Answer: Leka is only referred to as "The Polack" until it is revealed to the protagonist and the reader that he is not in fact Polish but Ukrainian in a conversation. Until this moment, Nowlan only allows Leka to be referenced as "The Polack" to show that the man has been stripped off his individuality by his environment and is simple put under a label. The lines that go before Leka reveals his name adds significance to this. "Yesterday the Ukrainians were called Poles. Today they are called Russians. Me, I am either a Polack or a Canadian." This line shows the irrelevance of lavels simply because it is only a name that people give you and is not a reflection of who you are.
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