The voyage into wilderness
William Blake is a young man who believes that by going West, he can find some exciting new life. Instead, he accidentally crosses the archetypal threshold into chaos. He heads West discovering that past the frontier, the world is still savage and wild. He has to worry about invading Natives who are rumored to be quite vicious—but not as vicious as his fellow white man! He watches in horror as his own train starts murdering buffalo for nothing. Apparently, the rules are different in the Wild West.
The duality of identity
William Blake sustains a serious injury and almost dies. Then, when he comes to, he is mistaken for the famous poet, William Blake. This can be seen as a symbolic misunderstanding. According to his white cultural identity, he is only a man, but according to "Nobody's" insight, the Native shaman who saves his life, he is a poet with a sacred voice, and a Native American spirit, trapped in a martyrdom he does not understand. Blake must come to understand himself in light of the shaman's mystic insights.
Ego death and transcendentalism
The shaman gives a hallucinogen to Blake after he has healed some. The experience of ego death is depicted, especially since the shaman's name is "Nobody." Even the shaman can be regarded as a mystical symbol for Blake's transformation of self. Now, he has no personal fear or hesitation; he believes he is one with nature, and he is transformed into an enlightened person. His near-death experience is also part of this motif.
Water as a symbol of chaos
Blake's new identity leaves him constantly at the water's edge. This is a comment on balance, because when he is standing alongside water, his reality is reflecting the chaos of life. One day, he is riding a stolen canoe, and the white men overwhelm the Native village and kill many Native Americans in a horrific scene. Blake sees this from the water, and he is killed shortly after watching his spirit guide being swept away to sea. The water is symbolizing the chaos of time, because no one knows when something chaotic could happen.
Death and industry
From the fully awakened, naturalized, deified personality that Blake arrives at with the help of his shaman, he re-analyzes the first symbols of the film. Now, he is not on the train with the white men; he is on the other side of the machinery. He sees the metal vehicles as a symbol for hellish destruction. Their methods are counter to nature, and they dominate instead of living in harmony. The symbolic connection is a thematic commentary on industry, that it brings death.
