Bibliography

"Francis Pegahmagabow, aboriginal World War 1 veteran." Fox Meadow, book design and publishing. 20 Apr. 2009 .

"A Lost Heritage: Canada's Residential Schools ." CBC Archives. 20 Apr. 2009 http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/.

"Joseph Boyden author profile Quill & Quire." Quill & Quire ? Canada's magazine of book news and reviews. 7 Apr. 2009 .

Personal Reflection

In approximately 350 words I will explain how the ISU has not academically or intellectually progressed my education in the direction that I so desired. This ISU seemed just as typical and repetitive as any other academic English course. Furthermore, most of the repetition came from the reading and identifying of themes in the book and supporting this with quotations. I cannot count the number of times this grueling task has been done in any university or academic English class. Although this assignment hasn't headed me in the intellectual direction I wished, I can assume by constantly fighting with Blogger to upload parts of my English ISU that this has somehow enriched my understanding of this program. Also, I can appreciate the fact that teachers are now trying to enrich their students writing through different forms of media, but you're never going to get the same feedback on a blog in comparison to the suggestions a teacher underlines and elaborates on for a paper that you have handed in. To what extent am I a better reader and writer? I would have to say that the ISU did do what it was designed for by aiding me in the repetitive task of searching through text for themes and supporting this with blatantly obvious quotations. On the contrary though, there was one thing I found that reallydid increase the quality of my writing: the fact that any one of my classmates could read or comment on my blogs. This created added pressure for me to enrich the quality of my writing, and to stay in tune with the writing of my classmates. Unfortunately, I found that writing for this larger audience also did hinder another part of my writing that is already lacking, this would be my inevitably poor punctuality. Overall, I'm not going to be close minded and say that this ISU lacks the credentials to assist in the developing of ones intellectual abilities, but it would be nice if there could be a little less English repetition and a little more English inspiration.

Apologia

Joseph Boyden’s novel stands out from the vast canon of Canadian literature because of the direction and the overall goal that is met by this Canadian piece. Joseph Boyden’s writing is an unbiased description of the contributions aboriginal soldiers made towards the war effort and their sacrifices as well. Boyden’s novel also portrays the inequalities that these soldiers had to face on the home front and the front lines of battle even though they had served their nation. The fiction that is portrayed in Three-Day Road has been influenced by Joseph Boyden’s relatives: "Raymond Boyden was not the only soldier in the family. Joseph’s maternal grandfather, as well as an uncle on his father’s side, had served in the First World War, and Boyden draws upon this fund of family stories for his first novel, Three-Day Road"(Quill & Quire ). Along with this, Joseph Boyden who is partially aboriginal allows the reader the security that Boyden has a general understanding of aboriginal issues in Canada, and will have the utmost respect for individuals of his ancestry.

The characters in Three-Day Road are accurately portrayed for their time, and their treatment by the Canadian Armed Forces. Joseph Boyden allows the reader to be immersed in an historically accurate setting and war attitude, this allows the reader to sympathize with the two fictional main characters in the story. Since Boyden has chosen two fictional main characters in his story it allows him to create emphasis on issues he feels necessary like the inequality that is viewed to be perfectly normal in World War I, and their recalling of past abuses that took place back in their Canadian residential school. This allows the reader to be educated on what the conditions were like for these brave soldiers who were not treated equally. Boyden also uses the inspiration of Ojibwa Francis Pegahmagabow, the legendary First World War sniper, and his struggles as a veteran after returning to Canada. (Fox Meadow, book design and publishing). By unbiasedly shining a light on Canada’s treatment of their First Nations’ people, Joseph Boyden captures the significance of this novel and why Three-Day Road should be viewed differently than other pieces of Canadian literature.

Canada is a country that puts great emphasis on its multi cultural status, but the fact is Canada crippled its first Nations’ cultures through years of forcing first Nations decedents into residential schools. Canada, at the time, viewed residential schools not as something that hindered first Nations’ lives, but something that advanced their culture and allowed them to have a more equal chance in Canadian society as is shown in the CBC archive video(CBC Archives). Although the negative extent of residential schools was not intended, we as Canadians need to learn from our mistakes and acknowledge that Canada has made multi cultural mistakes in the past that we have learned from. This is what Joseph Boyden aids us in by opening a window to the majority of Canadians through educating them on the issues of inequality in Canada’s aboriginal past. To aid in the prevention of inequality of any future race in Canada, Joseph Boyden’s novel Three-Day Road should be read by all Canadians. Three-day Road does an excellent job of portraying the accomplishments of the first Nations in World War I, and the serving done by these individuals in a country that did not serve them equally in return.

AUTHOR PROFILE

http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/profile.cfm?article_id=6573


http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000065078,00.html

http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/detail?vid=3&hid=115&sid=939bec4c-0e3d-4b8d-8b36-09934e8d05cc%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JmFtcDtsYW5nPWVuLWNhJnNpdGU9cG92LWNhbg%3d%3d#db=p3h&AN=MYO179720846305


Joseph Boyben grew up in Willowdale, Ontario, in the 1970s,the third youngest of 11 children. Boyben was an outstanding reader for his age as he found himself reading through the family encyclopedias at the age of six inquiring deeper in to topics that interested him.S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders, sparked the ambition inside him to become a writer, as fiction engulfed his writing style. There was only one other thing that Boyben Like better than fiction, it was the stories of his father and his relatives time serving in the great world wars. His father Raymond Wilfrid Boyden the highest decorated medic in the second world war passed away when Boyden was only 8. He drew inspiration father, relatives, and his first Nations background to write the book three-day road. Joseph Boyden has only published one book before three-day road, the 2001 short-story collection Born with a Tooth a collection of first Nations stories. Joseph Boyden now recites as a Canadian literature and creative writing teacher at the University of New Orleans.



Negative

This book review dwells more on John Boyden’s writing style and addresses his issue with prose. For example “‘That winter and the following summer and the winter and summer after that were plentiful and very happy,’ Niska says. ‘But as always happens, the good times bled into harder times and our third winter together proved long and difficult and very cold.’” Overall, the article had a definite negative tone, and unfortunately as a individual that would recommend this novel it makes difficult to take the review seriously.

http://www.goodreports.net/reviews/threedayroad.htm





Positive

In this review the writer focuses mainly one the good characteristics of the story such as the undeniably at excellent plot line this story entails. The article also discusses about the clashes between first Nations and the European settlers. The author of this review also so praises Boyden for his excellent ability to constantly leave the reader with a vivid picture of what is going on. Overall, I agreed with this book reviews depiction of the book three-day road.

http://www.straight.com/article/three-day-road-by-joseph-boyden

Cultural, historical and geographical context

These historical archives footage from the CBC shot in 1950's depicts the “wonders” of the residential schools in Canada. The footage is taken in Moose factory where the two main characters in three-day road were forced to attend school. This video shows an interesting contrast between how the residential schools were viewed as by the Canadian public, and the actual harm and destruction of residential schools displayed in the book. I found this video quite interesting and one of the goals of the author of three-day road is to teach what residential schools were really like. This video helps the reader understand the mindset of Canadians during the time of residential schools and aids in the comprehension of why we Canadians financed and allowed these schools.

(Watch videos one and two)
http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/

http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/4002


Interview

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=p3h&AN=6JN6JN345484731&lang=en-ca&site=pov-can


During this interview Joseph Boyden discusses that he uses northern Ontario and his family and friends to inspire his stories. He also briefly discusses that he has received Ojibwa name which isnThunderbird Man that means "Pay attention." Borden’s uses his writing to try and promote aboriginal culture and break down the stereotypes that these people have been faced with their whole lives. Boyden also discusses about his younger years and how when he was twenty he was offered a job to teach up in Moosonee, Ontario at Northern College. Boyden also elaborates on how this discusses to teach in Canada enhanced his love for this land and its people.

Third point

Three-day road has made a comeback! As stated in my previous blog I was disappointed in the author's choice of story development. As I embark on this latest significant part of the novel, I noticed the story has made a strong comeback by maintaining a large emphasis on the World War I parts of the book. The author also does an excellent job of hooking the reader by abruptly ending sub story lines then tying them into the main storyline later in the novel. A prime example of this, is when Xavier’s Aunt writes Xavier a letter but the reader does not find out what the letter entails until later in the story. As to be expected, Joseph Boyden does an excellent job of describing the chaos of war as shown in this quotation.

“ ‘Sergeant,’ I call to him. He's looking up at me but his eyes don't seem to take me in. I see that his arm is gone. Blood spurts out of him in pulses. He struggles to sit up. I'm frozen up on the parapet, my legs and arms not responding to what I ask them to do. ‘Sergeant McCaan!’ I shout, and my voice is muffled in my head. His eyes focus on me then. A smile comes to his face and his red moustache curls with his lips. He stretches his remaining arm to me. I see the movement to my left. A couple of soldiers run up with rifles pointed and stare down at McCaan”(296).

This is just a synopsis of the extent of detail Joseph Boyden goes into when describing the horrors of the French battlefields.

This section of the novel was very rich in its theme and still carried on past themes of the story I’ve already addressed, for example the main theme of survival. This theme is also accompanied by insanity, and fear. Three-Day Road is oozing with quotations to support these themes.

Due to the circumstances of the story, survival is rightfully seen as the main theme in the story. “ I turn from him to stop myself from throwing up, just as another soldier runs at me, this one much larger...he carries a war club in his hand and swings it clumsily... I jump to the side and the force of his attack carries [him] onto the ground....with both hands I drive the bayonet into his back. I can feel it bounce sharply off his spine before it finds a softer spot and sinks in” (220). This quotation is removed from a part of the book where Canadian forces are forced to go over the top and into the German bunkers. Xavier’s only chance of survival is to fight, as treason at this time was punished by firing squad.

Another theme that was present in this part of the novel is insanity. The reader is openly exposed to Xavier’s thoughts on Elijah’s languishing insanity. There are many parts present in the book that blatantly show Xavier questioning Elijah’s state of mind.

“ The meat is gamy and a little tough. ‘Is it horse?’ I ask, pulling gristle from my mouth.
Elijah smiles his wicked little-boy smile. ‘No. It is human. German, to be exact.’I jump to my feet before I know that I do it and approach Elijah with balled fists. Then I find myself reaching for my knife. But what he has said makes me gag and I kneel down and stick my finger down my throat. The contents of my stomach come out in a slimy glob.'X! Calm down!' Elijah says. 'I am only joking. What? Do you think I'm crazy' "(288)

This quotation clearly shows that Xavier is questioning Elijah's state of mind. Xavier wasn’t questioning Elijah's well-being. He would have been more skeptical, and would have taken a less violent approach towards him. Overall, I can see insanity being a reoccurring theme as I enter the last portion of my reading.

The theme of fear goes hand-in-hand with the theme of survival. Although, fear can always invoke unjustifiable actions from individuals to secure survival. In this quarter of my novel fear is symptomatic of survival, and this is shown through this tragic quotation.

“I walk into what remains of another room. A table rests in the middle with a little food on it... As I head toward it, I catch a movement to my left coming toward me. I turn and fire my rifle just as I see that it is a young woman. She flies backwards, her face startled. She slumps against the wall....I peer quickly around me... A small child huddles in the corner... She begins to cry when I approach the mother. "I am sorry, I am sorry," I repeat over and over, to the child, to the mother... I turn toward the child to try and calm her, I come close enough that she begins to swing her fists with terror at my legs. I hear Elijah's boots as he runs into the room. A rifle shot explodes and the child goes still, a red hole punched in her chest by the bullet. "Mo-na!" I scream.... ‘You couldn't tell that she was a child?’ I yell at him. ‘I am trained not to hesitate in situations of danger,’ he answers coldly.”

This quotation shows how fear is interconnected with survival, as fear prompts an individual to act out of quick desperation for survival. This quotation also contributes to Xavier’s doubt of Elijah’s mental well-being.

Second Point

When reflecting on the past 100 pages it has become evident that the novel has been more mentally demanding to continue reading. This is mainly caused by Joseph Boyden’s decision to elaborate on a subplot in the story. The subplot is Xavier’s Aunt’s love life with a promiscuous “Wemistikoshiw” French trapper. I personally found this part of the story overwhelmingly reliant on the use of descriptive sex scenes that go above and beyond what the reader needs to know. On the contrary I still found the World War I scenes very descriptive but mature in the manner of drawing the reader a realistic perspective of war.

In this part the book still maintains its original theme of survival and its secondary theme of exclusion, but with the addition of the theme addiction. Although addiction is present at the starting of the book it is not until now you find out Elijah, one of the main characters, has started abusing morphine, as shown in this quotation “He takes the short needle from the moosehide bag in his chest pocket and slips it in quickly, efficiently, wincing as he hits a tender area. His whole arm is tender. Elijah practises self-control, knowing as he floods his vein that he is using the medicine right now out of anger” (187).


Another secondary theme of exclusion is demonstrated in this part of the novel. Exclusion is shown between the Caucasian populace and the first Nations that have refused to give up their traditional ways. The exclusion from this is demonstrated in this quotation “The Indian name for us was awawatuk, and we had the unfair reputation of being thieves and murderers, all because we rejected the Wemistikoshiw” (60). The extent of the first Nations exclusion in this story didn’t stop there. The exclusion in Three-Day Road was also physical “We headed south. A man in a uniform said to us, soon as we got on, ‘No Indians in this car.’ He pointed down the aisle. ‘You belong four cars to the back.’ We pick up our packs and walk through the river of people who ignore us.... A few other Indians sit here... The seats wood and uncomfortable” (149).

Lastly, the main theme of survival still subsides in this selection of the book. The theme survival is still strong throughout the book and the main characters Elijah and Xavier face imminent danger as displayed through their run in with a German sniper.

“I continue staring through the scope, scanning the ground all around.... That is when he captures my eye. Not fifteen feet away a corpse moves slightly and a puff of smoke comes out from it. Almost simultaneously wood splinters and dirt clods explode between Elijah's head and my own and Elijah yelps in pain,.... I train my sights on it and can suddenly see the barrel of a rifle pointing out.... I know that the sniper is reloading and it is a matter of seconds before he will fire at us again. My rifle is steady on a place just above the rifle poking out from under the corpse and without any more thinking I pull the trigger.”

Although I’ve gone through a mild rough patch in my book, the overall read, once you get past the awkwardly descriptive sex scenes in the book, is one of worthwhile proportions. The book still accurately betrays the struggles these first Nations people went through.