One was unleashed upon mankind it was the largest war humanity had 

ever seen. The blood, gore, redundedness, repetition all made it one of the most intolerable 

experiences a man could take part in. Sadly the soldiers who fought have little to no support to 

cope with the stress that they are exposed to daily. The leaders of the soldiers have no sympathy 
for their inferiors, showing depression during this time period was to show weakness. This lack of 

support for the struggling soldiers, especially affected Elijah. The authority figures Elijah must 

follow through the war both provide a mix of guidance and annoyance further altering his 

personality. He has two superiors that he could tell genuinely care for their men, both Thompson 

and McCann. But he is also under the order of the infamously smug and incompetent Lt. Breech, 

justly nicknamed bastard Breech. This disconnect between soldier and foolish Commanding 

officers is common during the setting of the first World War. Soldiers felt as if their lives are 

expendable, as Commanders prioritized capturing an objective over conserving manpower. 

Infantrymen are sent into any location, given any order and any disobedience is met with a court 

marshalling and later execution. This stress is bearing on Elijah the entirety of the war and finally 

boils over when he's lost the only leadership who cared about him, Thompson and McCann. 

Without any men to look up to anymore Elijah lashes out and promptly relieves his frustration 

with bastard Breach by smashing his head in. In addition to incompetent leadership the time 

period also provides very archaic and savage ways of dealing with traumatized and injured 

soldiers. As stated previously to complain about any effects of physiological disturbance is to be 

labeled as a coward. One of the coping methods for pain is the issuing of morphine. Sadly the true 

reality is that morphine did more damage to a man then any good. We see this with Elijah who 

after becoming addicted to the drug simply cannot live without it. It is not a coincidence that 

Elijah's insane sprees began to pick up the more he abuses the drug. “He can make himself float 

from his body at will and look down at the world below him-the world man has created-and still 

see the beauty in it”.(195) This description of Elijah under the influence highlights how he sees 

beauty in the destruction under the medicine, he finds glory in the ravaging of mankind. If the 

medics had taken care of their men properly like they do in modern times, and not just issue out 

large amounts of dangerous drugs, Elijah could have retained his sanity which he loses as he dives 
deeper into his addiction to the drug. Morphine is one of the largest factors on his failure to remain 

sane but the largest effect of the setting on Elijah has to be his relationship crumbling with Xavier. 

These boys are lifelong friends, nearly brothers, and yet they are driven to the point where they 

both are prepared to kill each other. Xavier and Elijah are each other's anchors, they are both the 

only connection they have to their past lives and they both inspire one another to return home to 

their past lives. When Xavier realizes that Elijah has become too corrupted by the fighting he also 

discovers that there is no chance for a peaceful return home, Elijah has become to much of a 

product of his environment. The horrors of war have the power to split up two inseparable people, 

two men who could have survived together, both corrupted by the setting. 

No man is capable of surviving war. Whether it be dreaming of lost friends for the rest of a 

man's life, or in fact becoming one of the lost men, no mortal man can defeat warfare. This toxic 

environment is the largest factor in the moral destruction of a promising young man. Elijah had 

been through hell and is equipped for war as well as any man could be, yet he still fails. He suffers 

through traumatic and influential events which arise from the setting that change him. And finally 

is overall destroyed along with his relationship with his best friend by the tragedy that is the First 

World War. Unfortunately Elijah's case is not one of singularity. His story is one untold by too 

many soldiers who have had to suffer under the foot of an ideal of a nation. Their cries remain 

punished and unheard. Lest we forget the agony these brave men bared, and lest we forget that 

war must be avoided at all costs. 

 
Works Cited

Boyden, Joseph, ​Three Day Road.​ London:Penguin Group , 2005.