In Joseph Boyden’s “Three Day Road” the protagonists, who are Cree, include Xavier, Elijah and Niska. The story is set mainly during WWI where Xavier and his childhood friend Elijah serve as snipers in the war. However by utilising a series of flashbacks and alternation of narration between characters, Joseph enables himself to switch between the past, present and future of overall storyline.
The novel begins in a wemistikoshiw town where Niska awaits the arrival of Elijah (wemistikoshiw is Cree for European settler). However instead of Elijah, Niska finds her nephew Xavier, who she was told had died in the war. From there Niska begins a three day journey back to her home in Moose Factory by canoe with a mentally and physically ill nephew as a passenger.
Niska, Xavier’s aunt, is a mid-aged woman who lives a solitary life in the woodlands. Niska grew up being separate from others in her clan as she had the ability to see bits and pieces of the future. Now as a grown woman, she is distinct not only within the Cree society but also in the outside world as she is an Indian. Being “second to last in a long line of windigo killers”, Niska is a headstrong woman who is up for anything life hurls at her (windigo is Cree for cannibal). Her motivation is to preserve the true culture of her people as the members of her clan have been assimilated in nearby reserves. But with Xavier dying, she will be the last of her kind if she does not save her nephew. Niska reminds me of the “giver” in “The Giver”. The gifts they possess give them access to knowledge that no others can acquire. This knowledge holds the key to their society’s outcome.
The next character is Elijah. Not much has been revealed about Elijah so far except that Xavier looks up to him: “he is the truly skilled one… Elijah, he is the blessed one” (pg 10). Xavier also mentions that Elijah seems to enjoy the bloodshed and fighting as “he [feeds] off the fear and madness of [the war]” (pg 26). Elijah was believed by the army to have lost a leg and sent home but in reality, the injured was Xavier; Elijah’s whereabouts and unknown at this point.
The final protagonist is Xavier who is a much quieter and reserved character when compared to Elijah. With long braided hair, Xavier is of small stature and is even called “pretty short for an Indian” by one of his comrades (pg 23). The reasons Xavier and Elijah enlisted themselves has yet to be shown but what is certain is that Xavier has a much more difficult time seeing himself as one with the war. As opposed to Elijah enjoys the thrill of killing, Xavier realizes that he is “in the middle of a terrible place” (pg 31). Flashbacks shown through Xavier’s dreams illustrate the horrors and destruction of life in WWI. Now discharged, Xavier fights the will to live as the last of his precious morphine is used up.
oh so amazing : D
ReplyDeleteHrm. Good job, Kao.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of The Giver... Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the world of that novel, everything was black and white, yes?
It seems like (to me at least), even now, in the modern world, we still only see the "black and white" of the aboriginal culture. We claim to be free of discrimination, or racism, but truthfully, it still exists within our society. Not long ago, my friend's mom was driving us to a lake during the summer, and we passed some houses that looked older than the norm. Immediately she said, "Everyone who lives here is an Indian. Damn people, all they do is drink and do drugs".
Wouldn't it be nice, if EVERYONE could truly appreciate the Aboriginal culture in colour? (Google spell-check just declared my spelling of "color" wrong) Not that black and white is bad, but everything is better in color.
I digress, my thoughts have strayed from your book.
I assume that the "windigo"s that Niska mentions are the Caucasian people who assimilated the people of her clan into reserves. That's very interesting, that they should call those people cannibals. It's almost as if they consider assimilation as bad as being eaten. Maybe there is another reference or meaning...?
To clarify Kitty,
ReplyDeleteWindigo's were ACTUAL cannibals that members of Niska's tribe (her and her father) were in charge of annihilating.
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ReplyDeleteCool! This novel sounds full of thrilling action scenes and drastic tense moments. Do you think Xavier and Elijah would end up in conflict? Maybe they'll be pitted against each other in war like the short story "The Sniper" we read a couple years ago.
ReplyDeleteGood Work Douglas
ReplyDeleteThe quotations you put in the last few paragraphs were very effective in giving me an idea of your protagonists' personalities. Out of the three protagonists you mentioned, which one do you think is the most dynamic, or the most important to the story? Also, your barbaric description of Elijah makes me suspicious of his true intentions. To me, these descriptions of bloodlust foreshadow possible betrayal.
On a side note,
In popular culture, the wendigo is a mythical creature, unique to the aboriginals, which humans could transform into. Basically it is Canada’s answer to the werewolf. Unlike werewolves though, one turns into a wendigo by consuming human flesh and once one becomes a wendigo, one gains all the strength from a consumed human. Wendigos also have a never ending craving for humans; they are never full after a meal. Mythology states that wendigos can be disposed of by fire.---- Yes I know I am weird for knowing random facts about monsters. I love horror movies, sue me
Note: I couldn't find the edit button so I just deleted the comment and re-posted it.
Sounds like an interesting book Douglas! =]
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have never read "The Giver", (or "Three Day Road"), but your character reminds me of Alice from twilight not only because both Xavier and Alice can see into the future, but also because both characters are part of a "clan" that is unique from their own kind. Xavier is unique in the way that she is the "second to last in a long line of windigo killers" as you quoted, while Alice is unique in the way that she is part of a famaily of vampires that does not hunt people but instead, hunt animals. Anyways, your novel is completely different from mine, so I look forward to reading more of your posts. =]