Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

The "Americans"

"Americans" is the narrator's general term for anyone who seems to be coercive, bullying, brash, or disrespectful of others and nature. While out portaging (hiking), the narrator, David, and Anna encounter group of men that they're convinced are Americans based on a flag on their boat. Even after they are revealed as Canadians, the narrator refers to them as "Americans" because she believes they were responsible for murdering a heron for sport—which apparently is a typically "American" activity, in her eyes.

For this reason, her realization that Joe is not an American is about as gushy a compliment as the narrator can give.