In "Death Comes for the Archbishop," Willa Cather uses inner character conflicts and the character's relationship with the land to create powerful characters. Father (or Bishop) Latour's conflict in his journey to New Mexico deals with evil characters that are using the church for their self-gain.. Latour sees a lack of Christianity in the land and the possibility of bringing the word of God to the new land as well as civilization. Good and bad characters and their conflicts are reflected in the land and images of the land. Latour's conflicts are evil characters, his longing for home and civilization, and the wild and untamed land.

Buck Scales is one of the evil characters Latour comes in contact with. Before even being introduced to Buck Scales, the reader infers that he will be a wicked man. This characterization of Buck Scales is reflected in Latour's journey to Mora...