When Ethan comes out of the canyon after finding Lucy's body, he stabs his knife in the sand repeatedly. Did he kill the commanches in the canyon or is it possible that he killed Lucy after seeing what they had done to her?
shareWhen we were in Phoenix we visited the Native American museum where I bought Celluloid Indian(?) which deals with Hollywood's portrayal of the NA. The author brings up this point in her discussion of the movie, citing the same things you point out.
Several years ago I met Lana Wood at an antiques and collectibles show and asked her about this theory. She mphatically stated "John Wayne did not kill my sister." I think I am not the only person to ask her about this possibility.
Ethan is stabbing into the sand to get down to where the soil is cooler, so he can cool his hands, not because he killed anyone with the knife. This is a common practice when traveling in hot climates.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
I like this answer, but does Ethanactually thrust his hands in?
shareThis is what I always thought as well.
I think he was getting water, oblivious to his companions because of the horror he'd witnessed.
Once he starts digging with his knife they ask him if he wants water.
I have read a theory that he found Lucy alive but brutally raped, which in his mind was a fate worse than death, so he gave her a mercy killing; the ferocious digging in the sand was to clean the blood off the knife.
I don't buy it, though. For one thing, if he was determined to keep the truth from Brad, he wouldn't let them see him with a bloody knife which he would then clean right in front of them.
Ethan's line to Brad in a later scene is: "I found Lucy back in the canyon. Wrapped her in my coat, buried her with my own hands. I thought it best to keep it from ya." I took it to mean the he found her murdered and defiled, covered her and gave her a decent burial.
I suppose Ford made it just ambiguous enough to keep the debate going forever.
WADDAYA WANT HIM TO DO, DRAW YOU A PICTURE? SPELL IT OUT? DON'T EVER ASK HIM! LONG AS YOU LIVE DON"T EVER ASK HIM MORE!
sharenickm2 that's one of the best, and in retrospect most obvious IMDB posts I've ever seen. thanks.
http://www.amazon.com/Save-Send-Delete-Danusha-Goska/dp/1846949866
nick, I didn't like this movie, but that'll be the day when I don't like your post. It's hilarious. Well done!
I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
Thank yuh, thank yuh verra much...I am assembling my fan club of minions.
Why can't you wretched prey creatures understand that the Universe doesn't owe you anything!?
I don't buy your serial killer assessment. I think he was delirious with having just found his niece brutally raped and murdered. He was dehydrated, he was distraught, and he just had to bury her in a canyon with his own hands. He was delirious when finding martha too, Initially.
If you put any credence into the theory Lucy was his daughter, it would be all the worse for him.
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I agree with your post philly_g28. I always believed that he had found some Comanche in the canyon and killed them, but that he was so upset because he was too late to save Lucy, who had already been raped and killed by them. If he had killed Lucy himself, I doubt he would have bothered to bury her along with his coat, which he had obviously had for at least three years on his post-war travels (and probably a lot longer, since most Confederate soldiers kept the same clothing the entire war). Notice at the beginning of the film he gave his saber away to his nephew, but not the uniform coat when he returned "home" to his brother's ranch.
Courage is being scared to death- and saddling up anyway
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Why did those murdering savages kill Lucy? I thought they always kept women and children. They let Debbie live,why not Lucy?
shareWhy did those murdering savages kill Lucy? I thought they always kept women and children. They let Debbie live,why not Lucy?
Ethan's "paint you a picture!?" line suggests Lucy was putting up a struggle.
it seems to me that Ethan found Lucy, raped and badly mutilated. He wrapped her in his coat and buried her. I always took the digging in the sand and Ethan thinking he was about to be sick, and digging a hole so he could cover it. The boys asking if he wanted water, confirms it , in my mind. It is John Ford's way of implying that what ever happened was so disgusting, it made John Wayne sick to his stomach. The don't ever ask me speech indicates Ethan is having a tough time handling it, and the boys wouldn't be able to handle it at all.
L