Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden does in fact have examples of the archetypal literary criticism in it, yes they were harder to find than some other literary theories, however if you dig far enough into the text you can pull some out. Since the main characters are Aboriginals from around the time of 1914-1918, they do in fact have the qualities of the original Indian, meaning that they believe in the spirit animals and herbs having healing powers beyond the wemistokishiw's understanding. Boyden included some common archetypal figures in his novel, including The Great Mother, and the Trickster. He also included the fundamental plot archetype: the journey.
I would first like to talk about The Great Mother: Niska. By definition, the Great Mother comes in many forms, "The symbols are of this archetype are the Virgin Mary; sometimes one’s own mother; a divine female; an old or ageless woman; the Earth; a blue grotto; the sea; a whale; a cave, a tree. Whatever the image it often contains great religious feeling or spiritual uplift." In this case, the Great Mother takes the form of Xavier's aunt. Boyden somewhat hid the role of the Great Mother within Niska as she grows into the role over time.
The Great Mother is said to have the people around her bring her peace, however in Three Day Road, Boyden has her bring herself her own peace by reaching out to the spirit animals and asking them to do her dirty work for her. After the Frenchman had "took your power away in this place and sent it to burn in hell where it belongs." (174), Niska later finds out that by her wishes, the Frenchman had "flung himself through the window" (176) of a hotel, and died. Thus she gave herself her own peace of mind, knowing that he wouldn't come back to find her, for he was dead.
"The trickster is an alchemist, a magician, creating realities in the duality of time and illusion." I believe that Elijah is the perfect example of a trickster. Throughout the novel Boyden gives Elijah a few traits that suggest is, such as having Elijah give himself a fake English accent to fit in and make the other soldiers laugh.
One quote stood out to me and it literally stated that he was a trickster: "Weesageechak is the trickster, the one who takes different forms at will. Hudson's Bay Company traders could never pronounce it with their thick tongues. But they saw the trickster is the whiskeyjack, the grey jay that loves to hear his own voice, is bold enough to steal food from their hands when they were not watching." (154). Boyden quite accurately sums up the character of Elijah within that one quote.
Joseph Boyden's novel also fallows the archetypal plot. Following from the time when Xavier is young, he grows from being innocent at the residential school, to a sniper in the first world war. His story also begins in a familiar place: his home, and develops to him leaving for war and what his life is like there, the descent into danger comes quickly as the war begins and he starts to fight the Fritz. The battling between the Canadians and the Fritz is considered the battle against monsters. I haven't reached the end of the novel yet, however he is already on his way home throughout the novel, and whether him and Niska make it or not, at least he is no longer in battle.
Sources:
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/archetype-of-the-great-mother/
http://www.crystalinks.com/trickster.html
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