Three Day Road Character Analysis

Three day road is Joseph Boyden’s first novel, that chronicles the war experience from the perspective of Canadian First Nations People. The main characters are Xavier and Elijah, with Niska being a supporting character. Elijah and Xavier are stationed throughout the trenches of France, during world war one, fighting German and French soldiers. The Novel is told in first person view, offering perspectives from both Xavier and Niska. While Elijah and Xavier come from the same place (the bushes near Moosehead) and share many of the same skills and beliefs, the differences between these two characters far outweigh the similarities. Elijah was raised by nuns at a residential school, and later moved to the bush with Xavier and Niska. The years he
What’s worse though, is how Xavier cannot properly communicate what he wants to with the soldiers. Elijah glorifies himself in his stories, while leaving Xavier out, and giving him no credit, even though the two work together as a team. Elijahs early upbringing in the residential schools gave him advantages over Xavier in gaining favor with the other soldiers. The difference between Elijah and Xavier’s personalities is night and day. Elijah is a reckless extrovert, while Xavier is a careful introvert. Elijah often puts himself and others in danger, unnecessarily, to feed his need for action and excitement. It is usually Xavier who ends up the victim of Elijah’s
He talks to me about this through the nights we spend out in the damp and mud. Mist rises from craters and swirls in the stink. In the end, the answer that comes is simple. Elijah has learned to take pleasure in killing. Elijah says that something in me has hardened in the last months. I talk even less than before, do not smile at all anymore. He knows that I want to be home, that I am sick of all of this, but he tells me I must realize that the freedom of this place will not present itself again. But this freedom he talks about, this freedom to kill, is a choice I no longer want.

As the example states, Elijah enjoys killing other humans, as if it were a game, a hunt. He is totally consumed by his need to kill, fueled by the respect and comradeship of his fellow soldiers. This is further solidified by the fact that he sees the war as an opportunity to freely kill people, as if it were a once in a lifetime chance to accomplish something most people can only dream of. Xavier is disgusted by the war. It is draining the morale out of him. The absolute opposite of Elijah, he is becoming depressed, and wants nothing to do with this war. The “freedom of this place” is simply a nightmare