Three Day Road

Archetypal Theory

For this post, i will be talking about the elements of archetype that are present in the novel Three Day Road

This book does contain a lot of archetype. Some of the characters remind me of archetypal characters.

Xavier would be the hero in this story. He may not be that much of a hero in the war, because he doesn’t really want to kill anyone himself, even though he does point out enemies for others to shoot and kill. But, the thing that makes him a hero are his moral beliefs and the actions he takes because of them. “although i am a fine shot too. As fine as Elijah. But i don’t have the killing instinct for men. I believe that Elijah sensed my hesitancy to shoot the sniper even when our lives were threatened.” (Boyden). Even faced with a life or death situation for him and his friend, Xavier still hesitates to take a shot because he doesn’t want to kill a person. He stays true to his morals and beliefs no matter what challenge he is faced with.

Elijah would be the trickster. He is always laughing and joking with the people around him. He also tends to exaggerate and tell stories of the things he has accomplished. “I look over to Elijah and he smiles at me. It is that same trickster grin he’s flashed since he was a boy.” (Boyden). This shows that Xavier has known Elijah for a very long time, and is familiar with his mischief and joking attitude. But Elijah also seems to have a bit of a dark side to him. He kills other people with ease and even jokes about it and seems like he wants to do more of it. “The image of the soldier’s head exploding makes my stomach churn. I retch a little and spit up bile from my empty stomach, my throat burning and the acrid smell of my own insides making me retch a bit more. I look over to Elijah. Elijah stares through his scope still, smiling to himself. ‘I got him, didn’t I?’ he whispers.” (Boyden). This is when Elijah is starting to become noticeably different and darker. He kills without thought and even seems proud of it and jokes a bit about it afterwards.

Niska would be the mentor or mother, especially to Xavier. Niska took Xavier out of the residential schools and brought him back with her to be raised the way she was raised, to live off the land like in the past. She raised Xavier as if he was her own child, and not just her nephew. “The months that followed were the happiest of my life. We spent our days wandering and trapping and hunting in the bush. Amazingly, you had very little knowledge of it, and so i taught you everything i could.” (Boyden). Niska taught and raised Xavier from when he was a very young age, and Niska was really the only mother figure or family that Xavier had.

Symbols

this story also has quite a few symbols. One of the major ones in this book are the Wendigos (a cannibal). In the beginning of the story, Niska watches as her father is forced to kill a woman and her baby, because the woman was found to be a cannibal. Then later on in the story, Xavier witnesses Niska killing a Wendigo when he is young. The Wendigo seems to represent corruption, and how extreme adversity can corrupt people and make them do terrible things. Another symbol i have noticed in this story is the lynx. When Elijah and Xavier come close to death in a forest fire, they spot lynx tracks that lead no where as they are escaping the fire. The lynx also appears in Niska’s visions. I think the lynx appears when someone needs protection, so it would symbolize safety and power.

The archetypal characters in this book are fairly different from characters in other books i have read. However Xavier and Niska have that kind of mentor and student relationship that can be seen in many other books. One it reminded me a little bit of was in Harry Potter. In that series, Harry Potter looks up to professor Dumbledore and views him as his mentor, the same way Xavier does with Niska when he was a child. But these are different because Xavier and Niska seem quite close, and have that family bond and connection that makes it easier for them to have that relationship. I think this shows that Xavier and Niska are very close to each other, closer than other characters with this kind of relationship in other stories.

Works Cited

Admin. “Archetypes.” Ancient Symbols, http://www.ancient-symbols.com/archetypes.html.

Inc, Scribendi. “5 Common Character Archetypes in Literature.” Scribendi, http://www.scribendi.com/advice/character_archetypes_in_literature.en.html.