Three Day Road

Although Joseph Boyden's novel Three Day Road is a superb depiction of soldiers' experiences during World War One and presents a riveting plot, the main focus is on the character development and friendship between Xavier Bird and Elijah Whiskeyjack. In the latter half of the chapter "Windigo Killer," (263-268) we learn the origin of their friendship, and how they needed each other's support throughout their lives. For 262 pages, through stories of their teenage life and wartime experiences, I longed for a scene about their meeting, assuming it would be entertaining. The brief six page scene is simple, yet it manages to satisfy readers and provide a form of justification for Xavier's frustrations.

He knew little of the bush, and I watched proudly as you taught him, Nephew. And how he liked to talk! For hours he could talk about anything, the stars, the rivers, the school, the people that he knew, places he didn't know, far away across the ocean. Late each night I would fall asleep to his chatter. You lay beside him, Nephew, your eyes opened wide as you listened to his stories. (267)

This excerpt marks the initiation of the long journey between the two friends. Without their meeting, Elijah would never have acquired several skills or the discipline that Xavier epitomizes. The restless Xavier may have struggled to enjoy his life, entrapped in a dull existence with Niska. Moreover, using war as a vehicle, Boyden skillfully portrays the ephemeral nature of friendship, and how one's indiscreet behaviour can tear apart steadfast relationships.

The scene is relevant to the entirety of Three Day Road, as the friendship is the foundation of the novel. In a non-linear narrative, the scene can be specifically applied to the next chapter, in which Xavier and Elijah fight in Lens. The once innocent young men have been ruined by the horrors they have encountered on the battlefield. Elijah is broken down by morphine, boasts about his sniping ability, and feels no shame in devouring Germans. Xavier phlegmatically toils through each and every day, and becomes depressed and isolated from his fellow soldiers.

A series of profound questions arise from this scene. Would the two young men be better off on their own? Can their relationship still be constituted as one of friends? Is Elijah correct in taking desperate measures to survive, or is Xavier respectable for maintaining a strict sense of ethics? The meeting is generally not considered to be one of the most memorable scenes in the novel, but is decidedly significant in dictating the path of Three Day Road.