Were any of the killings in the book justified, in your opinion? Why or why not?
In the South we have a phrase that someone “really needed killing.” I think that suffices here.
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Without a doubt! Those two who were stalking Madeline’s twins!
When you are forced into impossible choices as it was with the twins and Keller, I believe it was understandable in the context of self-defense, or protecting others. I think Keller would have killed Emilie if she hadn’t killed him. The two creepy guys would have killed the others and then kidnapped the twins.
Keller at the Alamo was also justified! Not Mr. Crockett.
I was glad she killed Keller. Once again he was attacking her horse and definitely he would have killed her if she had not killed him. He was a horrible horrible man. Also the men in the beginning of the book stalking the twin girls needed to be taken care of.
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Keller! Most definitely. Selling his wife out and then raping her himself, and almost doing it a second time! And, yes, the men who were after the twins.
Those horrible men who followed them would certainly have killed them all and kidnapped the girls. The act was self defense for sure and the same with Keller. He was a despicable character who would haunt Emilie forever. When he started to threaten killing Star it was self defense for both of them.
My attitude about killing is probably more conservative or old fashioned–probably based on my religious beliefs. Unless it’s self-defense killing somebody is not in my realm. The secretiveness and hiding of bodies was also difficult for me even though I understood it was done. The frontier often lacked sufficient trained law enforcement and communication was nil to provide the safety needed.
The two gamblers who were trying to kidnap Madeline’s twins definitely deserved to die. And Keller deserved to die, as he would have killed Emelie if he could have. He was a dissolute, evil man who preyed upon her.
The killings were an interesting part of the book for me. I felt relief for sure and felt the murders were definitely justified. I think I even smiled when Emilie shot Keller.