Previous
Corporal Thompson
An officer in the Canadian Army during World War I, and part of Elijah and Xavier’s unit. Like Corporal Thompson, Sergeant McCaan is kind to Elijah and Xavier, and he excuses Elijah’s boastful and reckless behavior because he thinks Elijah is a good sniper. McCaan gives Xavier the nickname, X—“X marks the spot on any target [Xavier] wishes to hit”—and he serves as a buffer between Xavier and Elijah and the racist Lieutenant Breech. McCaan dies near the end of the war when he is shot at pointblank range by a German soldier right in front of Xavier.
Sergeant McCaan Quotes in Three Day Road
The Three Day Road quotes below are all either spoken by Sergeant McCaan or refer to Sergeant McCaan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Takoshininaaniwan: Arrival
Quotes
McCaan whispers out to all of us to regain our wits, that this is our first true test as soldiers and that for all we know we may be in enemy territory and that from this moment on our lives hang in the balance. "You are acting like rabbits," he says. "It is time to act like wolves,” and these are the perfect words. I can almost hear the backs of the men around me stiffen and the hairs on their necks bristle and it is exactly this, to be the hunter and not the hunted, that will keep me alive. This law is the same law as in the bush. Turn fear and panic into the sharp blade of survival.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Three Day Road LitChart as a printable PDF.
Sergeant McCaan Quotes in Three Day Road
The Three Day Road quotes below are all either spoken by Sergeant McCaan or refer to Sergeant McCaan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Takoshininaaniwan: Arrival
Quotes
McCaan whispers out to all of us to regain our wits, that this is our first true test as soldiers and that for all we know we may be in enemy territory and that from this moment on our lives hang in the balance. "You are acting like rabbits," he says. "It is time to act like wolves,” and these are the perfect words. I can almost hear the backs of the men around me stiffen and the hairs on their necks bristle and it is exactly this, to be the hunter and not the hunted, that will keep me alive. This law is the same law as in the bush. Turn fear and panic into the sharp blade of survival.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
