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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.
Image result for residential school            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. Elijah is first seen as the innocent archetype through his obliviousness and kindness, but as the novel progresses it is evident that Elijah falls under the trickster archetype.
            After spending a fairly short time in the residential school Xavier is rescued by his aunt. His aunt, Niska, helps him learn the way of the natives by living in the bush and exploring how to survive in it. Niska was the only adult figure that Xavier had, and therefore Niska taught him everything he knows. Niska is the archetypal mother and mentor as seen through her nurturing, caring, and mentorship of Xavier. Niska shaped Xavier to be who he is during important parts of the novel.
Image result for elijah whiskeyjack            A year or so after Xavier is rescued from the residential school, Elijah graduates from it and joins Xavier and Niska in the bush. He is taught how to hunt and survive in the bush by both Xavier and Niska. Elijah and Xavier soon become enlisted in the war and are instantly segregated from the other soldiers due to their race. Elijah uses his silver tongue to trick the others into believing that he is more like them, but he is quickly eager to accept their way of life. Elijah keeps becoming more and more obsessed with the white culture as he forgets his own roots and finds himself insulting Xavier, “’He is a heathen, speaks his own tongue fluently, nothing else’” (Boyden 173). By being the one to always speak up, Elijah put Xavier in a position where Xavier never got a chance to voice his opinion. By doing this Elijah, cast a shadow over Xavier that suppressed Xavier from being able to communicate with other people. Although Xavier understood most of what was said in English, he decided not to say anything after being humiliated.

            In the final climatic scene of the novel where Xavier kills Elijah the shadow barrier which Elijah put over Xavier is extinguished. Through a series of emotional punches and literal punches to each character, Xavier rises as the victor. He heads home after he is relieved of his duty as a completely different character. This is a character of confidence and leadership, although he is very weak at this point. Xavier has developed from being a follower to conquering his own beliefs and instincts by doing what he thinks is right. In this case, Xavier believed it was right to kill Elijah because of the monster he has become.

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