ipl-logo

Three Day Road Essay

1405 Words6 Pages

Cultural Crossroads: An Exploration of Identity and Tradition in Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road In Joseph Boyden's novel Three Day Road, the story follows the emotional and thought provoking journey of mainly Niska and Xavier Bird. Niska is a Cree Indigenous person who has strayed from her community in order to keep her roots by staying true to their culture. Xavier, her nephew, was rescued from the residential schools and dragged into war through his friend (also Cree) Elijah. Looking at this story we see that identity is a big theme even relating to the author, there are also other reflections of Indigenous culture in this story like the 7 grandfather teachings and assimilation. We can see all these different reflections in the characters, …show more content…

Boyden, who is of both Cree and Irish descent, grapples with the complexities of identity and culture in the novel. He explores the theme of identity through the characters of Xavier and Elijah and the impact of the war on their understanding of themselves and their place in the world. Through their experiences, Boyden illustrates the challenges that individuals with mixed heritage face in trying to reconcile their different cultural identities. In the novel, Boyden also explores the theme of cultural displacement and the impact of colonialism on the Cree people. The novel illustrates the ways in which the Cree people have been forced to assimilate to the dominant culture, which has caused them to lose touch with their traditional values and beliefs. This theme is particularly relevant to Boyden, who has spoken about his own experiences of feeling disconnected from his Cree heritage and the challenges he faced in reconnecting with …show more content…

The novel illustrates the ways in which the Cree people have been forced to assimilate to the dominant culture, which has caused them to lose touch with their traditional values and beliefs. The characters of Xavier and Elijah represent different aspects of assimilation. Xavier, who is deeply connected to his culture and the teachings of the 7 grandfathers, serves as an example of resistance to assimilation. He is committed to maintaining his traditional values and beliefs despite the pressure to conform to the dominant culture he adopted such values from his aunt Niska who grew up with her father being a Wendigo killer. Then after her fathers death she took on this leader role a connector between the spirits and them so, when residential schools and reserves came about, she ran and took shelter in the forest resisting all assimilation. We also see though that she relations with a French-Canadian who takes advantage of her by drugging her and having intercourse with her which was originally against her will and then he goes on to say “I fucked the heathen Indian out of you in this church,” he says. “I took your ahcahk. Do you understand? I fucked your ahcahk, your spirit. Do you understand that?” stripping her of her native identity. Despite this she finds reconciliation and mends her past through the

Show More
Related

  • Tommy Pikok Research Paper

    710 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was a time when people’s lives were at risk because families were scared they could not hunt ducks for food, a time when the Iñupiaq people came together as one to fight the law, and a time when taking pride in your culture could overpower the United States government. If it was not for the leadership skills the community and individuals portrayed, the Iñupiaq people’s way of life would be completely different due to the fact that the language, subsistence, and the way of living would diminish away or we would have to live accordingly to the urban way of

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road

    925 Words  | 4 Pages

    The acclaimed Canadian author Joseph Boyden is often praised for providing an insightful look into Indigenous culture and history through his debut, Three Day Road. While the novel does explore the haunting memories of an Indigenous soldier, it also tackles concepts about storytelling and the power of words. Consequently, this essay investigates the question; How does Joseph Boyden use literary devices and narrative structure in Three Day Road to illustrate the power of stories and language? The novel serves as an examination of the power of words and the different roles they play in communication,

    Read More

  • Summary Of Three Day Road

    1412 Words  | 6 Pages

    Indigenous 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.

    Read More

  • The Light In The Forest True Son Conflicts

    497 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel illustrates True Son's struggle with his dual identity as a white-raised Native American and the tension it creates between both cultural groups, ultimately causing him to become an enemy to both and leaving him to question where his true loyalty and sense of self lies. True Son’s struggle with his identity is obvious in his own conflict between his two cultural devotions. He was raised as a member of the Lenni Lenape tribe and

    Read More

  • The Break Comparative Essay

    745 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway and The Break by Katherine Vermette are two books that provide a unique insight into the lives of Indigenous people and the struggles they face in finding their place in the world. Both books explore the effects of colonization on Indigenous people, as well as the themes of loss and grief, character development, and etc. Through the characters in both books, readers are able to gain a better understanding of the struggles Indigenous people face in their search for identity and belonging. This essay states the similarities between The Break and The Rez Sisters, focusing on the effects of colonization and the themes of the books. By exploring the characters and their struggles, I will be able to provide a better

    Read More

  • Borders Thomas King Summary

    696 Words  | 3 Pages

    No matter your identity, there should be no stereotypes or detriments towards yourself, your family, or anyone else. There should be no stereotypes or divided identities, but in reality due to colonization, these have all been a result of it unfortunately. Borders is a short story written by Thomas King that explores the themes of identity/citizenship, mother-daughter relationship, and government system devaluing indigenous identities. The story is about a mother and her daughter who are traveling from Canada to the United States, and are stopped at the border because of their status as Blackfeet. The story is a touching reflection on the struggles that indigenous people face in the modern world, and the ways in which their identities and cultures

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Joseph Boyden's Three-Day Road

    1520 Words  | 7 Pages

    Niska represents the Cree as helping, caring and “generous people” (TDR, 54). She is very loyal and proud of her Indian heritage. Yet, she describes herself through the whites’ perspective as a “thin and wild old woman (…) an Indian animal straight out of the bush” (TDR, 3). She only knows how to live by herself, and has chosen an isolated life because of her “habits” (TDR, 339) and “stubbornness” (TDR, 339). Though, Niska does not belong in Moose Factory and lives alone for a reason she has the same gift as her father: “This is not a place for you, Little One.

    Read More

  • Identity In Thomas King's Short Story 'Borders'

    1141 Words  | 5 Pages

    The group I was a part of was assigned a passage from Thomas King’s short story “Borders”. The short story followed a mother and son as they attempted to cross the border to visit the sister, who lived in Utah. The passage focused on the time that the mother and son spent at the border, due to their identification as being Blackfoot, and refusal to conform to identifying as Canadian or American. This passage is a central part of the story, since it addresses the issues of identity that the mother and son face regarding their identity of being Blackfoot. The assigned passage contained a prevailing number of linguistic elements, as well as symbolism.

    Read More

  • What Is The Theme Of The Short Story Borders By Thomas King

    1018 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the short story Borders, Thomas King uses the mother to demonstrate that identity is fluid; changing through a person’s experiences, nationality, citizenship, and pride. King aims to demonstrate the effects of indifference towards Indigenous identity and citizenship through his short story. King demonstrates the theme in many ways. Illustrating the mother’s pride in her nationality, which is Canada, while continuously contrasting this throughout the story by having the mother not change her answer about her nationality of being Blackfoot. A key point that King drives in his short story is the denial of Indigenous identity and the turmoil that Aboriginals face due to that.

    Read More

  • Motorcycles And Sweetgrass By Drew Hayden Taylor

    1302 Words  | 6 Pages

    Motorcycles and Sweetgrass is a novel that taught me about modern Indigenous values and lives, while being entertaining and engaging to read at the same time. In Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, Drew Hayden Taylor demonstrates that finding balance between culture and modern realities is essential to grow needed familial connections. Hayden Taylor portrays the importance through the literary devices of conflict, setting, and characterization. To begin, Hayden Taylor uses conflict to demonstrate the way perspectives need to change. John’s arrival resulted in person vs person conflict for many of the characters, allowing him to serve as a catalyst for their discovery of balance and sense of connection.

    Read More

  • Explored In Three Day Road, By Joseph Boyden

    1912 Words  | 8 Pages

    The ability to rise above past difficulties and experiences and move forward is an underappreciated ability, that can ultimately lead to success in future situations. In Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road, a novel about three young indigenous people, Boyden displays the importance of rising above personal difficulties through the characters’ efforts to overcome the racist mindset in Canada at the time, as well as their struggles throughout the first World War . Though many attempt to bury their difficulties in the past, the inability to do so often contributes to a person losing connection with the real world and their loved ones. In this context, real world refers to the everyday life of a typical person in Canada, peacefully with their family

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Niska And Xavier In Three Day Road

    1589 Words  | 7 Pages

    After spending years in the bush, Niska realizes that she can no longer relate to other members of the indigenous population. Arriving in Moose Factory after spending years in the wilderness, Niska recounts, “it was obvious that an invisible wall, one impossible to breach, lay between me and the homeguard Indians of this white town” (Boyden 155). Niska is one of the few that resists assimilation to the extent that she fully retains her cultural identity. Subsequently, Niska must fortify her morals in order to not assimilate like the other homeguard Indians. In reference to the Cree community in Three Day Road, Donna Coates argues that “the violence included in this narrative is not strictly oppositional and, more importantly, is not depicted in the elegiac terms of a “last stand”” (Gordon 133).

    Read More

  • Three Day Road Character Analysis

    1566 Words  | 7 Pages

    Comparative Essay- Xavier Bird and Elijah Weesageechak Authors like Joseph Boyden teach readers about aboriginal culture, tradition and discrimination thorough a native perspective; this is shown through the book Three Day Road. Three Day Road is an award winning novel which shows the struggles many solders faced during WW1. This is exactly portrayed by the two main characters, Elijah and Xavier. Xavier is deeply rooted in his native culture and tradition.

    Read More

  • Grandfather Sky: How American Indian Lifestyle Differences

    496 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the majority of the American Indian population living in urban environments instead of on reservation lands, American Indian youth and adolescence often struggle with understanding their personal identity. The 1993 film Grandfather Sky follows the story of a young Navajo teenager named Charlie who is sent to live on the reservation with his uncle Ben after being arrested several times in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. Charlie’s experiences illustrate the major lifestyle differences between living in an urban city and on traditional reservation lands and make clear the effects that these lifestyle factors have on the overall wellbeing of American Indian youth. As the beginning scenes of Grandfather Sky suggest, while living in the city, Charlie was largely unaccepted and misunderstood due to the color of his skin and his cultural association.

    Read More

  • In Search Of April Raintree Analysis

    1394 Words  | 6 Pages

    Though, this piece could not be published as it is deemed controversial. But for Cheryl, she knows it by heart, and it outlines the problem both the Metis and Indian people are going through. On the other hand, April despises her Metis culture and heritage. “‘… so anything to do with the Indians, I despised’” (40). April dreams of living similarly to a white person.

    Read More

More about Three Day Road Essay

Open Document