In the first half of the book which I have read so far, I have come across one key scene in Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden that I feel might potentially connect with the rest of the book. Located on page 91, Xavier states that his “English isn’t good enough to correct” the way Elijah and others reject tradition and submit to the white world. I think that this quotation accurately sums up the way in which Xavier embraces his tradition, but is at the same time set back by tradition by means of things such as language. Elijah rejects his real roots to mold to white society, and Xavier can not do much about it. It is disheartening that Xavier can not even get through to his best friend, Elijah, simply because of a language barrier. Even when one rises above society’s walls, as Xavier has done, he is faced with other obstacles that seem to constantly be knocking him down for reasons that are out of his control.

I thought another quote within a scene that was vital to the overall book on the next page, when Elijah comments that “Breech says that it is our Indian blood, that our blood is closer to that of an animal than that of a man” (92). Here, Elijah plays the role of the messenger. In this scenario, we can kill the messenger so to speak, because Elijah thinks as ruthlessly as Breech does. What is worse is that Elijah thinks this distorted way about his own people. This reminded me a lot of April’s often despicable behavior in In Search of April Raintree. All Elijah wants to do is massacre, or hunt people during this war, and all society wants to do is hunt and rid of Indians who are so-called animals to Breech, Elijah, and others all around Xavier. It is not until Xavier begins to win shooting contests that he is regarded highly by his fellow soldiers, which is the opposite of what should give a person respect.

Xavier is on the right track in the beginning, but I am starting to see him getting sucked into the exact thing in which he despised. I have a feeling this assimilation will only deepen as the book goes on, we shall see.

Today we spoke about the major themes of Three Day Road, and to my amazement we didn't, or at least directly, hit on what I found to be THE theme of the book. I sum it up in one word: pressure. This is somewhat broad I know, but it can be taken so many places. The most important of which are the pressures caused by war, and how each person reacts differently to them. We never spoke of the choices each character must make to deal with the horror that was WWI. The pressure drove them each to a different place, be it morphine dependency, depression, or insanity. Not only this, but I found interesting how you define insanity in a setting such as that. Is Elijah truly insane for the things he does on the battlefield, or has he only adapted to fit his surroundings? How heavily will the mental burden of this war weigh on Xavier in the future?
To me THE theme of this book was of pressure, and what it can do to a person. All throughout we see Elijah saying things like, "this is not home, we have to act differently" and Xavier pointing out "he has changed into an Elijah I do not know". If this is not the major theme of any war novel, I don't know what else is.

If I were to pick one main scene that stuck out in Three Day Road, it would have to be the scene on pages 264-266. Here, we see Elijah and Xavier in the bar, drinking and discussing their kills. Elijah pipes up that he has killed 194 people, and is extremely proud of his accomplishment. The fact that men have been driven to the act of bragging about how many other humans they have killed is one of the amazing points in this book. Discussing with hunting partners how many rabbits one has shot or how big a moose they have taken down is one thing, but killing humans is another.
I agree with Liz's point about Xavier bridgeing the gap between cultures, and I think that he and Elijah have proved to the other Canadians that they are worthy of respect because of their ability to kill and decieve the enemy. I disagree with Nate's assertion, however, that pressure is the main theme of the book. Pressure definately plays a role in the novel, but themes such as death, obsession, and companionship seem more dominant to me.

To me, the most pivotal scene in Three Day Road was when Xavier had to kill Elijah. It is most important as it connects Xavier for eternity with his Niska and her father in their role as the Windigo Killers. It is also important because of the development of Elijah's addiction to killing and the underlying theme in the novel of death and dying.

Niska tells stories to the wounded Xavier about herself and her father as Windigo Killers. He witnessed one of the killings and realizes the difference between the killing done in WWI and the killing of the Windigo. I think he sees what his auntie and great uncle do as a necessary thing for the survival of the native population. He must believe in the Windigo spirit after being brought up by Niska and understands the need for her and her father to rid the people of a spirit that might infect the rest with cannibalism. Although Elijah is his best friend and confidant, he understands that the war, the effect of killing so many people, and the morphine have made Elijah crazy. When the point comes that Elijah is so obsessed with killing that he tries to kill Xavier, X realizes the need to kill him as it has gone too far. Elijah is so obsessed with killing that it has become his food. Although he does not literally eat the people he has killed, killing sustains him and he does not feel the need to eat.

All in all, this scene is very important because it links Xavier, Niska, and her father in a very traditional way while showing the detrimental forces that come with killing and war.

This novel brought back memories to me of when I was in high school and a friend of mine's brother came back from Iraq. Although I never actually saw him, I was told that he seemed possessed. Later that year he reenlisted and returned because the effects of killing had changed him so much, he could no longer function in society.

One question I have about this novel that connects with my experience is that, if Xavier does survive, how will he deal with the regular tedium of everyday life with the memories he endures?

This is in response to Nate's comment that Pressure is THE theme of the novel. I would have to disagree, only because this novel entails so much more than just war. That said, I would also agree that pressure is a major theme and I would attempt to connect it to Niska and her role as Windigo Killer. I wonder if it was pressure or her power that drove her to kill people?

Nate,
You bring up a good point about distinguishing one MAJOR theme within “Three Day Road”. I AGREE that pressure is a prominent theme to consider. You focus primarily on the war aspect of pressure, yet it seems that war is just one part of the pressure presented to the characters of the novel. War produces great amounts of pressure, for all participants involved. Along with war, there seems to be pressure for Elijah and Xavier to pick and choose which culture they want to embrace: White or Cree? Niska, along with the rest of the Cree people, had to decide whether to give in or push through the fur trade impairments: conform or live in the bush? Your example of war, along with these and the many others that haven’t been stated, is all great evidence to the theme of pressure. You state, “to me THE theme of this book was of pressure, and what it can do to a person”. I agree, it is about “what it can do to a person”. The influences of pressure on society, on groups/families, and on individuals collectively become a dominate theme in the novel.

Although I strongly agree with the theme of pressure, because the book is so complex, it seems necessary to consider others. Our class discussion on themes brought up such a variety of ideas: language and naming, the culture clash, death and dying, etc. “Three Day Road” is filled with potential analysis and question which I find makes the book as interesting as it is.

Within “Three Day Road”, it is hard to choose just one scene because I find there to be so many that are essential to the novel. Although, if I had choose one, I would probably say pages 156-163 within the chapter entitled “Mamishihiwewin, Betrayal”. This scene is quite abrasive to the mind, yet I feel as though it provides insight to the character of Niska and many of the themes presented by the novel. Niska is my favorite character in the novel. As we discussed in class on Monday, she helps give identity to Xavier, represents the traditional Cree people and gives context to the story. It seems that as the war chapters are so intense, her character may get drowned out a little. This scene provides insight into her character. Even though she goes through a horrible experience, she is still brave, courageous, and intelligent. It includes sexuality, the culture clash, language and naming. With the inclusion of all these themes, this scene helps symoblize the novel as a whole.

I think a major theme of the book, if this counts as a theme, is the conflict between internal life and external life. Although the plot line is essentially flat, I think the deepening madness of Elijah drove most other aspects of the book--the relevance of windigo, the conflict between western values and traditional values, the power of life and death, etc. While Xavier says that every soldier has two battles to fight, one against his enemy and one against himself for what he does to the enemy, the problem is magnified for Xavier and Elijah. While everyone has to attempt to be sane in the face of a hellish environment and the perpetration of insane acts, the friends also have to deal with their traditional mentalities and the western expectations.

While Xavier enters a depression due to the conflict between his external desire to be a moral human being and the acts he must commit, and drawing into himself in reaction to the cultural conflict, he kind of retreats from these battles, using his traditional teachings and thoughts of Niska for defense. Elijah, on the other hand expands advances, trying to fight multiple battles. First of all, he embraces white culture, while attempting to maintain his traditional native values with Xavier. Secondly, he has to conceal his morphine habit, creating a third conflict between his position as a respectable soldier and being an addict. When he finally advances too far by beginning to scalp his victims, he goes over the edge. He then creates an alternative world for himself which is fueled by confused motivations from all sides. He sees killing as the one common denominator in all situations, whether it be in white society or being a bush Indian, being a soldier or being a hunter. In the scene when the Frenchmen tell him to start scalping, Elijah is totally pulled out of reality into his own twisted world which ultimately is unacceptable to both his traditional values and the white culture. This secondary life, of the addict and blood thirsty beast, and it's disconnect from his external image of being a respectable soldier and native, ultimately brings about his downfall. This disconnect is what leads him to kill Breech and Grey Eyes, and ultimately attempt to kill Xavier.

Regarding "pressure" in the novel, I have to agree that as a general term it aptly describes the motivating force behind much of the storyline. Yet, I do not see this so much as a theme.
While pressure may be the result of certain actions or inconsistencies within the lives of the characters, I think what causes the pressure or how the pressure is dealt with falls more closely to the idea of theme.
For an example, one could see Elijah's eventual fall into insanity as the result of the pressure caused by attempting to assimilate into white culture. In this case, the theme would essentially be "be true to yourself." Or possibly the pressure resulting from the brutality of war might lead one to see a major theme being the "absurdity of war" or the "devastation wrought by war".

In response to Matthews post, I agree that the scene where Elijah is killed by Xavier definitely presents a key scene in the novel. But, most of what I got out of the post was the continuity of generations--Niska's father killing Windigo, resulting in Niska's killing Windigo, resulting in Xavier killing Windigo. Furthermore, it also makes me think of the differentiation of ritual killing, legitimate killing motivated by a need to survive, and killing done indiscriminatly motivated by the desire to be powerful.
The main thing that kept Xavier safe from much of the psychological torment of killing German's was his belief that he must do so to survive. His repeated admonitions of Elijah and him having stepped over the line largely referred to having done more than necessary to survive. Just how hunting animals is done for survival, and absolutely nothing is wasted--the example of the bear--any other killing must be done in a survival motivated manner with respect for the soul which will pass on. This belief separates legitimate, "good" violence, from illegitimate, "bad" violence. Without this necessary differentiation, the feeling of power gotten from extinguishing life can become overpowering. The only problem with this is that killing and eating another human being to eat for survival is unacceptable. Oh well.

A key scene for me in "Three Day Road" is on pages 243-45 where Niska is called upon to kill the Windigo. It speaks to the tradition that she carries on from her father and fortells the choices that Xavier would make in killing Elijah. The scene talks about her dreading to do what she had to do and how she prayed before and during the killing. When it was over, after realizing that Xavier had witnessed it, she felt the need to explain her traditional role as a healer saying "sometimes healing entailed cutting out the sickness". I think this event formed Xavier's understanding of who he was, and created in him, the ability to understand what he felt he had to do to Elijah.

I agree with Dan's analysis of "good violence" vs. "bad violence" in that killing for the pleasure of it, as Xavier believed Elijah was doing, is not only unacceptible but leads to psychological imbalance. Whether or not Elijah was consuming human flesh, as the windigos, is somewhat irrelevant. He is wasting human lives for his own pleasure beyond the need to survive. This is directly in conflict with the values instilled in Xavier by Niska.

Responding to Erin's question, if he survives,how will Xavier deal with every day life after the horrific experience of the war: the end of the book hints that he does survive and carries on traditions. Niska has a vision of two brothers watched over by someone who keeps them from danger. "I know who he is, and who these boys are too" she says. I think she is seeing Xavier in the future. The question of how one continues to live in the face of life's tragic experiences, whether it be war, or insanity, or murder is one many people face each day. The answers are as various as the survivors but I think, in every case, successfully dealing with those memories is a matter of faith. Not faith, as in religion, but rather faith in the human spirit as one understands it. I this case, Xavier, has learned from his Auntie, that his spirit can survive. In the matatosowin (steambath) they experience the expulsion of pain and fear and he asks for and receives forgiveness. Being able to carry on after such a horrible experience begins with forgiving yourself and understanding that pain and fear and guilt do not have to overtake your spirit.

Hey guys...
I really like what Dan's post said about the theme of pressure. I think in this novel it is not so much the pressure on each character but how they react to it that is important and shapes the whole of the novel. We see the big differences between Xavier and Elijah and the way that they both deal with the war and people around them. Xavier generally remains much more true to himself, and he is the one who ends up surviving and, although addicted to morphine, he has much more a sense of place and of who he is. He can at least relate his expereinces in the war to his present life, with Niska. Elijah clearly tried to assimilate too much into white culture, as Dan posted, and this caused his insanity and general negative behavior as a result of pressure. The way he responds to situations during the war shows that he responds to pressure in an intense way, and mostly in a way that the whites will approve of, and even praise.

And the part where he skins the heads of his victims is also very interesting, I think, because it is just pandering to the prejudices against Native Americans and prolonging the stereotypes...

I also think the way Niska responds to pressure and the result of HER upbringing/adolescent life is very interesting and key to the novel. She finds a sort of escape in her love affair with the Frenchman and after he completely cuts her off and criticizes her, her race, and just downright degrades her, she becomes obsessed with the fact that she is losing power. This theme develops mroe and more throughout the novel with each chapter she narrates, and it's interseting to see the small effects that it's had on her life. How else do you all think that that experience in general shaped Niska?

I don't know if this would be considered a key scene, but it most definitely is one that captured my attention. The chapter called 'Fire' is when Elijah and Xavier get caught in the forest fire. The reason this scene stands out to me is because it is an obvious microcosm of the main war plot that Elijah and Xavier are about to embark on. The imagery and descriptions of the fire are very similar to the ones used in the war scenes. Certain lines directly link the fire to the war: "Fire is sometimes good for the bush, makes it come back more fully. But back there, back Ypres and Somme, I think the earth is so wrecked with shells and poison gas that nothing good will ever grow again" (47).
Thinking about this passage in light of Xavier's general narrative offers an interesting perspective on the book in general. Xavier feels as though he has simply come home to die. He lacks hope and spirit, something he lost in Europe. As he and Niska paddle through the area of the fire, he reflects on the regrowth. At the end of the novel, it ends with the idea that Xavier will become stronger again just like the wildflowers and the bushes destroyed in the fire. Even the burnt moose comes back at one point in the novel when they are paddling along the river. I don't know, the idea of this fire representing something greater really stood out to me when I read the novel. Does anyone else have ideas about the significance of the fire?

I think that the most interesting scene in the book is when Xavier finally speaks out about how he feels about what he is ordered to do at the end of the novel. On page 335 Xavier, after having been silent for most of the book, begins swearing in english and in cree, while the others look on in surprise. They are not used to hearing him speak. He then rips off the ID that's around his neck and says, "I am not a part of such a stupid army." Here, he rejects not just his place as a member of the Canadian army, but also his christian name that was given to him at residential school and thus any connection that he has to non-native life. After tearing off his ID he says, "I leave my medicine bundle around my neck. That alone is who I am." The medicine bundle was given to him by Niska when he left for the war. Xavier chooses only to embrace his identity as a Cree. I agree with Erin that the scene where Xavier kills Elijah is also very important. It seemed inevitable that it would happen, after having learned that Niska's father and Niska herself were both Windigo killers. Also the letter that Niska sent to Xavier, while having been wrongly translated, is a hint of what is to come at the end. I also agree with Nate in that it is impossible to say whether Elijah really went crazy or not, as they were all forced to act in ways that we would probably consider to be crazy, yet they needed to adapt to their surroundings in order to go on living. I liked this book, yet the beginning went very slowly for me. I'd be interested in reading the sequels that are to come.

I think Erin Smith talks about a very important scene in relation to the history it references through Niska and her father and their gifted role in the traditional Native society. The scene with the moose shoulder and divination through the cracks also parallels as it is passed on in the family. The importance of their gift and of maintaining other traditional Native values is expressed in the letter from Niska to Xavier, but the misconstrued translation led Xavier to believe Niska was dead, not that Niska was stressing the importance of Xavier surviving and returning to continue tradition.
I also enjoy the comment about the fire because I too saw the comparison between the fire and the war. I think another significance of the fire was the lack of control Xavier and Elijah had in the situation, similar to that of how they felt at war (although they react to this lack of control differently, Elijah embraces and challenges whereas I feel Xavier observes and does only what is necessary).

I could not really think of one particular scene that I feel is most important, because I think that there are a handful that are very influential within the context of Three Day Road. However, in one scene that occurs late in the novel, Xavier walks along a dirt road in search of Lisette. It reminds him of his first months there where he was "thrown into an underworld full of skulls and quick brutal death" (page 231). He realizes that a lot has changed since then, but that it is not the place, but him that has changed so dramatically. Throughout the novel, he struggles with his role as a killer, and what it is doing to him as a human being. It is not until this point however, that he is able to realize that the places and horrors he has encountered have changed his persona. When he finally gets to the place where he first met Lisette, he is overwhelmed with the memories from when his role as a soldier first began. After witnessing so much death and destruction in the year since he has been there, Xavier comes to grips with the fact that although the place is the same since he left it, he is not. This scene stuck out in my mind because it was the first time that he admits this to himself. Unlike Elijah, Xavier struggles with what he is being asked to do, further leading to his long to get out.

In response to all the entire discussion on the theme of pressure:

I found “Three Day Road” to be a very non-traditional World War I novel in that its main characters were not as affected by war as other main characters (note All Quiet on the Western Front and A Farewell to Arms to name a few). In this way I don’t think the novel portrayed the life-changing pressure that most people recognize as a key feature of that war, maybe above than any other. For sure Elijah and Xavier were changed by the war, but it didn’t seem to me they were changed fundamentally by it. More so, Elijah’s change was fueled by a combination of his (re)emersion with the white culture he had left behind and the native culture he had gotten used to. I saw Elijah’s transformation as being instigated by a need to assimilate and his success as a renowned sniper encouraged him to obsession. Elijah’s conflict relates (albeit weaker than other characters we’ve looked at) to the overarching theme in native fiction of the difficulty of navigating between the two worlds of white and native culture. To reiterate my main point Xavier went through less emotional trauma, I think mainly because he was disconnected from the soldiers fighting around with the exception of Elijah. The significant death in the novel for him came when Sean Patrick gets shot through the neck, and the loss seems more a loss of utility as Xavier mentions later that he realizes that Sean Patrick was the person who brought him into social situations with others. Ultimately, based on themes, I could not really classify Three Day Road as a World War I novel, it is much more in the tradition of native fiction that is set in the context of World War I.

As for the most important scene I would refer to the fire scene for many of the same reasons Chris noted. Like the war it’s a place where Elijah and Xavier find themselves in chaos. Unlike the war they are able to survive, because the setting is a natural one- they don’t have to deal with the dominant white culture or the temptations of morphine. Like Chris noted the scene gives hope to Xavier as he realizes that fire (the war) can bring about new life.

On an unrelated note I felt Xavier’s strong ties to his tradition ultimately gave him the strength to be able to better survive the war than Elijah whose character was not so deeply rooted in either the white culture or native values. Boyden’s examination of both Niska’s and Xavier’s strong relation to their tradition reminds me of moral theorist/ sociologist Alasdair MacIntyre’s emphasis on the importance of context and tradition in the understanding of ones life narrative and as a foundation for ones morality, although I have not been able to get a real clear conception of what the full connection might be. If anyone has any thoughts please post.

This is also a comment replying to Nate's statement that pressure is "the" theme of Three Day Road. I would disagree with this statement in that I do not think you can take a book as complex as Three Day Road and say it has one main theme. This book covers themes such as violence, brotherhood and pressure. All of which seem equally important to the book.

I am replying to Matthew's comment on the scene which takes place on pages 264-266. I found it interesting throughout the entire book how Elijah was proud of his killings where Xavier did not even want to do it. While at first, Xavier is reluctant to kill any human in the war, he soon acclimates as a means of surviving both as a German enemy and a soldier taking commands. What Xavier does not ever become complacent to is Elijah’s tactic of scalping the soldiers he has killed as a means of tallying the score of war. Xavier’s protest to the scalping of an enemy is a characteristic of his Cree culture he was raised with in that respect for nature’s inhabitants is necessary, as is seen through the tribes way of dealing with the bear that is killed in its hibernation. The deed is already done once the animal, in this case the human, is dead and maiming it for self indulgence is neither necessary or respectful. While much of the same beliefs that were impressed upon Xavier also influenced Elijah, influences of white culture became to take over the actions of Elijah. The decisions of Elijah to use scalping was literally encouraged to him by a white man, which is symbolic for white culture.

I feel another key scene of the novel takes place when Xavier kills the two injured horses. This example relates to the time in the novel when it is learned that it is viewed by the tribe in which Xavier comes from where killing a bear while it sleeps in hibernation is extremely frowned upon. Both of these examples refer to the fact that as a part of Cree life, the respect for nature and its inhabitants plays a strong role. The bear was killed at a time when it was defenseless. Respect for the animal was forgotten. This is aligned with Xavier’s justification for killing the two suffering horses on the ship during his voyage to Europe by respecting the amount of pain they were undergoing and would continue to experience. This can also be linked to the contempt Xavier feels toward Elijah when he scalps his victims, because the people are already dead and scalping them simply disprespects them.

Three Day Road is by far my favorite novel we have read so far. It combines the trust between friends/brothers (Elijah and Xavier) with that trust being put in a completely unique situation. Their many conversations that take place while spotting and shooting show the trust that is strong between them. Most of the other men in their unit don’t understand how quiet and stealth they can be, this is ironic because it is a trait they have inherited hunting animals for so many years and now it will be used to hunt other men. Also the stories of Niska help lay the history and foundation of Elijah and Xavier culture and past. I think it was smart on the part of Boyden to leave the racist attitudes of others in the military against Natives to a minimum. I think it truly shows the camaraderie humans build when they are put in high stress situations such as war. It shows that when your life is on the line it doesn’t matter what the person who has your back looks like. The action in this book is very vivid, and I think the comparison of the beauty they come from and the trench hell they are put in adds some very candid descriptions of life in Europe during WW1 through the eyes of a unique observer (Native Xavier).

In response to Peter's comment, I feel sort of an opposite AND similar sentiment.. it's one of my least favorite of the novels we've read so far,but mostly because it encompasses the issues of war, brotherhood, violence, trust, etc. Not that I have anything against brotherhood or trust, but I just felt it was harder to relate to this book than others for me because of the strong male prevalence throughout. There are some "all male" books that I really love and feel are relatable, such as Catcher in the Rye.. or Sun Also Rises or something, but the fact that basically the whole emphasis of this book was placed on war made me like it/relate to it less. I think it was an important read because it taught me a lot more about the human condition during war and how the Natives lost and found their identities in all sorts of gripping, intense ways--I suppose I became a little more familiar with what men go through during war, and the thoughts racing throguh their heads (especially those of Xavier, which woudl probably quite more resemble mine)... but still, it was harder for me to stay focused on this novel because of the constant references to shootings, snipers, explosions, shells, etcetcetc. I think it was a good move on Boyden's part to add in the whole "pressure" theme and show their feelings through their dialogue, and also the distinction between languages--that way it wasn't just an action-violent novel with vivid war scenes, but more of a personal memoir in a way.
I also was very relieved to find chapters narrated by Niska, the only female character! It was a nice break from the war aspect of it; although the overall themes of each were very related. Pressure was prevalent in both cases, and the identity of Niska through her stories about growing up set the stage for a lot of what went on between Xavier and Elijah out there in the war. I think, although they led differetn lives in actual situations, their situations weren't completely different. Racism was jplayed out in both cases.

I agree with the importace of the connection between the forest fire scene and the various war scenes. To me, it worked as a preminition of what was to come for the boys. The book is full of signs and hints throughout. I feel that if X had only paid closer attention to what the fire might mean, he may have been able to avoid making the decision that ultimatly changes his and Elijah's lives forever, in a negative way ofcource.

For me, i found the very first scene as one of the most important. Where the boys get thier first kill and Elijah says "we are great hunters and best friends, yes?". I had not realized the importance of this passage until i had finished the book. Towards the end of the book, just before X kills Elijah, Elijah says the same line. X however, is able to see that the war has changed his friend and while they once were best friends and great hunters, Elijah has crossed a line. As the book follows the boys and their deteriorating relationship, it becomes apparent that even the best of friends can be torn apart by the hardest of times.

I think one crucial scene, although I don't know if I'd call it KEY, is on page 182--there is lots of reference to Christianity and the reactions of Elijah and Xavier are extremely interesting in this passage and I think it ties a lot into the whole theme of the novel and their character development.
"Above him the giant virgin leans straight out, glowing gold in the night, her baby Jesus in her hands as if in offering to the war below... shimmying, he makes his way out along her back, daring himself to see how far he will go... Elijah's weight as he rides her back like she is a great horse threatens to knowck her down, smash her into a thousand pieces on the ground below." This passage alone just completely sums up the mental damage and complete mind-numbing horrors of war. I think it could also symbolize the loss of humanity experienced by Elijah throughout the whole novel, although I am not placing blame on him for this. War and racism can be a major cause for loss of identity and humanity, especially in the Native culture.
Although this scene is displaying a Christian symbol, of Jesus & the Virgin Mary, I think it is, in a way, a representatio of Elijah's complete mental breakdown in the war and almost a lack of hope or respect for the world around him.

The "riding of her back" and the weight of his body is likely to "smash her into a thousand pieces", at first I looked at and just thought it was a blatant disregard for women and how Elijah doesn't care aobut anything/anyone anymore. However, now that I'm reading it again I think it is probably symbolic of the whites/Christians that have affected his life so much inthe war and caused this sort of "breakdown." By smashing the Virgin Mary to ruins it is like the way the whites completely stripped the Native Americans of THEIR religion, culture, and pride.

There were a lot of moments in Three Day Road where I said to myself "Oh, I can tell this is going to be important later..." I got this sense from the very beginning, when Xavier and Elijah are hunting together and Elijah says "We are great hunters and best friends, yes?" I just think that it's such an ironic and sad frame for the entire novel...and I somehow felt at that moment that something terrible was going to happen to their friendship. Xavier killing Elijah is obviously the epitome of something terrible happening to them. In the same way I was struck by the early descriptions of Elijah in the trenches--again, from the very beginning I got an eerie sense of foreboding about Elijah from the way Xavier describes "how Elijah's eyes glow, how he is feeding off the fear and madness of this place. He makes a good soldier." It is so similar to the death scene, where Xavier speaks to him, saying "you have gone mad. There's no coming back from where you've travelled." I just think that all through the book there were hints about Elijah's fate.

Also in response to Nate's comment, I definitely feel that pressure is an important theme. However, I felt that the theme of hunting was also very important in the book. It is how both Niska and Xavier have their first experiences with death, and it effects them both tremendously for the rest of their lives. Niska seems to feel a lot of ambivalence about having to kill animals for her own survival (the struggle with seeing bears as "brothers", and yet having to harm them. And then there is Xavier and Elijah seeming to establish their future war careers as a young hunting team...

The most key scene for me was when Elijah tells Xavier that killing Germans is sustenance for him. I believe that the theme of the war as a windigo is actually a theme rather than a motif. Xavier is the last in line of the windigo killers and sooner or later, all of the talents of his heritage will be left with him or vanish forever. His best friend Elijah has turned into a man-killing machine who thrives in the war. When Elijah tells Xavier that the Germans are his sustenance, it shows the dependence that Elijah has on the war. He's been torn apart by morphine and his spirit is weak.

Another key scene for me is the ending of Elijah's life. The way that Xavier kills Elijah is like the way that his grandfather killed the windigo infested woman and baby. It shows how strongly Xavier was connected to his culture.

Nate's comment about pressure is something I didn't really think about. I mean, yes, there is the great pressure to not mess up, especially in a war because that could be the difference between life and death. I don't understand how I read the book without noticing the pressure. I must have originally thought that it was a gradual change and an adaption to the circumstances present. Now that I see it, the war was a pressure, like I said earlier, and the outcome was live or die.

I chose the scene on pages 301-303. It is the one where Elijah kills the dugout full of officers and take their insignias and papers. I feel that this is important because it reflects what sustains Elijah. It is not just killing that fuels him but also prestige, he wants others (and by that I mean the white officers and soldiers) to know that he is the best at what he does. Elijah wants them to understand that even though he is Indian it does not make him any less than them, in fact it makes him far better. "He wants no one to question this evening's claim" (303). Flattery and fame (or in this case infamy) can be very alluring and Elijah has completely succumbed to it. He even develops a rivalry with other Indians (Xavier included) to be the best. The most bizarre aspect of this scene is the cat. "The cat has followed him back. He lies back and closes his eyes again. The cat walks up him and snuggles in the crook of his arm. They fall asleep together." This part relays the fact that there is still something human in Elijah at this point. He still has a connection with nature, albeit a very weak one. The above scene is part of the greater theme of violence in the book and how the characters deal with it. It also goes along with what Calla states in her comment Elijah's transformation into the windigo.
I would like to respond to Nate's comment on how the characters in "Three Days Road" were not fundamentally changed by the war. I feel that they have, and perhaps if they were in a different situation Elijah would have found some other way to integrate into white society and become the best at whatever he does. But the fact still remains that they were at war and it was war that caused Elijah to enjoy killing people, to attempt to garner respect from it. To state that he would have done it elsewhere is counter-factual in the context of the book.

As the boys leave the bush by vehicle of the train, Elijah and Xavier experience an introduction to modern technology of the twentieth century. During this scene Elijah expresses his desire to fly: “He thinks taking this train will be something like flying. But he can see that I'm unhappy...Soon after, Elijah tells me that he does not think this is at all like flying. The train groans on” (149-150). Again the conflict between Elijah's anticipation and desire for the future contrasts against Xavier's expressed unhappiness and clutching grasp for the past. The motif of lying continues into the novel; in a scene of Elijah bounding into combat, Elijah offers insight into his yearn for flight: “As soon as Elijah knows that a good part of the raiding party is close by him, he crouches and moves toward the parapet, the others following. Vaulting over it, he feels as id he is flying, not knowing or caring what it is below But he does not fall long” (192). not only does Elijah express his craving for flight, but lives a philosophy of “not knowing or caring” while involved in the throws of battle. In a Elijah's mind, being able to fly in a plain represents the cumulating experience to this hunger for violence. Just as Elijah compulsively maintains his weapons, he watches the pilots each morning in a nearby airfield: “He watches as the pilots dress for fight, pretty white silk pants and shirts first, then wool trousers and tunics, and the warm coats, silk scarves, hats and gloves. When they are done, they look ready for winter in the heat of July, and they climb awkwardly into the cockpits of their planes. But they become part of the machine. He watches from the edge of the airfield as the engines cough to life...” (303). This essential portion of the novel demonstrates what causes Elijah to presumptuously disregard his roots and allow unrestrained violence enter into and dominate his existence.

Pressure:
I guess I kind of agree about pressure being a major theme in the book. The pressure of the war, the pressure on native culture, the pressure on friendship. While I might not call it the only major theme, I could def'tly be convinced that one a few major ones.

I felt like the most important scene in the book was when Xavier killed Elijah. It brought up mercy killings, the end of friendship, madness of the war and maybe the madness of life in white society.
I found this book to be complex and interesting.

Today we spoke about the major themes of Three Day Road, and to my amazement we didn't, or at least directly, hit on what I found to be THE theme of the book. I sum it up in one word: pressure. This is somewhat broad I know, but it can be taken so many places. The most important of which are the pressures caused by war, and how each person reacts differently to them. We never spoke of the choices each character must make to deal with the horror that was WWI. The pressure drove them each to a different place, be it morphine dependency, depression, or insanity. Not only this, but I found interesting how you define insanity in a setting such as that. Is Elijah truly insane for the things he does on the battlefield, or has he only adapted to fit his surroundings? How heavily will the mental burden of this war weigh on Xavier in the future?
To me THE theme of this book was of pressure, and what it can do to a person. All throughout we see Elijah saying things like, "this is not home, we have to act differently" and Xavier pointing out "he has changed into an Elijah I do not know". If this is not the major theme of any war novel, I don't know what else is.

John Craig,
I found your idea regarding violence and technology to be really compelling. Within Three Day Road, violence is both a severe and consistent theme. It seems that each of the characters, from Niska to Elijah, all experience some sort of life altering event that stems from violence. When you brought up technology and how Elijah has turned his back on his Cree roots, it got me thinking as to how Elijah has almost become technological himself. As he watches the pilots with jealousy and thinks, “they become part of the machine . . .” (303), it’s as if he wants to become part of the machine. The war has turned Elijah into his own personal killing machine. Violence is a type of technology that he has become obsessed with, wishing he was none other than a robot himself.

I think the most important scene for me might be when Xavier kills Elijah. There are many themes that are expressed in this incident that are important throughout the book, such as corruption, jealousy, windigo, and hunting. Soon before this scene, Elijah admits to X that he may have gone to far with the morphine, X agrees, but that doesnt necessarily mean that Elijah intends to stop. It seems that it is this that is kind of the last straw for X, Elijah knows he is putting evil in his body and becoming corrupt, but refuses to do anything about it. This notion combined wiht jealousy gives X the will to kill his best friend.
Here, this book also comes full circle in more ways than one. X kills Elijah, fulfilling the prophecy of becoming the family's next windigo killer, without even really meaning to. This moment is also a completion to another circle, the circle of Elijah and X's friendship. In the first few pages when Elijah and X were little, Elijah says to X, "We are great hunters and best friends, yes?" (Boyden, 2). Right before Xavier kills Elijah, Elijah says, "Are we not best friends Xavier? Are we not best friends and great hunters?" (Boyden, 339) This scene seems to symbolize a lot of different themes in the story that are important to it's context and grabity of this moment in the book.

I agree with John and Sarah's posts. I think the Morphine has a lot to do with this obsession Elijah has for the "technology of violence." I think the morphine is the primary corrupting technology, because although Elijah is very good at what he does in the beginning, it is only until he is deep into his morphine addiction that he becomes a killing feind.

In response to Peter's post about racial issues in war. I definitely like that this theme wasn't played up to much as well. However i definitely think Boyden alludes to a subtle race matter when it comes to Elijah and Xavier and the difference in the way they are treated, coinciding with the way that each of them present themselves. Elijah tries to assimilate to the white culture; he learns english and speaks it every well, he is social, and he likes to be noticed for all the work he has done in the war, therefore he is treated with respect, and is accepted as "one of the guys," i feel. On the other hand, Xavier doesnt really care how he appears to the rest of the men, he barely makes an effort to learn english and he doesnt talk much, even when he can. Effectively, although he is respected, he is treated more as an outsider, an quite indian who is good at what he does, but who definitely is not "one of the guys."

Though it's been stated many times and is the most obvious choice, I think Xavier killing Elijah is the most important scene in the novel. It is Xavier's ultimate acceptance of his identity, of his family line and his duty to it. I think it's interesting that Niska's father strangled the windigo with his hands, Niska used a rope, and Xavier used a rifle. Perhaps symbolic of the shift in native culture from natural to modern. And war had made Elijah the biggest windigo yet. He hadn't eaten the flesh of one person, he had thrived off the killing of hundreds.

Also, I think the final scene of Niska's vision of the future is crucial as well.

I agree with everyone who mentioned the forest fire scene as crucial as well- it really shows you how the two will respond to the chaos of the war. Elijah's wild eyes and sense of feeding off the hectic quality of the forest fire, combined with all the talk of Niska's father killing the windigo, and the line "War touches everyone and windigos spring from the earth" all essentially tell you right off the bat that Xavier is going to have to kill Elijah... though it's strange, while I was reading it took me much longer to realize that was Elijah's fate.

Although there were obviously many big scenes that were crucial in carrying out the various themes in Three Day Road, I also felt that many of the smaller incidents were equally as important. For instance, the scene on 238-239 with the birds was a good reinforcement of Elijah's betrayal of the ideologies of his heritage. He tries to convince Xavier to follow Breech's orders to knock down the birds nest that Xavier had watched all afternoon, "fascinated." Elijah justifies it by saying that Breech wants to feel that he controlls Xavier, and that he must follow orders. Obviously, this is not enough to make Xavier uselessly murder beautiful animals, but Elijah does not even think twice before taking the task into his own hands.

This scene made me really sad.

It is notable that Elijah was responding to the "pressure" that was slammed upon him by Breech. Not that this is the first, or even close to the most important instance where this idea is exemplified, most of which were discussed earlier, but it ties in the killing of an innocent (betrayal of native roots) with issues of control and manipulation.

my choice of a key scene, although there were so many to choose from, is on page 81, the end of the chapter entitled "learning".

Xavier and Elijah are manning one of the trenches keeping a lookout towards the "Hun" line. Xavier spots an enemy soldier digging a trench, unaware he's left himself exposed. Xavier then points him out to Elijah, at which point Elijah nonchalantly blows the guy's head off. Joseph Boyden describes the gruesome kill, and Xavier as his "body jump[s]" and his "stomach churn[s]" and he vomits a little. Elijah "smoothly" re-loads his rifle and smiles, happy at what he's just done. He shot a sitting duck, a guy who was holding a shovel instead of a gun. This scene serves as one of many examples of foreshadowing as we see the dynamic contrast between Xavier and Elijah.

I agree with Jill's opinion in her post about Elijah destroying the bird's nest. I was disgusted by his cruelty and his complete abandonment of the values that should be enstilled within him--not just as a Cree but as a person. Killing [as Jill said] of innocents is a testament of one's character, and it's wrong (obviously).

On the topic of "pressure" mentioned by Nate, Erin, Amanda, Jill and others, it's definitely true that it's one of the big themes of the novel. Xavier and Elijah were dealing with pressure to assimiliate to white culture as well as the pressure that comes along with the fundamental nature of being in the military and having to conform and take orders without question.

In response to Peters comment when he talks about the quote at the beginning of the novel where Elijah states: "We are great hunters and best friends, yes?" and then says the same things right before X kills him. For some reason, before reading Peter's comment, I never really thought about the importance of Elijah's words here. So much had happened since the last time he uttered them, and it really illuminates how much his character has changed by the end of the book. Their relationship seems so innocent at the beginning, and then during the war Elijah is transformed into someone who goes above and beyond his duties as a killer. I thought that it was a really good point to make about their best friend relationship and how this line signifies a lot about what happens to them by the end.

I think that one of the most pivotal scenes in Three Day Road is after Xavier kills Elijah when the nurses and everyone misidentify him as being Elijah. I think this not only speaks to the idea of losing one’s identity (much like many have pointed out how Elijah lost his cultural identity), but it also points to the idea of people not really being who they are, like how Elijah adapted the fake accent and what not to better assimilate with the rest of the platoon.
It seems quite cruel that Xavier, who stayed true to his values and ultimately did away with a killer assumes his identity. I guess this points to the question that did Xavier’s murder of Elijah make him just as bad as Elijah and I’d have to go with no (Xavier was killing a windigo, Elijah was just killing innocent people.) Perhaps the most ironic part of the whole sequence is that everyone else assumes that Elijah is a war hero, a killer of many Germans known for his honor and valor, while this can not be further from the truth.

For me, there are so many important scenes that it’s hard to choose just one. However, on page 80 is the first sniper killing for Elijah and Xavier. Elijah is calm and calculated; just after firing his rifle and killing a young soldier he “smoothly ejects the old shell casing...then loads in a new one” without so much as a blink of his eye. Yet Xavier is the one focused on how the head is blown off by the shot and it makes him sick. While Xavier does eventually join in by shooting instead of scouting, I feel that this initial scene sets up their differences quite well. Xavier is always, in some way, attached to his victims as seen through the comments he makes while Elijah always has that emotional detachment that eventually morphs into obsession.

Like a few others have posted, I don’t necessarily agree that pressure is a theme of the novel, but I enjoyed Nate’s discussion of it because it is important to the outcome of the characters and perhaps a reason for many of their actions. I don’t personally have experience with the pressure of war, but I can imagine that it must have been especially difficult for Elijah and Xavier: cultural differences, language difficulties (for Xavier, at least), being snipers. So much pressure is placed on them to perform that we see the two men pulled in opposite directions: one under the influence of the windigo and the other assuming his role as windigo killer and protector. I also agree with Erin Greene on the importance of Xavier’s rejection of the army and his situation by throwing off his dog tags and keeping his medicine bundle. Though his addiction to morphine—a medicine that was vital to the army and system he had rejected—almost became his downfall, Xavier was able to (somewhat) recover emotionally during his journey home with Niska.

I think it's hard to narrow down the whole novel in one remarkable scene because i think it's a great book with many noteworthy scenes. For me, the scene where Elijah tells Xavier that his "real" or Christian name is Xavier is most indicative of what i think the major theme of the novel is. This, of course, is the use of another language as a breakdown of the old traditional ways of living. By this, i mean that Elijah comes out to the woods to live with his friend but mostly just wants to learn about hunting and the like rather than the tradtions as a whole. We see this develop further and further throughout the story as Elijah sinks deeper and deeper into his state of bloodlust paralysis. I feel that as he loses sight of what he first sought or at least what i perceived he thought, which is to try and find his roots, he loses more of hinself untill it is at the point where he cannot be saved and X has to kill him as his role as a wendigo killer necessitates it.My scene choice goes along with what Liz says in the first blog posting, which is how X's english is no good and how he continally is losing touch with who or what Elijah is becoming. I think the whole idea of pressure is certainly a theme but it's such a broad theme that it could be said about almost any novel. Pressure to do what? To kill? To survive? To retain traditional roots? I just feel like we could hone that in a lot better and say for example, pressure to survive while keeping true to their idenity is in fact a major theme of the book. I really enjoyed this book as it had many good things to say and was written in such a striking manner.

I think one key scene in Three Day Road is where Elijiah and Xavier go camping and they knew that something was going to happen before they go. When they wake up they are in the middle of a forrest fire and have to take their canoe to the river to protect themselves from the fire. I think this goes along with the war to come and Elijiah going insane in the end.

I would have to agree with Nate and say that one of, but not the only theme of the books was pressure. Because of the war people felt the pressure to survive by doing things that they normally wouldnt have concluded do before.

I also agree with what Meredyth said was an important scene when Elijiah said "We are great hunters and best friends, yes? It's ironic because Xavier says this again right before he kills Elijiah, which agrees with Nate's point that pressure was a key theme in the novel. The pressure had been too much on Xavier and led him to kill Elijiah.

The last aspect of Three Day Road that I want to touch on in my last blog posting relates to Jill's post concerning Breech's orders to knock down the little innocent birds. I too felt very sad while reading this scene, similar to when reading the horse scene. I felt a strong connection, the same sick to my stomach feeling that I felt when reading the extremely emotional rape scene in In Search of April Raintree. I kept dwelling on the similarity of the feelings felt when reading these two seemingly different scenes and was fixated on figuring out what exactly that similarity was.

I suppose why I felt so sick to my stomach after reading these two scenes relates to the fact that in a lot of these stories and incidents, it is the good person that gets hurt the most, here Cheryl and Xavier. Corny, I know. Tom's comment about how killing of the windigo went from hands, to rope, to rifle was really fascinating to me. I never really put it in perspective like that, and it really goes to show that so many things around us can change (like weapons) but love and hate always remain despite these variations.

I think one theme that is present throughout the novel is the idea of Western excess. Where the native characters seem to be able to manage their problems, the western characters, or rather the western establishment, cannot manage them, and end up going way over the top.

I think one scene that really illustrates the difference is the scene where Niska's father needs to kill the mother who has eaten and fed her dead husband to her child. I think that the difference between the reasoned, almost inevitable precise killing and the over the top slaughter of WWI were indicative of the difference between the two cultures.

I also agree with everyone who said that Xavier's killing Elijah was a pivotal moment in the novel. It really does speak to the loss of identity when everyone misidentifies him. It also really speaks to the anonymity of war, and the dehumanization that occurs.

I would have to agree with Carolyn that the scene in which Niska's father kills the windigo is a very important one, and it is still more important to note that at the precise moment that the windigo stops breathing, Niska begins her first menstrual cycle. This blood is, chronologically, the first blood in the story, and it is this blood that is associated with fertility and life, and yet it comes at a time of death. The arrival of her first blood is a powerful scene, because it comes right as her father ends another's life, right before his life is ended by another, and foreshadows the overall bloody theme of the novel, yet still instilling within it the idea of life. Niska, who understands that more than anything else the windigo is sad, might understand Elijah's having found life in blood, as she too has experienced the coexistence of life, death, and blood, and subsequent regeneration.

Jill was also good to note the killing of the bird. Boyden's choice of a bird in this passage is particularly significant. Xavier's last name is Bird, and Elijah, whose last name in Cree means trickster, but in english translates into Whiskeyjack, is also a kind of bird. But Elijah, the cree bush indian that can speak nun's english, is a trickster bird who wishes to soar above human expectation with his windigo powers. His killing of the bird was not only cruel; it was self-effacing.

It's hard to think of ONE scene, as everyone else has said, that would be the best out of all of them. Instead, I am going to use a subtley significant scene: when Elijah and Xavier meet the other Canadian Indian in the pub. (Is it Peggy? I'm not sure...) In this scene, Elijah asks the warrior if he is the one they call Peggy, and the corporal responds, "You must mistake me for someone else. There are more Anishabe than you think who wander these fields. We all want to be warriors again" (Boyden, 264). The last part of this is particularly significant, because the word warrior has a romantic connotation. The corporal's comment suggests that the warrior romantic Indian is a more acceptable identity, even to the Indians themselves. He goes on to tell Elijah of a metis who has had many kills, and Elijah tells him, "I'm sick of hearing about the feats of others...What do you really want from me?" The corporal responds, "Think of me as your conscience, and you can be mine" (Boyden, 266).

What exactly did the corporal mean by this? I feel as though it is significant, and it could be for a number of reasons. The first and most obvious is that Elijah has lost most of of his sense of moral duty or obligation. The other might be the power of relations, as Elijah has none, and is surely in need of a conscience out there. Still another might be that the corporal is warning Elijah to behave himself, referring back to teh warrior bit, lest he turn windigo and dishonor not only his name but his people's.

I've been thinking that maybe a critical part of Xavier killing Elijah is for the preservation of native culture along with it being somewhat deterministic because he has to fulfill what Niska already did as the Windigo kiler. Xavier primarily maintians a static identity throughout the novel, and in killing Elijah, who has closer connections to white society than Xavier, along with becoming connected to his aunt as the Windigo killer, he also staves off the influence that westernized culture might have on him and the native community at large had Elijah survived. Xavier as being mistaken for Elijah possibly is a representation of Elijah's true native identity, as the one that has dropped into madness is killed? I'm not really sure, I'm just throwing that out there.

While I find this discussion of pressure interesting, I have to go back to what I kept saying in class. I think the novel fundamentally boils down to issues of discourse and how this plays a role in determining one's identity. While pressure certainly feed into this, i think the two are distinct enough to be considered differently. I think this is probably what many people were getting at in their postings when disagreeing with the term.

As I see it, you can almost chart where the main characters fall in terms of assimilation, or to put that another way, engagement with the dominant discourse of Western culture. Elijah is obviously the most engaged, while Xavier is significantly less so. To this end, I think Boyden's inclusion of Niska in the novel was a deliberate choice to illustrate what happens when you completely disengage the West's discourse and attempt to live without its influence (or, essentially, to live according to the dominant discourse that goverened traditional society before contact). As a result, I think the scenes of Niska's interactions with other Natives in Moose Factory are the most interesting because they illustrate the extent to which Native culture as a whole has moved from their roots. I think the fact that Boyden offered these complex interactions within the novel makes it all the more compelling and important, illustrating the various choices a Native person and community has to make regarding their identity, as well as the extremely different outcomes these choices can have.

Three Day Road was a novel I was not expecting to enjoy because of its war context, but it ended up being one of my top three favorite novels from the class. I think the most important scene in the book was at the end when Xavier has to kill Elijah. I agree with Erin Smith that this scene connects X to his family (Niska, her father, etc) and his legacy as a Windigo killer. This scene makes all the background information on Niska and her father’s role in the Native community relevant. Elijah had become in essence, Windigo. Also related to this, I enjoyed Boyden’s use of storytelling within storytelling which uses Native tradition even though Boyden himself grew up in a non-native setting.
I also agree with Sarah that the chapter “Mamishihiwewin, Betrayal” is an important section of the book because it delves into Niska’s life and gives a better understanding of why she has chosen to keep her distance from white society. In agreement with both Sarah and Molly K, Niska and her infinite wisdom made her my favorite character in the novel. I also think that the inclusion of Niska and her experiences was an intelligent part of Boyden’s writing because it offered another side of the suffering Native peoples endured. Also, as Molly said, it offers a differing perspective in a mostly all-male, war based novel.

One of the most significant scenes of Three Day Road is on page 243 and 244 when Niska kills strangles the cannibal just as her father did. On 243 there is a description of the cannibal: “I asked them to remove the blanket. When the did I was surprised by the smallness of the man left exposed, bound hand and foot, staring back at me with goose-black eyes. They didn't appear human at all, those eyes, looking at me with the inquisitiveness of an animal.” On 244 Niska describes the scene as she takes the cannibal's life: “I squeezed my thighs around him and kept twisting so that his eyes began to bulge. The men holding his arms strained against his strength, cursing and breathing hard. From the way the windgo writhed and flopped, I knew that the old man too was holding on for his life.”
This scene is significant in a number of ways. First of all I am pretty sure it is the first time Xavier witnesses violence. Second, it foreshadows Xavier and Elijah's struggle at the end of the book. The books suggests parallels between the two scenes with the way the scenes are described. Xavier straddles Elijah and strangles him while staring into his eyes just as Niska and her father did. This connections further suggests that Elijah has become a cannibal and has eaten Germans as he joked about earlier in the book. I feel as though his animal eyes also suggests this, even though the book writes off his beady eyes as a side effect of the morphine. Even if he hasn't gotten to the point of eating other humans just yet, he has gone through a similar transformation as the windigo. This brings up an interesting aspect to point out which is the possibility of Xavier continuing the succession of killing windigo despite not being the son of Niska.

I never really thought about pressures place in the story as Nate suggests, although it seems like an accurate observation. For example, Xavier doesn't even want to kill anyone until he does out of survival when he shoots the other sniper. After that he falls to the pressure of the army and performs his duty of killing more and more.

Liz's quote from Brech stating that the Indians are being better hunters because they are closer to animals then human is an interesting one which summarized the mindset of many of the white people when they see Xavier and Elijah. Although they do become heroes in their service, most of the time it seems as though the people who make up the upper hierarchy only see them as a sort of novelty act. Elijah certainly buys into the role when he takes the advice to scalp his kills.

I thought one of the most striking scenes in Three Day Road was when Xavier comments on Elijah's developing habit of collecting the belongings of those he kills (p.184); I felt like this scene depicts just how far Elijah is prepared to go in taking on the identity of the "solider," while simultaneously shedding that of his native heritage.

In relation to this, I agree with Liz's observation that Elijah seems to act as a messenger; he is sucked in by the new ways of a new society...that society is the army, and those ways are that of systematic and emotionless killing of others.

Also related to this idea of killing as a concept that Elijah comes to accept, but is not born with, is Matt's observation of how amazing it is when Elijah and Xavier are sitting in a bar and Elijah is bragging about the many kills he's made. This scene epitomizes the sick obsession with killing others that has become so entrenched in Elijah's mind.