Throughout school we learn about the history of our country, such as the wars we fought in and especially the people who lived here before us, the First Nations. The novel I chose to read for my summative project is Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden which explores the lives of two Cree members and particularly their interactions with the settlers. There are three main characters in the novel so far Xavier, Niksha and Elijah. Xavier and Elijah fought together in World War I as First Nations and the novel is either from Xavier's or Niksha's point of view. Niksha is Xavier's aunt and meets Xavier after returning from the war with a leg injury and a morphine addiction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Reader response theory involves the reader analyzing what they read and determining its meaning based on their own past experiences. As a reader, I feel like this novel is trying to give more insight into the lives of the First Nations people at the time, how they were mistreated, and the horror of the First World War. I feel like the desired audience for the novel is primarily Canadians or anyone interested in Canadian history. Being Canadian, I almost feel obligated to learn more about the history of my country. I also found the relationship between Xavier and Elijah very compelling. Near the beginning of the novel, when they are trying to escape the fire, Elijah says that he hopes the fire does not reach their house and Xavier has a feeling of regret overcome him. Xavier continues: “I remember that I made the decision to do that. I will protect him. That’s what I do, what I’ve always tried to do” (Boyden 27). I enjoy this relationship in the novel because it shows how deep their friendship is and how responsible Xavier feels for Elijah. It also goes into more depth about having a close relationship with someone during war and what it can do mentally and physically. Next up is Xavier and how he feels mentally once he returns from the war. There's a quote at the beginning when Niksha first picks up Xavier and they begin their journey down the river: "He is sleeping, but his sleep is not restorative." He is trembling and his hands are shaking. He screams and it wakes him up” (16). It is also mentioned before that he pricked himself with a needle, which then relaxed him. This indicates a reliance on morphine which was common after the war for pain relief, but what I also found interesting was that he was unable to sleep deeply, constantly twitching and waking up. This leads me to believe that Xavier suffers from PTSD, a common mental illness that soldiers contracted during the war, with constant, recurring flashbacks of their time on the battlefield. I'm very interested in how this is going to play out in the novel and maybe we'll see a separate moment where he continues to have flashbacks as well. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Overall I'm enjoying the novel so far, it's interesting to read about the life of a soldier, especially a First Nations soldier, as I don't have any personal insights of what that looks like and I'm quite curious how the novel will unfold..