At the end of the movie Max doesn't finish off the last guy, Tom, but leaves him lying in the river. Being that as it is, Tom would probably bleed to death. That would make it worse than if Max finished him off quickly.
shareI think that was the whole point. Max had already proven to himself that he had what it took to take a man's life. That being said he wanted the guy to suffer the way his parents suffered.
"You haven't got the guts!!! YOU'RE YELLA!!!!"
My vote history link:http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=5504773
That was my feeling about Max's actions at the end as well. Surely Max knew that Fitch was likely to die of those three wounds, since no one was around to help him and he had been crippled. But it would be a long and lingering death, whether from blood loss or infection. And so, as previous poster wrote, Fitch would suffer. And evidently the character Fitch suspected that as well and so he was goading Max into killing him outright, so he would not go through any such suffering. Who was the the "yella" one then? To his credit, Max has grown beyond reacting to taunts about his machismo--due in part, I believe, to his recent brief education with the Franciscan friar and the many years and experiences he has had since first meeting Fitch.
shareThat was my feeling about Max's actions at the end as well. Surely Max knew that Fitch was likely to die of those three wounds, since no one was around to help him and he had been crippled. But it would be a long and lingering death, whether from blood loss or infection. And so, as previous poster wrote, Fitch would suffer. And evidently the character Fitch suspected that as well and so he was goading Max into killing him outright, so he would not go through any such suffering. Who was the the "yella" one then? To his credit, Max has grown beyond reacting to taunts about his machismo--due in part, I believe, to his recent brief education with the Franciscan friar and the many years and experiences he has had since first meeting Fitch.Yes, and this is why this movie holds a special place in my heart. You see Max actually mature by the end of the film. The film has its problems, one being the white washing of the half Indian half white character which was so prevalent back in those days. Also McQueen, which I am a HUGE fan of, was way too old to be playing a 19 year old kid. However, the film made a lot of good points about the selfish cost of revenge (i.e. Pilar's death) and the points made by the friar as you have pointed out.
You see Max actually mature by the end
Not really. Max is still the same revenge-motivated train wreck he was at the film's beginning. He all but kills Malden - he knows that Malden will surely die of his wounds - and then rides off, telling Malden that Malden's "just not worth" killing. Huh? WTF??? He's killed Malden in a literal way, far more literally than his actions killed Pleshette earlier in the film (and she directly charges him with the crime).
The final scene shows zero maturity or moral development in Max. Realizing that, in leaving Malden for dead, he has exhausted at least his currently-felt impulse for revenge, he can... "afford" ... to ride off into the great West, satisfied in his own success at killing.
Oh - btw - iirc, as he rides off in one of the stupidest scenes ever filmed, he tosses his gun away. Again: Huh? WTF??
He's virtually killed Malden, but the frontier is still full of evil, dangerous people both White and Amerindian, not to mention lethal snakes and other predatory wildlife. So, DUH, in an empty and contradictory symbolic act, the moron throws away his gun. Bad, bad ending. And a ruined character utterly unredeemed by all of his life experience. The sad, violent horseman rides off into the wild frontier, ready to avenge any future slights in any way his vengeful nature dictates. A truly wasted story centered on a morally wounded character.