One of Meyer’s key concerns is the role that violence plays in the history of Texas. By plotting the violence that follows the McCullough family against the state’s history, Meyer suggests that violence has been instrumental to the shaping of Texas and therefore, the United States.

Eli’s story begins in a state of violence. The McCulloughs arrive in Texas despite the threat of Comanche raids, which foreshadows the inciting incident of Eli’s story. The slaughter that befalls Eli’s family is needless, which is why Toshaway tries to stop his fellow raiders from attacking their homestead. Eli is shaped into a lifelong warrior by his family’s deaths and his being raised to fight Comanche enemies. Following his participation in the westward expansion of the United States and the American Civil War, Eli bristles at the possibility of a quiet home life. Even when he fulfills his promise to build Madeline a home on the Nueces River, he continues to prefer the open frontier to life indoors—a choice that leads to the deaths of Madeline and Eli’s son Everett. From then on, Eli uses his life as a rancher to excuse further acts of violence, escaping peace and domesticity to beat down rivals like the Garcia family.