Literary Analysis Essay on 3 Day Road

Introduction

The novel "Three Day Road" written by Joseph Boyden illustrates the fragility of human beings at the period of conflicts. The author introduces a character whose identities and lifestyles are changed by the establishment of the European culture. However, they also changed in the same case in their own culture. The main characters in the novel "Three Day Road" are Elijah Weesageechack and Xavier Bird. The two principal characters have a lot of significant differences, which get well shown in the whole novel. Xavier is visceral and reserved; on the other hand, Elijah is talkative and very self-assured. Xavier was brought up by his Aunt Niska during his childhood at a more extended period, which is contrary to what Elijah experienced since he was brought up by nuns in Moose Factory at a residential school. The factors above bring much useful responsibility to the personalities of the two characters throughout the novel and how they make their decisions and think.

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The three core differences which get illustrated between the two are dominant to the novel, and the themes which get applied in the story are; the respect which the two have for their Oji-culture, love. And respect which the two show to human life, the last of all is the personalities of the two characters throughout the novel. The two characters' personality' differences develop positive chemistry back in Canada, which is their homeland, however, when the two are sent to the World War one in Europe to fight there, their relationship is tested. A beneficial difference between Xavier and Elijah is their respect difference in their Aboriginal culture.

To Xavier, the respect of their Oji culture is the paramount thing, and on the other hand, it is less critical to Elijah. For instance, the following case is the close association of Xavier to his Aboriginal culture, which is perceived through the following quote, "All of them stare down at me. I look up, sitting cross-legged with one of the horses sprawled beside me, its head on my lap. I look like I've been painted red. The smell of blood is heavy. It covers the wooden walls, the floor, and the straw upon the floor. Elijah sees that one of my hands rests on the floor with my skinning knife in it. The horse's neck gapes open along its big artery" (Page 189). The example illustrates the connection which Xavier has to his Aboriginal culture since the respect that they have towards animals is the paramount part of the morals of the Oji Cree. In the same scene, Elijah gets seen to be very willing to take out the horses with a shot, which illustrates that he lacks respect for the animal, these go against Aboriginal heritage morals of his culture.

Another example of how Elijah and Xavier differ in their personalities, considering the case of Aboriginal culture, is illustrated through the willingness of Elijah to assimilate the culture from the European countries. Elijah states that, in the novel, "Jolly good night for a little snooping, eh, Thompson? Elijah says. On hearing the words Thompson is astonished, his teeth glow out and get seen to be very white. He then comments, "you do a better British accent than a Brit' (Page 137). The readiness of Elijah to develop an accent of English is in stark, while on the other hand, Xavier rejects to get assimilated into the European culture. Another example that illustrates the same issues is on the matter of how Elijah and Xavier differ in the manner in which the two take in the Aboriginal culture and heritage. These get seen when the two characters are going to Toronto, and for them to get some extra cash, they sell their canoe to be able to purchase new clothes.

The new clothes are a requirement since the two are needed to be able to adapt to the new environment to a particular level. The quote below shows the scene perfectly, "when Elijah strolls out, I laugh. He has chosen a black suit and stiff, high white collar. In the mirror, he looks like a preacher. These appeals to Elijah" (Page 142). In the scene, it very evident that the purchasing of clothes that Xavier does is out of any necessity. On the other hand, Elijah does buy his new clothes since it is very okay. It appeals to the assimilation of an individual to Canadian culture, in which the two got exposed.

Another example of the way the two characters differ in the story gets illustrated by the way the two view the respect and brutality of other individual's lives. Xavier gets illustrated by the author as a person who has respect for their lives and of other humans, because of these, he only kills out of necessity. While Elijah lacks respect for others and enjoys killing others, he does it just for enjoyment, sports. The following illustrates the difference in a more profound way, "I jump to my feet before I know that I do it and approach Elijah with balled fits. Then I find myself reaching for my knife. But what he said makes me gag, and I kneel and stick my finger down my throat. The contents of my stomach come out in a slimy glob" (Page 310).

Work Cited

Boyden, Joseph. Three day road. Penguin, 2006.