Three Day Road Blog Post
First impression of Three Day Road:
1. The novel Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden was a horrifying but engrossing book about friendship, addiction, identity, war, and death. With all of these themes, one would imagine the novel would be crowded, preachy and slow. However, it instead presents a fast-paced and realistic overview of a man of Cree heritage and the struggles he encountered before, during, and after World War I. Part of the reason, perhaps, that it is so successful it weaving so many “heavy” topics together is because Boyden uses each of the themes to enhance one another and does so in an engrossing and unpretentious manner.
Such was the case with Xavier and Elijah’s relationship, which was dominated by their distinct identities and acceptance of their roots, as well as their completely different reactions to war and death. It was enthralling to see their brother-like bond and the slow corruption it endured due to Elijah’s acceptance/submission to Western culture, as well as their involvement in the war. Watching each of the men slowly be drained away of their humanity was heart wrenching, and although Xavier’s ultimate choice was painful to see, it also felt inevitable.
How are symbols and images related to the novel’s themes? For instance, what is the significance of the morphine? The fire? The Windigo?
2. Symbols and images in the novel by Joseph Boyden serve to enhance and expand on several of the themes introduced throughout Three Day Road.
The Fire, for example, was meant to symbolize war and the destruction it left behind. The burnt trees were reminiscent of fallen soldiers. However, the regrowth of the foliage where the fire occurred left a positive message in the end, since it reminded readers that despite the desolation left behind by the war, life went on.
Morphine, for its part, seemed to represent utter and complete desolation, something akin to death. It allowed soldiers to escape the war and provided them with a way of numbing their pain. Just like death, it connected soldiers and allowed them to find refugee from the horrors of their life.
Finally, the Windigo portrayed total loss of humanity, ethics, values, and morals. In Elijah’s case, it showed that he had also lost connections to his heritage. Xavier’s ultimate act, however, served to reclaim his ancestry, since he, like other members of his family, continued with the tradition of killing Windigos.
