How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Then that success, which was already so well known, was officially announced; the favored band who were selected to guard the gates of the fort were detailed, and defiled before their chief; the signal of their approach was given, and all the usual preparations for a change of masters were ordered and executed directly under the guns of the contested works. (17.36)
This description of the fort's changeover from the English to the French depicts a well-ordered and civilized process. This sets the reader up for the contrast of the wild and savage bloodbath of the massacre, and supports the notion that the essential divisions in the novel are racial (white v. Indian) rather than national (French v. English).
Quote #8
"To-day I am only a soldier, Major Heyward," said the veteran. "All that you see here, claim alike to be my children." (17.43)
Why is Munro suddenly so apathetic about the fate of his children on the eve of their departure from Fort William Henry? What does it mean that he says that all the inhabitants of the fort are his children, or that "today he is only a soldier"?
Quote #9
The flow of blood might be likened to the outbreaking of a torrent; and as the natives became heated and maddened by the sight, many among them even kneeled to the earth, and drank freely, exultingly, hellishly, of the crimson tide. (17.70)
Bloodlust, eww. Here the Native Americans are portrayed as bloodthirsty savages, which appears to be a recurring trend throughout the novel (and, frankly, throughout all of Westward expansion).