Three Day Road Analysis

Xavier and Elijah in Three Day Road (TDR) are faced with physical, emotional, cultural, and spiritual displacement, but due to their different backgrounds and personalities, every obstacle has a very different effect on their journey, which ultimately favors Xavier, but disfavors Elijah. Xavier faces physical displacement so many times in his life, from the residential school to a more traditional way of life, and from a more traditional way of life, to the war in Europe. Xavier goes on the same physical journey as Elijah, but goes on a completely different journey emotionally, spiritually, and culturally. For example, Xavier’s move from the residential school to the traditional way of life was more of an emotional journey to Niska than Xavier

Although he faces the same physical displacement as Xavier, his emotional, cultural, and spiritual displacement is completely different. For example, Elijah’s first major journey, from the residential school to the traditional world does not play as much of a role in his foundation emotionally, as the residential school does on him. The sexual abuse he sustains as a child at the hands of the nun in the residential school (314), made him into the humorous, charming person he becomes, because he uses the joking around and English accent later on in his life, to protect, and distance himself from the abuse. Elijah learns more about the Cree culture from Xavier, who teaches him how to hunt, and survive in the bush (268). This is due to the fact that, Elijah spends more time with the Wemistikoshiw people than Xavier does, so his interest in the Cree culture is less than Xavier’s. Ultimately, Elijah is not really spiritually displaced, because the only time Elijah ever engaged in spiritual activities in TDR, was when Elijah and Xavier were about to travel to the war in Europe

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