x Masterpiece: The Surrounded The Surrounded tells a tragic story of cultural dislocation and split identity. There is a visible silhouette of the young McNickle in the character of Archilde. The story reveals the painful process of the disintegration of the Native American culture. It points its accusing finger directly at the intrusion of the whites into the traditional lives of the Indians. To begin with, Archilde is torn between divided allegiances to the different elements of his heritage: Indian and white, and he runs away But the curse of being a half-breed follows him and he is destined to run into his own undoing. The gun as a technological advance introduced from outside makes the world a lot more violent and deadly. Archilde, who is too tenderhearted to kill a deer and who never kills anyone in his life, is doomed as a scapegoat for the deaths that have occurred during his stay home. The Indians start wondering about the change for the worse in their existence and about the loss of their powers: whereas in the old days tribal fighting was a game, it is now a slaughter, and their powers no longer protect them. In their desire to establish a connection with some spiritual powers, they are ready to em brace christianity, which is to be a dubious blessing at the best. The journal entries of Father Grepilloux, a character in the novel, show that he is complicit, probably unconsciously, in the collapse of the Indian traditional way of life as well.＊Masterpiece: The Surrounded The Surrounded tells a tragic story of cultural dislocation and split identity. There is a visible silhouette of the young McNickle in the character of Archilde. The story reveals the painful process of the disintegration of the Native American culture. It points its accusing finger directly at the intrusion of the whites into the traditional lives of the Indians. To begin with, Archilde is torn between divided allegiances to the different elements of his heritage: Indian and white, and he runs away. But the curse of being a half-breed follows him and he is destined to run into his own undoing. The gun as a technological advance introduced from outside makes the world a lot more violent and deadly. Archilde, who is too tenderhearted to kill a deer and who never kills anyone in his life, is doomed as a scapegoat for the deaths that have occurred during his stay home. The Indians start wondering about the change for the worse in their existence and about the loss of their powers: whereas in the old days tribal fighting was a game, it is now a slaughter, and their powers no longer protect them. In their desire to establish a connection with some spiritual powers, they are ready to embrace Christianity, which is to be a dubious blessing at the best. The journal entries of Father Grepilloux, a character in the novel, show that he is complicit, probably unconsciously, in the collapse of the Indian traditional way of life as well