A Fresh Start

In my previous post, I was writing my last post on the novel ,The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri; now it’s time for something new. I am now reading Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden. In general, this novel is about the journey that Niska takes with Xavier Bird on a three day canoe ride; which explains the purpose of the title perfectly. To explain more specifically, Niska describes this journey as Xavier, “coming home to die.” (pg 9) Xavier had lost a leg while fighting in the war and was sent home on the train; Niska was waiting there to pick him up and this is when the journey begins In addition to the loss of his leg, Xavier is also very addicted to morphine, he describes his addiction as something “that has fed on him for the last months, and when it is all gone I will be the one to starve to death. I will not be able to live without it.” (pg 10) The morphine causes Xavier to have flashbacks whenever he closes his eyes and these flashbacks are of his past in the war; this is how the reader learns of his experiences and Elijah Whiskeyjack. Elijah was Xavier’s closest friend during his time in the army, and both of them were extremely skilled marksmen.

 

Xavier and Elijah’s relationship was very complex; they had known each other for almost their whole lives. The main difference between the two of them is the fact that Elijah was brought up in residential school while Xavier was not. Since Elijah was educated in residential schools he can speak perfect English, and uses that to his advantage when he is in the army. More of the soldiers like Elijah because it seems like they have more in common language and belief wise. Elijah is also more outgoing on confident when compared to Xavier and this is seen several times throughout the plot. As a team, Elijah always seems to be referred to as the leader and Xavier is always his sidekick. For example, when Elijah informs Xavier that they might be separated, Elijah tells Xavier:

“”It might be better that they separate us,” Elijah says in the dark. “It will teach you a little about independence. It will give you a chance to make a name for yourself, to grow a little.” (pg 102)

This shows that even Elijah, who is Xavier’s friend, sees him as less than himself. The sidekick trait in Xavier is also seen when the two of them work as a team of snipers. In the beginning, Elijah was the one who took the shot while Xavier was the spotter and looked out for their own safety. This shows that the dominant personality lies with Elijah and he was the one who made major decisions. Since this is how their team worked, several soldiers who knew them also picked up on this and paid more attention to Elijah instead of both them.  This angered Xaver sometimes because he was the one who taught Elijah everything that he knows. When they are together, they are unstoppable, and this is seen in the flashbacks that Xavier has. For example, when the two of them were hunting the “ghost sniper”, even though Elijah had been hurt, Xavier was still able to get the shot.

 

I feel as though Xavier would definitely want more praise for everything he has taught Elijah, and so far, he has not gotten that. In addition, I feel as though the relationship between Xavier and Elijah is tense and competitive. Whenever one of them does something, the other one will either feel the need to do better or be jealous of the other’s accomplishments. Even though there is a lot of tension and jealousy that goes on through their friendship, I believe that this is something that keeps them together and makes each one of them better.