No Glory In War Abid Saleem 12th Grade

War increases conflicts causing relationships to break revealing one’s true nature. In the historical fictional novel Three Day Road, Joseph Boyden uses the character’s Xavier and Elijah to explain how conflicts lead to devastating effects in war. The contrasting personalities and different cultural values between Xavier and Elijah, the need to be superior, and Elijah’s fixation with terminating enemies advance the plot; ultimately leading to disastrous effects on war which affects relationships.

The first clash is the cross cultural conundrum Elijah and Xavier face against each other. Elijah is seen to embrace the western side with welcome arms while Xavier finds it strange. A prime example of the western side is the use of morphine: “Just a little bit? A push to get me through, this difficult evening?” (Boyden 146). Here, Elijah is seen desperate for morphine to which Xavier, disapproves. In fact, Xavier tells Elijah that he [Elijah] will no longer have any morphine, to which Elijah dismisses later on in the novel, and becomes addicted, thus, a wedge is driven between them. Another difference is Elijah’s ability to speak English, while Xavier can not. Due to Elijah’s experiences in residential schools, Elijah learns English....