The Marrow Thieves

What do you think he means by “I couldn’t let it come to this, not for him and not for me”

Found in chapter 5 page 50

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French is in a position to kill the large moose, which would provide his group with food for a week as well as hide for tarps, blankets, and ponchos. But he ultimately decides not to do so, since they would have to leave at least half of the meat behind to rot. In this way, the moose comes to symbolize a respectful relationship with nature. Frenchie feels it would be unjust to kill this grand animal only to waste a large portion of its meat. He chooses to respect nature rather than waste its resources. In so doing, he chooses to be different from those—like the Recruiters—who extract resources from the land and from Native peoples in a short-sighted, destructive manner. As a result of his respectful decision, Frenchie “gets” the moose in a different way, since the animal visits him in his dreams, perhaps to share insights.