Three+Day+Road+Novel+Study

 **//Three Day Road// by Joseph Boyden (2005)**  Novel Study by Silvia Neagu __**Synopsis**__ The novel’s plot is based on the storytelling and flashbacks of Niska, the last Cree woman to live off the land, and Xavier, her nephew, as they take a three-day canoe trip back home to Northern Ontario. It is 1919 and Xavier has just returned home from the First World War, severely addicted to morphine and haunted by his experiences in the war. Through Xavier’s memories, we learn about Elijah, his best friend with whom he enlisted and spent the war. He tells us about their ordeals in some of the most deadly and decisive battlefields of the War, such as Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Somme and Ypres. He recounts how their hunting skills enabled them to be successful snipers and how Elijah developed an obsession with hunting the enemy. These stories alternate with those told by Niska, who describes how she lived off the land, first as part of her father’s clan, and then surviving by herself and resisting to live on the reserve. The novel also depicts the traditional beliefs and hunting practices of the Cree, as well as their treatment in residential schools.

__**Grade Level**__ I would recommend the novel to be used in a grade 11 or 12 class at the college or university level. I feel that either level would be able to respond to the novel’s themes of friendship, war, storytelling, heritage, racism, and colonialism. Since the language in the book is meant to reflect the oral tradition, the writing is very direct and focused on concrete events. This would be appealing to either level. Because the novel is made up of many stories, it would also be possible to study just a small part of the book as a short story. The novel would also be useful for study in a History class, since it recounts war history and because it talks about the contribution of Aboriginal Peoples in the Army, a fact which is often overlooked. This text could also be used in a Social Studies classroom, such as //Challenge and Change in Society//, since the novel explores treatment of aboriginals in Canadian society, and describes the practices and beliefs of the Cree.

__**Main Ideas / Types of Knowledge**__ This novel is unique in that it gives voice to two narrators whose perspectives have been traditionally excluded from literature and from history. Niska is an illiterate medicine woman who does not speak English and who has refused to live on the reserve. In traditional Canadian history and literature, we have almost exclusively listened to the stories of only English-speaking, literate people who are civilized according to Western norms. Through her stories, readers gain insight into the hunting practices, beliefs and social order of the Cree at the end of the 19th century. Her stories also show the changes in Aboriginal society and way of life. During her childhood, Niska’s clan is able to sustain themselves in the bush, but the arrival of settlers and government officials disrupt the functioning of their society. The settlers deplete the game population available, which leads to a state of near-starvation. Next, the Mounted Police arrest Niska’s father, the chief, leaving the group to cope with the power vacuum. Out of necessity, the Cree slowly begin to move to the reserves, where their children are forcibly taken away from them to be raised in the harsh residential schools. Thus, Niska’s point of view highlights what the Cree culture has lost with the imposition of Western “civilization.”

Xavier’s stories highlight the contributions of Aboriginal people in the First World War, a fact which is often overlooked. His character also experiences racism throughout his life: as a student in residential schools, during his trip to Toronto, and in the military.

Here are the types of knowledge that student will acquire by reading //Three Day Road//:

__Textual Knowledge:__ Voice: The text’s narration is unique as it has two first-person narrators. Since the novel is built upon stories, it imitates the oral storytelling tradition of the Cree. The writing reflects the syntax of Cree speech; in Xavier’s narration, he frequently adds a pronoun to emphasize the subject. For example: “Me, I’m clearly invisible to the officers.” Arrangement: The novel opens at the end of the story with Xavier’s return from the war. The narration is thus circular, reflecting the beliefs of the Aboriginals that “life evolves in a circle” (391).

__Social Knowledge__: The text examines the role of education in society and the different forms that education can take. It makes us question how our own formal and informal education have affected our development. The story contrasts the informal education the boys received in the bush with Niska with the demoralizing formal education in residential school. Through the boys’ experience in residential schools, it highlights the fact that education can be highly discriminatory and has, until recently, excluded non-dominant values.

The novel also deals with the theme of friendship and the need for companionship, as well as our need to share our stories with others.

__Cultural Knowledge__ Since the book paints a detailed portrait of Cree culture, and it inevitably makes readers compare their own culture with that of the Cree. It leads us to question why non-European cultures and lifestyles have been discredited as not civilized. <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">The novel also deals with cultural obligations, as Xavier must ultimately honor his cultural obligation to eradicate the //windigo.//

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">__Topic Knowledge__ <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">The novel offers its readers knowledge about World War One, its decisive battles and the contribution of the Canadian army to the Allies. It also informs readers about the contribution of Aboriginals in the Canadian army, the work of snipers in the war, and the military tactics that were used. The novel offers a realistic portrayal of residential schools and the treatment of students within this system. <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">The novel also explains aspects of the Cree heritage and language. It also gives readers a graphic representation of the language, as each chapter title is based on a Cree word, followed by the English translation.

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">**Issues/Challenges** <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Since I am not an Aboriginal person, I would be careful not to assume or jump to conclusions about how an Aboriginal person would feel about this text. I would also be careful not to overgeneralize; I would underline that what the story tells us about the Cree may not be true of other Aboriginal people. <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">One of the biggest challenges would be to distance myself from the dominant assumption that our society is “advanced” in comparison to other types of societies. <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">In terms of content, the text describes in chilling detail the atrocities experienced by the soldiers and for some students, these descriptions might dissuade them from reading the book or may detract from their appreciation of the story as a whole. As a teacher, it would be imperative that I neither gloss over these descriptions, nor linger on these scenes.

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">**Two Possible Assignments**

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">__Telling Their Lost Stories__ <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Since the novel is based on storytelling, students will be asked to write an additional story based on the experiences of one of the following characters and their experiences:
 * 1) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Niska’s father
 * 2) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Elijah’s time in the residential school
 * 3) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Xavier’s mother’s life on the reserve
 * 4) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">The experiences of any of the soldiers
 * 5) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">A character of their choice, with approval of the teacher

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the novel’s characters, themes and structure by including and building upon these aspects in their own writing. Students will be evaluated on how well their story would fit in with the rest of the narrative.

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">__Telling Our Stories__ <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Students will emulate the Aboriginal oral tradition by recounting an important event in their lives through the use of a non-traditional narrative form. Some examples are: oral story-telling, dramatization, musical accompaniment, visual art, photography, manga, dance, film...etc. Students must present their piece to the class, or if they do not feel comfortable doing so, to the teacher in private. <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Students will be evaluated on how effectively their presentation communicates the meaning of their story, their use of appropriate language (if any), their use of media, and the clarity and coherence of their presentation.