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Xavier's Archetypal Development

In the novel Three Day Road , many archetypes are explored. These archetypes include characters, themes, and symbols. Xavier, the main protagonist, interacts with many different characters and symbols that all have archetypes. Throughout his journey, Xavier goes along the path of the archetypal hero. Although Xavier may have some differences with the archetypal hero, it is possible to use logical assumptions in order to connect these differences into similarities.             Xavier begins his journey with a dark childhood. His mother abandoned him and he is forced to go to a residential school where he is treated poorly, but also where he first interacts with major characters in the novel. He meets Elijah, who is another native child forced to go to the residential school. Elijah learns the tongue of the white people who run the residential schools and uses it to avoid consequences by tricking them with their own language. Elija...
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Archetypal Characters and Symbols in Three Day Road

Character Archetype Explanation of Archetype Influence on Xavier Text Proof Xavier Hero Xavier is the hero in this book not through his victories against Germans, but through his actions and moral points of view. He is kind to everyone but also delivers justice when required. He always stands for what he believes in even when he doesn’t say anything. The shadow that Elijah has cast over Xavier suppresses Xavier from speaking much, and so Xavier’s beliefs are supported through his actions. “Elijah reaches for a broom in the corner, hands it to me, points to the nest. I refuse to take the broom, glare back.” (Boyden 217) The lieutenant orders Xavier to destroy a bird’s nest which has given Xavier some sort of happiness through innocence. Xavier refuses to do so, risking his own life in order to save a few birds. This is the first time in the book where Xavier defies a direct order in order to follow his ...

Feminist Theory on Three Day Road

Although Three Day Road is a novel about World War I and native Canadians, the role of women during this period of time (1914 to 1917) is still very much so apparent. It’s clear that feminism in the modern world inspired the author to include these aspects of the novel because it was written after a lot of the feminist movements in the 1960’s. During the time of the war, native Canadians were discriminated against and women were not treated as equals to men. The protagonists, Niska and Xavier, were much aware of this discrimination. It’s important to keep in mind that Niska was both a female and a native Canadian because she was discriminated for being both a woman and a Cree (a group of native Canadians). To start off, I want to talk about how Niska was treated by the European Canadians. As she walked through the European-ruled town, Moose Factory, the townspeople pointed at her and parents drew their children closer to them as if Niska was a threat to them. Niska narrates, “Par...

Archetypal Theory on Three Day Road

As I read through the novel “Three Day Road” , I noticed that many archetypal themes and characters were present. In order to find these archetypes, I had to dig a bit deeper into the text because these details were subtle. The characters that I found to have recurring archetypal types of personalities were: Xavier – the protagonist, Elijah – Xavier’s best friend, and Niska – Xavier’s aunt, also a protagonist. From what I understood, Xavier portrays the characteristic of the outcast and some of the hero. Xavier’s character is very hard to analyze as he is one who doesn’t talk much, if at all. As the narrator, he mainly describes events rather than his feelings. I found that Xavier is similar to the Hero because he stands for what he believes for and displays acts of courage, but also differs because he doesn’t feel the need to earn the credit for doing good in the world. When Xavier overhears the other soldiers speaking, “’It’s Elijah that’s the killer,’ Grey Eyes says suddenly. ‘...

“Serial” Podcast Reflection

“Serial” is a podcast about the investigation of a murder that occurred on January 13 ,1999 about a high school boy, Adnan Syed, who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. The case started to become increasingly popular over the last few years after Sarah Koenig revisited the case with some new ideas and created a podcast to represent her ideas. Interest in this incident exploded after the creation of her podcast sparked new life into the case. Overall, I found the podcast to be very well done. It was informative, insightful, and entertaining at the same time. She not only used facts but also included well thought out ideas that were logical and accurate. One particular thing I enjoyed about the podcast was when she included other witnesses’ voices. This allowed me to get a break from hearing the same voice constantly, and also gave me new perspectives. Concentrating on only one point of view is dangerous and irrational. It’s crucial to get multiple angles on a situation in or...

Reader-Response Theory on Three Day Road

As Ontarians, we are taught the history of our country. Although the wars that Canada has taken part in are significant, the First Nations that lived on this land before European Canadians colonized are as significant when talking about Canada’s history. As we know, First Nations were mistreated and were abused in many ways. The novel Three Day Road is about the story of two Cree (a group of First Nations) males in the beginning of the twentieth century during the first world war. This novel, written by Joseph Boyden, is specific when it gets to how the Cree lived during that era of time, especially when it involves interactions between First Nations and the colonists. There are three main characters: Xavier, Niska, and Elijah. Xavier and Elijah are the men who participate in the war, and Niska is Xavier’s aunt who also took care of Elijah. The book is written from either Xavier’s or Niska’s perspective (Niska did not take part in the war). The renowned sniper Francis Pegahmahab...

Identifying Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious and common issue that has always been ongoing in schools across any part of the world. It involves the practice of taking someone’s work and passing it off as their own. Whether it’s copying someone’s answers during an examination or handing in work off of the internet or a peer with no credit, plagiarism always has more disadvantages than advantages. There are several reasons to this: the guilty does not actually learn anything by copying someone’s work, the victim does not get any credit for their work, and the consequences are just not worth it. When looking at Katrina’s essay passage, it is evident that she used Holman’s work and passed it off as her own common knowledge. For example, Katrina replaced “ written in the period following the Norman Conquest and preceding the Modern English period beginning at the Renaissance” with, “ used in the time period after the Norman Conquest and coming before the Modern English age that begins with the Renaissance....