Three-Day Road Blog
By: Anthony Mariano
Niska’s story of killing a windigo is a key scene in Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road. In a flashback, Niska tells the story of killing windigo in the turtle clan, to her nephew, Xavier. She described that there was, “sadness at the heart of the windigo: an aura as bright as the North Lights pulsed from within it with great sadness.” (260). This story would make Xavier’s life on the Front to hard to bear, dealing with soldiers dying every day.
Boyden describes Niska’s killing as aggressive and heart wrenching; the elderly woman “squeez[ing] [her] thighs tighter around him,” (263) as the poor animal’s life slowly slips away. The man’s last breath is horrific for Xavier to observe, explaining, “Sometimes one must be sacrificed if all are to survive.” (265). As the animal dies, “the last stinking air in his body left him…his eyes remained opened, the whites turned a deep red from the strangulation.” (263-64). As Xavier reflects on Niska’s story, it could only bring Xavier back to life on the Front.
This story echoes Xavier’s life on the Front, reminding him of all the terrible events that he experienced on the battlefield, leading to his death. He describes that, “The world is burning,” (51), when talking about the front. Unlike his friend, Elijah, Xavier is tired of all the killing and battles, while Elijah has learned to accept and have fun with his opposing soldiers. Xavier stated, “Elijah has learned to take pleasure in killing…I am sick of all of this…this freedom to kill, is a choice I no longer want.” (283). By reflecting on Niska’s life lesson story and dealing with the harsh realities of the war, Xavier continued to fight with adversity, not thinking about the past killings and trying to make life easier with morphine.
