Post #4 B- Scalps

I chose number 3 point of interest. A point of interest that I want to talk about is Elijah taking the scalps off of the people that he killed. If I hadn't already finished the book I would have thought that Elijah would become a Windigo. I think that it is absolutely gross how he does this.

"Elijah is someone I no longer know." - Xavier

I think this quote is significant because once Elijah started to cut off scalps this is how I felt about him. He changed into a different person and he started to do this. I thought he was heading down a dark tunnel and at the end of that tunnel is Xavier ready to do anything to save him from the darkness.

Post #3 B- WWI

There aren't many stories about WWI. There are many stories about WWII because it is more recent, but there isn't as much documentation about WWI as there is about WWII.

“We all fight on two fronts, the one facing the enemy, the one facing what we do to the enemy.” 
― Joseph Boyden, Three Day Road

This quote is important because this is how the soldiers probably actually thought during both world wars. Many soldiers did not want to kill people. but they also did not want want to die. So, I think, many of the soldiers fought the enemy, then they fought themselves.   

Elijahs final moments

I chose to do question number 1. I chose the passage of Elijahs death on page 370. I press down  harder. Elijahs eyes shine with tears. His face grows a dark red. He tries to whisper words to me but i know that I cannot allow Elijah to speak them. I must finish this. I have become what you are, Niska. There is much more of this passage that I would like to write but it is long. One of the key themes in the story would definitely be death. Throughout the whole story we watched the Wingegos die, the french man die, and now Elijah. The relevance of all the deaths in the story is that they were caused by insanity. These deaths were not accidents, they had much meaning to the story. The significance of Elijahs death was that he was Xaviers best friend. Also the reader got to know him throughout the story because he was always there. It is very sad that Elijah had to be killed, but he was getting out of control.   

Caught up again...

Assignment B's will be passed out for the blogs that have not yet been completed. January 15th is the cut off date for all second term assignments.

Final Review

After I completed the novel Three Day Road I had mixed reviews. As I said in my first impression blog I found the start of the novel very boring. Xavier ad Elijah are very well described in the book. I enjoyed the contrast between Xavier ad Elijah's characters in the book, they are two very different people before the war and during the war. I like how differently each character handles the war. Both Elijah and Xavier use there past throughout the war. I enjoy how Xavier relies on his hunting skills to survive, while Elijah uses his English knowledge to bond with other troops in the trench. As I have said before, I also enjoyed how acturate the war was portrayed in the book. The author did not sugar coat it, it was as brutal in the book as it actually was in real life. Besides this, I found the book extremly boring. Some parts I did not understand such as the spirtual parts. Even though this book was won awards I really did not find it a well rounded book, I would definitely not have read this book on my own time, I would not reccomend the book to anyone. I would rate this book 5/10.

The Power of Storytelling

     In the book "Three Day Road" Niska and Elijah invoke the power of storytelling that both had huge effects on how the story progressed and the final outcome at the end.

   
      Elijah uses his smooth English and riveting storytelling to become a member of his battalion and with skill can talk his way or of trouble with the officers. He wins respect of his fellow soldiers in arms and rises through the ranks in the army. Over his time in the front lines Elijah becomes one of the most well know snipers and received medals for his actions. He is an inspiration to the battalion becoming the heart that lives in the battalion. He is believed to be invincible in battle with the number of kills and his time spent in the front lines.

   
     Niska throughout the book tells stories of her life to compel Xavier that his life is not yet over. Her stories invoke the spirit within Xavier to cleanse himself of his addiction. Xavier struggles with the fact that he has killed Elijah. Niska is persistent however and does not give up on Xavier. Stories of her life explained in such detail helps Xavier forget himself and focuses on something else rather than the pain of the horrors of war. "Nephew is quieter now, breathing easier, staring into the fire and the rocks that heat at its centre." Her stories cured Xavier and gave him purpose.


     Storytelling definitely played a major role of how things ended up for both Niska and Elijah.

The Overall Experience

     In the beginning Three Day Road was, let's face it, dreadfully tedious. Many would say that Niska's stories were the "downside" or the "too much detail" parts of the novel. I believe those stories added a little bit of contrast to the plot of the novel. With the war flashbacks, the descriptions that Joseph Boyden gave were very well done in my opinion. Although the war stories were well done I personally wouldn't read it again, these books aren't the ones that I normally read. The best part for the book for me was making the connections between Niska's stories and the ending of the novel.