Three Day Road Brainstorming + Essay Prep

1 Conflict arises when a character’s (or characters’) beliefs or desires are incompatible with the reality he/she faces. To what extent is a central theme developed in Three Day Road in response to such a conflict?

Character / Personal Beliefs/Desires of character / Reality character faces / Conflicts Present as a result of Beliefs/Desire vs. Reality / Proof from text
Niska / -Maintenance of culture
-Desire for Frenchman
-Protecting X / -assimilation
-isolation
-discrimination
-temporary loss of morals / Person vs person
Person vs self
Person vs society
Person vs.supernatural
Xavier / -maintenance of culture
-protecting nature/being connected to nature
-protecting E / --assimilation
-discrimination
-moral dissipation / Person vs person
Person vs self
Person vs society
Elijah / -to fit in
- to please
- to hunt
-to do whatever he wants / -never can fit in one place
-assimilation
-loss of morals / Person vs person
Person vs self
Person vs society

Theme? After reviewing this information –what is the author trying to tell us about the conflict between beliefs/desires and reality?

One possible theme:

The author is trying to show the reader that when beliefs or desires and reality conflict, an individual can easily lose sight of their original ideals and ultimately lose their morals.

2 Analyse how three different literary techniques (imagery, symbolism, irony, contrast, point of view, narrator) contribute to the development of a central theme in this novel.

Possible theme / Literary Techniques x3 / How does each technique develop the theme? / Proof from the text for each one which shows it develops the theme
When beliefs or desires and reality conflict, an individual can easily lose sight of their original ideals and ultimately lose their morals. / 1
2
3 / 1
2
3
In order for an individual to fully fit into a foreign culture, he/she must be willing to sacrifice personal morals. (or culture or friends and family).
Unfortunately though, this results in a complete loss of self due to confusion of loyalties and confusion between what an individual knows is right vs what an individual is told is right / 1 symbols –me bags, mocassins
2 irony
3 contrast
4- POV –perspective / 1Elijah’s medicine bag very important to him in the beginning; not at all when he starts to lose morals’
moccasins- when E has changed, he wants X to fix them, X says impossible
2 scalping(E+Frenchmen) + Niska with the ‘homeguard indians’- irony in who people really are vs who they think they are or who they think they are expected to be
3 Elijah vs. X to demonstrate what happens when one refuses to sacrifice morals vs when one willingly forgets morals to fit in
4 POV/perspective changes –Elijah at res school must fit in or be beaten – forced to forget about Native culture/ideals/morals vs. Elijah at war where he willingly leaves behind all sense of Nativity to fit in – similar to Elijah hunting with X as a kid where he is eager to fit in and learn some morals/culture
When a group of people is in a position of power, they lose sight of acceptance of other views and both discriminate against and dismiss the beliefs of the minority in favour of those of the majority. / 1
2
3 / 1
2
3
3 In Three Day Road, to what extent is a character’s true personality revealed through confronting a moral dilemma
Character + personality at beginning / Moral dilemma / True Personality of character + examples… / Proof from the text which shows that the dilemma displays the true personality
Calm, curious about her own culture, caring, wise / Niska and the Frenchman / Temporarily becomes naïve, temporarily abandons her culture- dresses like a white person, goes to a church, drinks alcohol; temporarily becomes vengeful (then asks for forgiveness)
Calm, down to earth, introverted, observant, cautious / X and the bird’s nest
X and the horses
X and Elijah / Stays true to self- does what is right despite consequences / Stops animals from
suffering
Stands up to Breech
Protects, then kills E
following X, determined, eager to please, curious, / E and the bird’s nest
E and killing for self-satisfaction
E and morphine
E and killing for self-preservation / Determined/obsessed with attention seeking behaviour –self- involved- loses concept of right and wrong.
Not willing to face his own wrongs / Knocks down the nest b/c Breech says so- doesn’t care how X feels; begins killing for fun; gets addicted and abandons all sense of nativity

4 Assess to what extent setting shapes or influences a central character.

Character / What was this character like in the beginning? / Setting / Proof from text which shows this particular setting influences the character
Niska- setting influences her to a great extent because she becomes unsure of herself and changes- even though it is a temporary change / Calm, curious about her own culture, caring, wise / Church,bar,town
The land / -becomes a stereotypical native
-self-realization of naivety; uses her powers for evil
-entirely herself- focussed on her own culture when on the land and living off of the land
elijah / following X, determined, eager to please, curious, / The land
Res school
The war / -confusion due to conflicting ideas from res schools
-fuels reason for him to just act wild and do whatever he wants.
xavier / Calm, down to earth, introverted, observant, cautious / The land
Res school
The war / -connected to nature and his culture –knows what is important
-teaches him to dislike white ppl and stay true to his own culture
-realizes that he can’t always stay true to his culute- loses himself/morals a bit…

5 Show how Boyden develops a particular motif (series of a literary technique,) in Three Day Road to convey one of the novel’s major themes.

theme / Motif / Proof from text which shows this particular motif develops the theme
when beliefs or desires and reality conflict, an individual can easily lose sight of their original ideals and ultimately lose their morals. / Symbols of Native culture
Medicine bag, moccasins, sweat lodge / Medicine bag: Elijah loses his, X keeps his – the beliefs/traditions that the bag represents (the native culture)- conflict with the way Elijah is acting (his reality); so Xavier taking it away from him shows that E has lost his morals and X doesn’t believe that E deserves this piece of the culture anymore.
Guns
Mauser
Nun’s rifle
Sniper rifle
Death and dying
Colour white
The threes