The Last Crossing, by Guy Vanderhaeghe, is a fascinating novel that does well to showcase the moral ambiguity of real life. This ambiguity gives Vanderhaeghe the opportunity to craft all kinds of complex characters along the moral spectrum. One such complex character is Custis Straw. Straw stands out among his fellow cast as the most likeable and most integrous of the bunch. However, Custis is not the classic white knight character, but he is instead a very flawed man seeking redemption. There are so many motivations as to why the main cast venture out into the wilderness, but the underlying reasoning for Custis is very intriguing. Most obviously, he wants to protect his love interest Lucy. As a Civil War veteran, he is battling many demons
…show more content…
The unfortunate part, as Custis puts it, is that being a soldier requires you to do some terrible things. As a soldier, Custis became numb to the act of taking the life of another person. It is for this reason that he vows to never touch a gun again. However, his task of going after Lucy has too much at stake for both Lucy and himself that he decides he needs a gun. The presence of the gun and having it in his possession sets the stage to show us the capacity Custis has to take a life. Eventually, Custis finds himself in a deadly situation. As terrible as the circumstances are, this is what Custis has been looking for. A chance to be brave and put himself in danger to save another. He found himself in a scenario where he could redeem himself and protect Lucy all at once. However, it is what he does in this situation that reveals a deadlier side to Custis. “Behind me, Titus starts to shriek, I’ve heard that sound many times before. The noise a man makes when he clutches bone splinters, mangled flesh” (247). This was a deadly scene where it is almost certain that Titus was going to sexually assault Lucy, and if Custis did not shoot Titus then Titus would have very likely taken Custis’ life. He had no choice but to shoot Titus but the way he does so is very questionable. The wound he gives Titus is fatal, and Titus is left to writhe in pain dying on the ground. Custis hints that he knows that wound all too well and one must wonder if he intentionally shot him in that way to cause Titus to suffer. Unfortunately for him, his darker side came out and tainted his act of
The unfortunate part, as Custis puts it, is that being a soldier requires you to do some terrible things. As a soldier, Custis became numb to the act of taking the life of another person. It is for this reason that he vows to never touch a gun again. However, his task of going after Lucy has too much at stake for both Lucy and himself that he decides he needs a gun. The presence of the gun and having it in his possession sets the stage to show us the capacity Custis has to take a life. Eventually, Custis finds himself in a deadly situation. As terrible as the circumstances are, this is what Custis has been looking for. A chance to be brave and put himself in danger to save another. He found himself in a scenario where he could redeem himself and protect Lucy all at once. However, it is what he does in this situation that reveals a deadlier side to Custis. “Behind me, Titus starts to shriek, I’ve heard that sound many times before. The noise a man makes when he clutches bone splinters, mangled flesh” (247). This was a deadly scene where it is almost certain that Titus was going to sexually assault Lucy, and if Custis did not shoot Titus then Titus would have very likely taken Custis’ life. He had no choice but to shoot Titus but the way he does so is very questionable. The wound he gives Titus is fatal, and Titus is left to writhe in pain dying on the ground. Custis hints that he knows that wound all too well and one must wonder if he intentionally shot him in that way to cause Titus to suffer. Unfortunately for him, his darker side came out and tainted his act of