In the novel “Three Day Road” by Joseph Boyden, the entire narrative revolves around the main character Xavier, an aboriginal Canadian. But in the novel, time leisurely travels from present to past and back again, dreams becoming more real than reality itself. The contrast between the Xavier of the past and the Xavier of the present is what makes his character so intriguing and heartbreaking.
The Xavier of the past, found in the personal narratives of his reminiscent nightmares, is a young, naive and honest Cree. But he is cast blindly into a new and terrible world when he and his English speaking friend Elijah volunteer to fight for Canada in the Great War. All he knows about the horrors to come are from what Elijah tells him: “Now say, ‘I am a Cree Indian from Moose Factory, and I have come to kill Germans.’ They will like that” (59). Xavier becomes very conflicted as he enters the world of war, as his personal values are contradicted by the bombardment of death and killing. When, for the first time, Xavier believes that he kills someone, he cannot bear the thought of it and “replays...the concussion and screams...over and over in [his] head so that [he] doesn’t sleep” (75). And when Elijah takes a Germans life with a sniper rifle, “the image of the soldier’s head exploding makes [Xavier’s] stomach churn” and he vomits from his empty stomach (88). Despite the endless promotion of murder, Xavier maintains his honesty and looks down upon Elijah and the other soldiers who incessantly exaggerate and boast of their shooting and killing abilities. As the war progresses Xavier becomes more accustomed to the death that surrounds him, but when time returns to the present, we find that even this reserved and righteous young man could not escape the devastation of war.
The Xavier of the present is seen through the personal narrative of his Aunt Niska, and what he has become as a result of the war is shocking and ghastly: “He walks slowly along the aisle, on crutches... He is an old man [and] so skinny. One leg of his pants...hangs down...empty...The ghost of her nephew Xavier looks at her” (6). The once vibrant and young Cree hunter “has experienced more danger than anyone should experience in a hundred lives” and it has left him ragged and torn (7). Beyond his physical ruin is a problem even more terrible, both psychological and physical: “...he can no longer live without the medicine. Their morphine eats men. [He] will not be able to live without it” (10). This deeply contrasts to the past Xavier who saw other soldiers became “a prisoner of the medicine they call morphine”, the “idea of [which] scared [him]” (65). Even Xavier’s temperament and personality have been radically transformed. Whereas before he was a peaceful man, Xavier now is full of unfulfilled rage and sorrow. He reacts to Niska’s attempts to help him by lashing out: “Her words make [him] angry. [He doesn’t] know why...[He] spit[s] in the water. ‘Leave me alone’” (76). Xavier is in such a confused state of pain, drugs and anger that he then goes on to give Niska a morbid description of fields covered in rotting corpses and trees filled with skulls. He is so lost in the misery of war that he doesn’t know how to react to his own violence with anything more than violence.
The character of Xavier is truly heartbreaking, a body hollow of the gentleness and honesty that once filled it. Xavier is a living metaphor for the devastation of war, as the contrast between the past and present Xavier proves that war will greedily devour the morals of the righteous, and leave only a shell to live on.
The Xavier of the past, found in the personal narratives of his reminiscent nightmares, is a young, naive and honest Cree. But he is cast blindly into a new and terrible world when he and his English speaking friend Elijah volunteer to fight for Canada in the Great War. All he knows about the horrors to come are from what Elijah tells him: “Now say, ‘I am a Cree Indian from Moose Factory, and I have come to kill Germans.’ They will like that” (59). Xavier becomes very conflicted as he enters the world of war, as his personal values are contradicted by the bombardment of death and killing. When, for the first time, Xavier believes that he kills someone, he cannot bear the thought of it and “replays...the concussion and screams...over and over in [his] head so that [he] doesn’t sleep” (75). And when Elijah takes a Germans life with a sniper rifle, “the image of the soldier’s head exploding makes [Xavier’s] stomach churn” and he vomits from his empty stomach (88). Despite the endless promotion of murder, Xavier maintains his honesty and looks down upon Elijah and the other soldiers who incessantly exaggerate and boast of their shooting and killing abilities. As the war progresses Xavier becomes more accustomed to the death that surrounds him, but when time returns to the present, we find that even this reserved and righteous young man could not escape the devastation of war.
The Xavier of the present is seen through the personal narrative of his Aunt Niska, and what he has become as a result of the war is shocking and ghastly: “He walks slowly along the aisle, on crutches... He is an old man [and] so skinny. One leg of his pants...hangs down...empty...The ghost of her nephew Xavier looks at her” (6). The once vibrant and young Cree hunter “has experienced more danger than anyone should experience in a hundred lives” and it has left him ragged and torn (7). Beyond his physical ruin is a problem even more terrible, both psychological and physical: “...he can no longer live without the medicine. Their morphine eats men. [He] will not be able to live without it” (10). This deeply contrasts to the past Xavier who saw other soldiers became “a prisoner of the medicine they call morphine”, the “idea of [which] scared [him]” (65). Even Xavier’s temperament and personality have been radically transformed. Whereas before he was a peaceful man, Xavier now is full of unfulfilled rage and sorrow. He reacts to Niska’s attempts to help him by lashing out: “Her words make [him] angry. [He doesn’t] know why...[He] spit[s] in the water. ‘Leave me alone’” (76). Xavier is in such a confused state of pain, drugs and anger that he then goes on to give Niska a morbid description of fields covered in rotting corpses and trees filled with skulls. He is so lost in the misery of war that he doesn’t know how to react to his own violence with anything more than violence.
The character of Xavier is truly heartbreaking, a body hollow of the gentleness and honesty that once filled it. Xavier is a living metaphor for the devastation of war, as the contrast between the past and present Xavier proves that war will greedily devour the morals of the righteous, and leave only a shell to live on.
Hey Daniel,
ReplyDeleteGreat choice of words such as "bombardment of death and killing", really brought me into the mood of your blog. My book too, is about a character having to go through change even with an on-going war. I liked this blog Daniel, like your writing a lot!
One question, how old is Xavier?
Through your post, I think this book sounds really interesting! Especially with the travelling back and forth between different times! I also think it's interesting that the "present Xavier" is viewed through his aunt. Does that make things confusing? Or does it contribute for effects? Great blog! Your book sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteGeoff: It doesn't say exactly how old Xavier is, but its implied that he's fairly young when he enters the war. My best guess is around 20 years old, but maybe later in the book I'll find out.
ReplyDeleteCindy: I was actually really confused when I first started reading, as I thought Xavier was speaking and it was actually his aunt. But soon I saw that each of them has a distinct way of describing things, and its not confusing any more :)