Three Day Road Literary Elements

historical fiction; Canadian literature; war novel; First Nations

The novel is set in Europe during World War I and in Canada from mid-1800s to 1919.

There are two first-person narrators, the young soldier Xavier Bird and his aunt Niska. Although they both narrate events in the present day—the aftermath of World War I—much of their narration is retrospective.

Niska's tone is reminiscent of a storyteller, speaking over a campfire: she uses her past as a source of storytelling material to keep Xavier alive. Xavier's tone is sometimes resentful of the war and of Elijah's behavior, while at other times he expresses respect and love for his friend, and for Niska.

Xavier and Niska are the protagonists. Elijah can be seen as both a protagonist and antagonist, as his character changes throughout the novel.

There are two major conflicts in the novel. The first is Xavier and Elijah's struggle to maintain their relationship and their sanity throughout the war. As Elijah descends into a morphine- and war-induced madness, Xavier grapples with feelings of guilt, love, and duty. Their relationship is also strained by jealousy, as the officers frequently overlook Xavier in favor of his more outgoing friend. Ultimately, this conflict spirals out of control, and their friendship can no longer be maintained at all. The second major conflict is Niska's struggle to keep Xavier alive. She goes to desperate lengths to care for her nephew; the stories of her past that she tells throughout their three-day canoe journey are one manifestation of her efforts to save Xavier.

There are two different climaxes in the novel, one to resolve each of the major conflicts. The first is when Elijah and Xavier fight in the crater, as gunfire whizzes above their heads and the sounds of battle surround them. Xavier strangles Elijah, who stops resisting at the end, as if finally realizing his madness and bloodlust have gone on too far. Xavier realizes he has become a windigo killer, like his aunt and her father. The second climax occurs when Niska takes Xavier in and out of the sweat lodge, praying that he will survive. Xavier is out of morphine and close to death; Niska tries to save him with desperate determination.

The novel's prologue foreshadows the climax, when Xavier strangles Elijah. They are "best friends," because Xavier undeniably cares for Elijah and wants to save him from his own self-destructive impulses, but they are also "hunters": Elijah allows the impulse to hunt men to master him, while in the end Xavier hunts and kills Elijah.

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The character of Peggy is an allusion to the real-life sniper, Francis Pegahmagabow. Pegahmagabow was a Canadian war hero and the most effective sniper of World War I. He is credited with killing 378 Germans and capturing 300 more, and was the First Nations soldier most highly decorated for bravery in Canadian military history,

See section on imagery.

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