Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Three Day Road, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Isolation vs. Community
Racism and Assimilation
Language and Storytelling
Nature, War, and Survival
Summary
Analysis
Xavier’s unit is near Passchendaele, and he “has reached the point where nothing makes sense” anymore. No one seems to know what they are doing, and the officers keep sending men to their death. One day, Xavier and Elijah are sent into a wrecked village to search it. It appears deserted, and Xavier enters a demolished building. He sees food on a table and realizes he is starving. As he reaches for the food, a flash of movement catches his eye. Xavier shoots, and a young woman falls dead next to a screaming child.
This is the moment when Xavier completely loses his taste for war. He is so used to killing, that he kills an innocent woman who is probably just trying to feed her child during a war. She is not Xavier’s enemy and she has nothing to do with their conflict, but Xavier has killed her just as easily and quickly as those on the field.
Themes
“I am sorry, I am sorry,” Xavier yells reaching for the child. He hears Elijah’s footsteps approaching, and just as Elijah enters the room, he fires at the child, killing her. “Mo-na!” Xavier screams at Elijah. “You couldn’t tell it was a child?” he yells. “I am trained not to hesitate in situations of danger,” Elijah says “coldly” and walks away.
Elijah is a cold-blooded killer, and Xavier knows this will happen to him soon as well. Killing the woman is just the beginning if he doesn’t do something. When Xavier kills the woman, it is clear that he is in danger of going windigo, too.
Themes
Xavier and Elijah’s unit soon heads back to Lens. On New Year’s Eve, Elijah goes “missing,” but Xavier is the only one who notices. He returns late at night two days later with a pack full of meat. The meat is “gamy” and a bit “tough.” “Is it horse?” Xavier asks, tasting the meat. “No. It is human,” Elijah says. “German to be exact.” Xavier gags and vomits up the meat. “X! Calm down,” Elijah laughs. “I am only joking. What? Do you think I’m crazy? I was kidding. It’s just horsemeat.”
Elijah is gone for two whole days and no one says a thing, yet Xavier is gone for one night, and is nearly executed. This reflects Elijah’s preferential treatment. He has conformed, and so he is rewarded. This, too, is proof that Elijah has gone windigo. Elijah claims that he is just joking about the meat, but he is hardly convincing. Xavier doesn’t think Elijah is “crazy,” he knows that he is.
Themes
