Should Redemption be given no matter what the act? When talking about the book Three Day Road what usually comes up is the act of redemption and what defies not deserve a second chance. You may ask yourself, Are some acts so unbearable that they do not deserve forgiveness? Or, does everything no matter what the act get a second chance? When we talk about war, there is often a thin line between the two. In the book, Three Day Road, there are unthinkable acts that are committed in war and those people who commit these acts are most of the time given a chance at redemption, but not always in the easiest forms. Some ways that this book depicts the story about redemption is in the decisions of characters such as the Xavier and the choices he has …show more content…
to make, how Niska is affected by the war, and finally, an overall message of healing that can come about from something as horrible as war. Throughout the war Xavier lived behind the shadow of Elijah for all of the war.
Although everyone was captured by how amazing of a sharpshooter Elijah was, Only Xavier was able to see the madness that was developing in his best friend’s life. The ego of Elijah was powered by the amount of praise and attention he got for being an excellent sniper, saying, “They acted nervously around me after that. My reputation is sealed, I think.” (310) Elijah after killing the German he would then collect their heads, this effected Xavier making him very bothered by what he was doing. Since Elijah was praised by all of the soldiers he began to feel reckless and invincible, all the while becoming manic (due to the morphine). He would even pester Xavier by saying “its human meat, German, to be exact.” (310)When Xavier killed Elijah he never thought he would ever had to do such a thing to his best friend but he couldn’t handle who he’d become. As Xavier was choking him, Elijah did in fact admit that “it has gone too far…I have gone too far, haven’t I” (369) after hearing that Xavier told him, “you’ve gone mad, there is no coming back from where you’ve travelled.”(370) Xavier went through with killing Elijah because he realized that he has gone to a point where there’s no coming back, and he is not the same person he grew up with nor joined the war with. Even though many people have different opinions, on “mercy killing” Xavier looked at it has him setting his best friend free from …show more content…
the craziness the war has out him through. Niska was another person who made very difficult and painful choices in her life, but the ones who affected her the most was those that contain Xavier in it. In her life Niska had been through a lot of challenges, and for the most part they proceeded to be very painful ones without any good to it which was the reason for her just keeping to herself and becoming a loner. She went into a state of which she wouldn’t trust anybody, and that anybody that she did trust was destroyed because of the involvement with the French trapper. When Xavier had come back to her from the war, she could tell that Xavier had been through very terrible things as he’d cry out the names of the dead soldiers that he was friends with, and she realized that “[she] was starved to talk…and instead [she’ll] talk to him, tell him about [her] life.” (89) Niska had her own way of treatment when nursing Xavier back to health and that was by telling him stories. With all of the wrong that she had to go through, like having the French trapper banish her from her gifts as well as having to let Xavier and Elijah go to war. This was all told to Xavier in the form of stories and in a way, which was also a way of making peace with herself by letting everything out rather than keeping it in. But the main thing for her was to help Xavier remember his culture before the war in attempts to make him forget everything that as happen during the war. Niska was trying to make him remember how much of a good person he was and that the war is over and he shouldn’t be afraid of the terrible things that had happen. The process of healing and trying to forget all of the tragedies of the war for Xavier was one of the major themes from the novel. Three-Day Road proved to be a novel that had redemption as probably its chief theme.
It showed you what the First World War truly was; tense, violent and there was no mercy for murder. But it had also had shown the healing that is able to come even from such a horrific experience, and that forgive someone or even giving them a second chance is still able to be achieved by war, even if it’s not always the best way to do it. Going by what they believe in, the reason behind Xavier killing Elijah was due to the fact that he had to free his spirit from the craziness and blood thirst that the war taught him. He wanted to redeem Elijah’s ahcahk, because he believed that by killing him he would send him on a three day road, which was not near the infection of violence that the world was facing at this time. War is for most of the time seen as being a place where you can exercise
your
“Every war is everyone’s war”... war will bring out the worst in even the strongest and kindest people. The book tells about how ones greed for something can destroy everything for both people and animals leaving them broken beyond repair, leaving them only with questions… Will they ever see their family again? Will they ever experience what it’s like to
Emotionally, the journey is a whirlwind for Xavier, it starts off with him, the usually optimistic one getting very scared for the first time, and doubting his decision made to fight in the war, when almost shot for the first time: “It is real. All of this is suddenly very real. The other side wants to kill me, and I’ve never even seen their faces” (33). Xavier and Elijah both portray these various roles based on their childhood upbringing. Xavier was brought up more spiritually, while Elijah was brought up scarred, to hide his emotions by pretending to be someone else. The key to Xavier’s sanity is to forget about the bad things in his life, and think of something more pleasant, this keeps him from dwelling on bad feelings, but keeps him from dealing with them. Earlier on in TDR, it talks about the first time they are allowed out of their trenches, Xavier tries to forget the things that have happened to him. His ways of coping were at least a little successful as he demonstrates, “Maybe Elijah is still over there, Auntie. Maybe the army has kept him there longer” (110). This is a quote from Xavier that is said after he has come back from the war. He was there with Elijah almost the whole time, so it would make sense that he would know what happened to him. However, Xavier has pushed these thoughts out of his mind
The title of this novel, “The Wars” is illusory. Upon first glance, it makes one expect a protagonist who goes to an actual war, uses physical strength to fight on the battlefield and becomes a war hero.While part of that is true, there are also other significances of the war associated with this title. This novel recounts the journey of the protagonist, Robert Ross as he starts out as a shy, introvert and an inexperienced person before he goes to war; he experiences a change in himself as a result of the people and the battle(s) that he fights with the factors in his surroundings. Therefore, “The Wars” doesn’t necessarily mean the war with the enemy but it includes the wars at home, wars against nature and wars of relationships. Which
I fear many things in this place. But I do not want to fear my friend.” (Boyden 246) This is a quote from Xavier, explaining his growing fear of his dear friend. Elijahs soul is tarnished and lost, and as the drugs take over his mind and body he loses any love he had left in him. Elijah grows to love to kill and no longer sees these dead bodies as people, rather as a score he must keep. Elijah’s mind has always been pulled in different directions and he never had a chance to create a sense of self. His only friend was reserved and incapable of saving Elijah, but perhaps no one could. In the end of the novel, when Xavier has decided to kill Elijah. I feel as though Niska’s strength is now within Xavier. He has an epiphany and knows what he must do and that it is the only way Elijah can be stopped. Throughout the novel it appears at times that maybe Elijah is the more self assured and Xavier, with his depression and falling in love is the more lost one. I believe this to be wrong, as confused as Xavier might be with his sadness and emotions, he is aware that this is not how life ought to be. He sees the wrong and he feels deeply. Elijah's mind is overtaken with anger and darkness and he knows not how to escape the demons. So much so, he becomes the thing he fears. In this novel we are made to believe that these three people are separate entities. I believe these three people make a
Explanation: Xavier notices the growing change in Elijah. Other than getting along with the white men, he also notices that Elijah is slowly abandoning the roots of his culture. Xavier wonders why Elijah tries to impersonate a white man, rather than be proud of their culture, and language. A sense of jealousy sparks within Xavier, as the soldiers around him compare him with Elijah. Slowly, problems start to brew between the acquitted friendship of Xavier and Elijah.
Similarly, Xavier and Elijah from Three Day Road go through a path of losing love and friends eventually turning to enemies. To begin, Xavier and Elijah war quickly noticed by other comrades because of their hunting skills. Xavier and Elijah grew up with a native background where Xavier doesn’t see killing as an ordinary thing to do. This is seen when Xavier is being shot at for the first time. He witnesses how close it was for him to be killed, responding, “The other side wants to kill me, and I’ve never even seen their faces” (Boyden, 33). Much like Paul, Xavier share many similarities to show guilt, shame and innocence. Xavier as well as Paul, thinking for all his comrades and there service for the war. Showing how his culture has taught and raised him to do so. War gives soldiers the main purpose to kill, while for Paul and Xavier killing a human is not morally wrong. In addition, Paul, like Xavier haves regret and shame for all the comrades and enemies that they have lost. This causes them to go into a state of anger and guilt which they cannot control. This is seen after Xavier cannot think straight after destroying a base along with enemies, Xavier proclaims, “I replay it over and over in my head so that I don’t sleep all night, pulling the pin on my mill bomb, throwing it and watching it arc until it disappears into the crater, the concussion and screams. I have killed someone now” (Boyden, 75). Images of horror replay in Xavier head after he kills a group of men. It is shown that Xavier is attached emotionally to his victims. While most soldiers are alone and cannot express their feelings, this leaves these thoughts as a burden which can lead to insanity. However, Xavier finds love during the war which gave him hope again...
Lemann’s Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War gives the reader an account of events, many of which are violent, just after the end of the Civil War. On the surface, Lemann spends great time documenting the violence faced by southern blacks and the life of Adelbert Ames. However, the backdrop is more complex and deals with the changing environment in the United States. Most importantly, the need of the United States needed to integrate four million former slaves into society. Lemann states the purpose of this book is to answer the question “what kinds of lives black people might live in the South now depended on the freed slaves’ organizing abilities and on the reliability of their voting rights” (xi). The subtitle, The Last Battle of the Civil War, correctly states that although the Civil War had officially ended the battle stilled raged physically, politically, and through public sentiment.
Paul and his company were once aspiring youth just graduating school thinking about having a wonderful life. Sometimes things don’t always play out the way you want. The effects of war on a soldier is another big theme in the novel. Paul describes how they have changed and how death doesn’t affect them anymore. “We have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defen...
“It's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out” (Hosseini). In The Kite Runner, Hosseini shares Amir’s journey to atonement. As Amir states, he was unable to bury his past, similar to his father, Baba, who spent the majority of his life haunted by his sins. While both father and son are consumed by guilt, the way in which they atone for their iniquities is dissimilar. While Baba attempts to live his life according to the Afghan saying, “ Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end...crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads]” (Hosseini 356), Amir strays from this traditional perspective. Baba chose to continue his life unmindful of his past, while Amir, eventually decides to confront his. Although both Baba and Amir have acted immorally, the choices they make find redemption affect the success of their individual attempts. In the novel, Amir’s quest for atonement is more effective than Baba’s because he acts virtuously, while his father, acts selfishly. Ultimately, Amir is the more successful of the two because, in opposition to Baba, he seeks holistic atonement and is willing to make sacrifices to achieve redemption.
Redemption is the act of being saved by from sin, error, or evil. Redemption is a major theme in all writings, short-stories, novels, poems, plays, etc. Many people in their lives look to achieve redemption by the time they kick the bucket, however sometimes redemption is achieved with death. In Christianity I am reminded of the significance of the death of Christ on the cross to relate to the theme of redemption in death. In this paper I hope to accomplish a contrast of the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines and the play of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, by using the theme of redemption in death, and also ultimately explaining
War isn't a walk in the park, that's a given. But what can come from war other than external wounds are internal blemishes that can only be righted by the mind itself. These faults could be numerous hinderances, such as immatuarity, selfishness, and jealousy, to name a few. In it's storyline, The Red Badge of Courage, acknowledges them all through the thoughts of the main character, Henry, and the friends he makes along the way. Through the materialization of basic human flaw, Stephen Crane yields these traits then fixes them through experience and battle, both inwardly and outwardly.
Freedom is the ability one has to choose. Freedom is without consequence, fear of transgression, and lacks regret. Freedom is a fork in the road—a trail that leads to fortune in a field of traps. Humans have freedom and hold it as children do crayons, straying beyond the lines of purpose only to get lost in meaningless scribbles. Dante condemns these actions in his poem Purgatory. Dante invents a fictitious location in afterlife, liberating souls that have become prisoners of their own disarray. With a collection of paradoxes, vivid imagery, and active examples, Dante establishes a thorough process in which souls can be cleansed of the past and stride to their future. Purgatory is far from a place of punishment; it is rather a place of liberation; individuals can only obtain ultimate freedom if cleansed of their sins.
Throughout the literary world there are very few books as renowned as Homer’s Odyssey, Dante 's Alighieri Divine Comedy, and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. These works are from evidently different time periods; however all tell the same story of an epic spiritual and physical journey to find oneself in their respective times through atonement. This spiritual and physical redemption comes through their interactions with their respective cultural and religious customs.
“Don’t listen to that guy, he’s trying to lead you down the path of righteousness. I’m gonna lead you down the path that rocks.” A devil sits on Kronk’s shoulder in the movie, Emperor’s New Groove, and attempts to convince him to make a sinful decision. A devil sits on everyone’s shoulder at some point and creates sin through his taunting demeanour. Though it is not the best choice, sinning has always been a popular decision throughout the world. With sinning, there are many outcomes, one being redemption. Most people regret their choices and decide they would like to be forgiven. In the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, and his father, Baba, commit terrible sins and spend their lives seeking forgiveness; however,
Having a real friendship isn’t about who you were or what you did, but who you are, and what you will do. At the start of the film, we see two different men with not much in common but the fact that they are in prison together. In a letter he writes to Red, Andy hopes that Red remembers what he says about where he would go if he ever gets out. Andy wrote, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” Over time their friendship starts to become something more than what they could have ever believe it could be. Andy’s real escape from the reality and horrors of the prison are the bonds he has made, especially with Red. Andy’s message to Red embodies the desire for redemption. Changing the past is out of their control and learning from the present and being able to move forward in their lives is what they can do about this experience. Their bond is much stronger than a regular one formed on the outside of the prison because they go through the harsh system that forces them to learn how to depend on their self. Andy genuinely felt guilty which led him and Red to have a stronger chance of redemption because he has to atone for more. In a way, Red acknowledge his guilt too, and that paves the way for a stronger connection.