Three Day Road Themes

Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and

Boyden’s attempt to "make history our own" has resulted in a text that cannot be viewed exclusively in terms of political objectives, as the healing aesthetic of his complex and strikingly rendered genealogical plot extends beyond the limits of theoretical commemoration and redress, honouring the Aboriginal in history via an imagined journey that is not principally revisionary, but rather that has "good vision." (20).. When Niska meditates on the tragedy of the Aboriginal-turned-

-The wife returns to her clan, but she and her child slip into madness. This madness is personified as the windigo, a mythical wild beast 20 feet tall (44). Niska's father is forced to kill them (45). Niska is made to watch;

Niska is the last Oji-Cree shaman/medicine woman living off the land in a bush community just outside of Moose Factory. Niska grew up with her sister Rabbit, her mother, and her father - the Chief of their community. Niska's father had the ability to divine events in the near future as well as communicate with the great spirits, abilities that he would later pass down onto her. In her childhood, Niska and Rabbit were taken to Residential School. Already too old for the school to effectively assimilate her, she acts out and is punished. Eventually, she was rescued by her mother, but they couldn’t get to Rabbit. When she was nearing her teen years, Niska's community was struck with famine. When food became too scarce, a woman from her community resorted to cannibalism.

In Niska’s vision of the future, she subtly acknowledges that she “knows who” is standing beside her “and who these boys are too” (Boyden 346). Niska is aware that these children are Xavier’s, and they, too, are being raised in the traditional way. This vision of the future signifies the hope for continuing Indigenous cultural practices. Boyden’s optimistic vision in the final chapter suggests that, while the path to coexistence may be fraught with challenges, it is ultimately available through reconciliation and a deep respect for individual beliefs and values. In Three Day Road, Joseph Boyden explores the central question of whether Indigenous and white people in Canada can live harmoniously and maintain a unique culture, offering a nuanced insight into a complex issue.

Fun fact, in the UK, some hospitals use diamorphine, a generic name of heroin to prescribed as a strong pain medication in patients suffering from myocardial infarction, post-surgical pain, and chronic pain, including end-stage cancer and other terminal illnesses. It is still given over there, instead of using Morphine, because some hospital state it a lot better from pain

This shows Xavier’s first confrontation with the drug which later in the novel becomes addicting. Moreover, the continuation of the war for Xavier leads to depression, which soon transforms into something even more terrible, the development of a post-traumatic stress disorder. The war is detrimental, and for Xavier, it changes his mindset distinctively. However, Xavier’s aunt Niska becomes a mentor for him and helps him recover with her spiritual healing, making Xavier a character who has changed a lot but recovers spiritually. As a mentor and a guide, she says “He cannot speak to me yet, and so I decide, here on the river, that I will speak to him.

Xavier’s outlook towards morphine is negative, “[Elijah] has been taking too much of the medicine[…]I want to tell him news of Auntie, but can no longer rely on him” (Boyden 295). Xavier cannot trust Elijah while he is on morphine. His negative outlook on morphine is changed after his own injury, “He has pulled up the material and a red nub pokes out above where his knee should be” (328). Xavier lost his leg in a European war. As a result of this trauma he becomes addicted to morphine, “The medicine is loosening its hold on me. I want more, but so little is left” (70). Like the indigenous peoples’ addiction to alcohol, Xavier becomes so addicted to the wemistikoshiw medicine that he eventually believes he will die without it, “The cost this time is that I can no longer live without the medicine” (10). Boyden’s use of the circular narrative demonstrates Xavier’s initial and changed outlook on morphine before and after his own injury. In Three Day Road, Xavier’s aunt Niska also experiences trauma from the

Niska often tells stories her past experiences growing up, to teach Xavier all the lessons she learned in her life and to warn him about all the obstacles she had to face. Niska herself was taught using storytelling, "We'd grown up on stories of the windigo that our parents would feed us over winter fires," (Boyden 44). Story telling was used to warn Niska about the windigo and prepare her for the future role she had to face. She uses the same method to teach Xavier, telling him about all the mistakes she had made "I stared into the fire for a long time after that story, not able

This happened shortly after Niska shaved her head. This shows a sense of pride towards Niska as she knows her doings are against the rules of the wemistikoshw and embracing this by smiling at the forbidden word, ‘devil’. Since she has not stayed at the residential school for a long period of time, Niska is still intact with her culture because she continues to tell stories of her past living in the bush to Xavier on the way home from the war. Even though Xavier is not as in depth as Niska when it comes to their background culture; he is bound to his native character during the war. Xavier refuses to abandon his moccasins that represent his aboriginality.

Opioid abuse, misuse and overdose is a problem in The United States. You can’t turn on the TV or read a newspaper without some mention of the epidemic. This issue has caused the practice of prescribing or taking narcotic pain medication to be looked at under a microscope. Patients are fearful to use some necessary pain medication, because they may become addicted. Other patients who genuinely do have pain and need medication are having a tougher time obtaining the help they need. The problem of abuse and addiction is tough to solve since for some people the medications are the only way they can function and live a semi-normal life. A patient with pain may be hesitant to visit the doctor and

As better and more comprehensive education is provided both to the general public and practicing clinicians the hope is to reduce the negativity surrounding the users of opioids, and to eliminate demeaning language coupled to them as well. This could improve patient morale and help the needless continuation of physical suffering within patients, as they would be more comfortable approaching and using opioids for therapeutic purposes1. That being said there are those within our communities who do abuse these substances and pharmacists must recognize the signs of abusers, it is important for them to reach out, without comment, to help those suffering from opioid abuse once they have been

The history of opioids in America provides a reoccurring theme riddled with misuse, abuse, and addiction. One could even go as far as to call it a timeless theme, as the same problems that affected the past still stand steadfast today. It all started in 1806 with the isolation of Morphine by chemist Friedrich Sertürner (Acock, 1993). Soon after its creation, this analgesic opiate became the primary treatment in the United States for various medical ailments including pain, anxiety, and respiratory problems (Acock, 1993). Acock (1993) reveals that opioids were widely used during the Civil War, with numbers reaching up to ten million opioid pills for the Union Army alone. Morphine was essentially the cure-all on the battlefield. The result

The reason that this drug can be so intense and dangerous is because it falls into the category II narcotics. Many commonly known narcotics include opium, morphine, and heroin. The addiction rate of any of these drugs is phenomenal. Narcotics are central nervous system depressants that relieve pain without causing the loss of consciousness. They can also produce feelings drowsiness, mental confusion and euphoria. The analgesic effects of narcotics result from the drugs’ effects on the emotional aspects of pain. Many patients that experience intense pain say that after the administration of the narcotic, their pain is as intense as ever but no longer as bothersome. Because narcotics block the emotional side effects of pain they make it much more bearable.

Because morphine is basically the grandfather to all opiate-based drugs, recreational use is common and continual. The drug desensitizes one to their surroundings and their mind, many have explained this trip to be a body high. The consciousness is completely hampered and can make thoughts seem spurred. Eventually it allows one to completely numb themselves to whatever pain and sad feelings they are feeling. I believe this is one of the main reasons this drug is abused as it is. Abuse of morphine can occur in several different ways, for instance a patient could overdose