My first impressions of Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden is that I already knew that I loved the novel.
In my grade 12 English First Peoples’ course, we read the novel and focused on the motifs in the story. Such as the recurrence of the number 3. The idea of flight – especially with relation to Xavier Bird. The use of flashbacks in the novel. As well as every other single motif possible to find in the story. The work we did on the novel was very specific in that course. I am excited to see what we do with the novel in ASTU100. There is so much going to politically, historically, and socially in the novel. There’s a lot to explore. I’m guessing that we will read an article on Boyden or the novel and write about the two. I’m excited to read this potential second piece.
As an alternative to our in-class work this week, I have chosen to answer the first of the questions given to us:
“1) How does time work in the novel? Why do you think flashbacks are used?”
I’m choosing this question because it immediately made a connection to The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood that I didn’t make myself while reading both novels. The use of flashbacks to progress plot.
The flashbacks in Three Day Road are imperative to showing the change in the 3 main character – Xavier, Elijah, and Niska.
Xavier’s journey in the war – Lisette, racism, and his morphine addiction. Elijah’s time in the war and his obsession with killing. And finally Niska’s life and her responsibility being the daughter of her father. Her experience with colonizers.
Without Xavier and Niska’s flashbacks, the story could not be told. The flashbacks emphasize and show how extreme the changing in their lives were. Contrast is created when Niska and Xavier are described by one another in their present stages in comparison to how they were at the beginning of their flashbacks, or stories.
How Three Day Road’s messages and story unfolds completely relies on these flashbacks. Like, The Handmaid’s Tale, the story and message would not come across if not for these flashbacks.
Flashback are an extremely effective way to tell stories.