Themes In Three Day Road
The Second Side of War
There are two sides to war, a physical war in order to survive, and an internal struggle to stay true to your heritage or to assimilate to achieve a higher social status. In Three Day Road Joseph Boyden shows the pressures to rise with in a social hierarchy versus maintaining cultural identity through the characters of Xavier and Elijah, he shows that assimilating leads to destruction and the preservation of traditions leads to survival and healing, illustrated through Elijah’s insanity, and Xavier’s recovery from the war.
The effect of war is a reoccurring theme in the novel; war consumes everything in its path, similar to the Windigo. In the Ojibwa legend of the Windigo, after being bestowed super natural powers by
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Elijah is able to be accepted very early on, unlike Xavier, Elijah can speak fluent English. Breaking the language barrier Xavier never got past. In war the ability to kill is essential; Elijah used this to his advantage. “We’ve been in the trenches for only five months in their time, but Elijah’s killed five men for every month that has passed. He is Whiskey jack the Indian and Whiskey jack the killer” (Boyden, 154). This illustrates Elijah’s ability to not only be accepted but respected, creating a heroic, worshipful image for himself. This success is a double-edged sword, as eventually he can no longer relate to a sane person. This is shown when Elijah and Xavier were searching for stragglers in a building; Xavier discovers a scared mother and child and accidentally shoots the mother, when Elijah enters the room he shoots the child on sight, claiming he could not see, and thought Xavier was in danger, “I am trained not to hesitate in situations of danger” (306). He views his extremist methods as professionalism, he shows no empathy. In contrast, Xavier is sympathetic, viewing what happened as a horrible mistake. Because in native culture, you only kill to survive, murdering a defenceless mother is against Xavier’s native identity. Even though the child posed no danger to Elijah, he mercilessly shot the child anyway, he is not killing to survive, he is killing for sport. Like a
Summary Of Three Day Road
1412 Words | 6 PagesIndigenous Identity Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road is a story of two friends, Xavier Bird and Elijah Weesegeechak, who volunteer to join the Canadian army and fight in the First World War. Both of them are Cree aboriginals from northern Ontario. Even though Xavier has a different personality from Elijah, they become best friends. Xavier is a shy person who is proud of his Cree identity while Elijah is more assimilated into the white Canadian society because he spends most of his childhood in Christian school. The story is told from a male perspective, Xavier, and a female perspective her aunt, Niska.
Choosing Ontario Character Analysis
959 Words | 4 PagesThe setting of the first World War was significant because it put the two main characters, Elijah and Xavier, in a situation where they constantly got discredited and faced brutal racism. The setting also represented a dark mood and also made it possible to clearly identify when different characters were speaking and sharing their point of views. The dark mood also shows the gruesome truth and reality of the World War in great detail. Giving the readers an insight of the characters thoughts during a war also proved how such traumatic events drove people insane and changed their lives forever.
Themes Of A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah
897 Words | 4 PagesIshmael Beah, recalls his time as an orphaned child soldier, in Sierra leone, in his memoir A long way gone. Amongst those who were moved by the memorable piece of literature, there are those who quarrel with the idea that it is a completely factual account of the events that took place in Sierra Leone and the details regarding the physical wounds he obtained. While some of the claims made against its accuracy made are valid, It does not diminish the merit of the memoir. Beah’s escapade as a child soldier, his rehabilitation and the universal themes contribute to the immense worth of the novel, and allow the reader to walk away enlightened.
My Brother Sam Is Dead Quotes
414 Words | 2 PagesTo many people take the toll of war,to many lives have been taken from the toll of war. Families have been ripped apart by the toll of war and the stress that it puts on a family and others that live near it or in it. It has ripped apart famly bonds too. War is a heart smasher in this book My Brother Sam Is Dead.
The Loss Of Life In My Brother Sam Is Dead
911 Words | 4 PagesIn the past, the ultimate outcome of war has been freedom and sovereignty, but along the way many casualties had to be made. Many wars in history have rewarded nations with liberation and freedom from tyranny. For example, the American Revolution provided America with independence from Britain and proved that they could prosper on their own. Although independence was gained, some say that the end result could have been attained without the fatalities and violence of war. They don’t believe the freedom was really worth the fight.
In Blood Rites By Ehrenreich Summary
604 Words | 3 PagesWhen talking about war, there are many books with few answers to what war truly is. Barbara Ehrenreich brings forth not only the possibilities towards understanding war but also the passion people from history have had towards it. One key issue she brings to light is humanities love for war, so much so that people would use excuses like holy wars to justify their need to fight in a war. She declares that war is as muddled as the issue of diseases and where diseases came from around 200 years ago. More so than that she even goes further on to state that these rituals that date back to prehistoric times are the cause of human nature during times of war rather than human instinct.
My Brother Sam Is Dead
790 Words | 4 PagesWar. It divides to conquer? Ending in triumph, or does it leave us broken? Who’s to say, it can do both. It all depends on the war itself.
What Is The Difference Between The Odyssey And The Best Years Of Our Life
1247 Words | 5 PagesWhen faced with war soldiers change, for better or for worse. Modern culture celebrates the glory of patriotic sacrifice. However, this celebration often leaves out the gritty details and trauma of violence behind war and the way it affects people. Homer’s The Odyssey and William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives clearly discuss these details. Both debate the long-awaited return of warriors that went off to fight a war and the way the experience changes the protagonists.
Adversity In Three Day Road
1181 Words | 5 PagesDealing with Adversity Throughout one’s life, adversity is inevitable. It presents itself unexpectedly in many forms; loneliness, despair, loss of a loved one, stress, and even in the actions of others. In the novel “Three Day Road” by Joseph Boyden, Elijah faces adversity after joining the war. However, the approaches Elijah takes to overcome the several hardships he faces makes him an undesirable model for coping with adversity. Elijah’s approaches are ineffective at coping with adversity because he follows misguided advice and becomes apathetic during war, resulting in major impacts on his life which lead to his downfall.
Themes In Three Day Road
1333 Words | 6 PagesThree Day Road written by Joseph Boyden, is a novel that follows the story of a young First Nations man fighting in the war, and a First Nations women living in the Canadian wilderness. The story of these two protagonists are told through each of their differing perspectives, making this novel one that is constantly transforming in order to portray important motifs and themes. Storytelling is one of the primary motifs that is seen throughout the course of this novel and is one of the methods that connects the two characters, even whilst they are apart. Boyden uses the complex motif of storytelling to aid in the depiction of several core themes in this novel. In Three Day Road, storytelling is often related to healing, hunger, and power.
Joy Kogawa's Obasan Analysis
1881 Words | 8 PagesWar has no boundaries. It separates families, tears down homes full of memories, and turns people against each other. A memorable piece of literature that epitomizes the true effects of war is Obasan by Joy Kogawa. Obasan is a valuable piece of literature; it shows another aspect of World War II and its devastating effects. Japanese-Canadians are silenced, brutalized, and punished due to the paranoia of war.
Identity In Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road
891 Words | 4 PagesWar lights the barrel keg within everyone reveling their true identity, by abandoning their past beliefs. Joseph Boyden illustrates the importance of cultural identity, throughout the novel Three Day Road. Xavier shows devotion towards his culture, by constantly trying to hold onto whatever reminded himself of it. Another character, Niska, betrays herself by abandoning her culture as a result of losing her identity. Elijah also completely strips of his cultural identity when he turns windgo.
The Soldier In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
990 Words | 4 PagesThrough centuries of great wars and battles, history has displayed brave men and women who have fought for their countries. These audacious people have helped propel countries for the greater good. However, the weight and responsibility, of the war, takes a heavy toll on soldiers that is often overlooked. Tim O’Brien, author of the novel The Things They Carried, records his stories, and the stories of his fellow soldiers during the war. However, three of these soldiers are affected in an outlandish way.
Themes In The Wars By Thomas Findley
1232 Words | 5 PagesGreed, ambition, and fear are words that can pressure people to do negative things. People who are overwhelmed by this type of pressure face terrible consequences, which undoubtedly lead to their inevitable downfall. A war is typically fought in order to gain an upper hand over another nation, but at an expense of people dying. No one really knows the reason why sacrifices have to be made and nations have to be divided. Soldiers who have perished are often forgotten and people forget to mourn for those who have fought to save the lives of many others.
Argumentative Essay: The Loss Of War
1287 Words | 6 PagesWar brings loss to both soldiers and civilians, which establishes many difficulties for people long after the war has passed. War is relative to the person experiencing it; a war that ends with a peace treaty for one could be a life long mental fight for another. Jobs, homes, and loved ones are subject to loss during times of war. As resources and goods are shipped overseas, people living on domestic home fronts suffer the backlash of the fighting. The ones who inevitably experience the most loss are the soldiers fighting within the war.
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