The scene from Three Day Road where Xavier kills Elijah is a crucial one. It shows the progression of the two friends and how the war has changed them. Elijah has grown wild with killing and has even turned to removing the scalps of his victims for “proof”, that he has killed them. The blood he spilled has wrought madness within him and he has turned Windigo, hungry for the meat of German flesh. Xavier has gone down a different path, one far from morphine. He has matured to hate killing, and has realized that this war is not worth the cost. When Xavier kills Elijah he brings closure to the book because he has now taken on the important role of Windigo killer thus bringing Elijah’s madness to an end. This is important to the book because it was the final test placed upon Xavier who stayed true to his values learned in the bush. Elijah however was turned into a war mongering British soldier and in the end it destroyed him.
“You have gone mad. There is no coming back from where you’ve travelled.” I press down harder. Elijah’s eyes shine with tears. His face grows a dark red. He tries to whisper words to me but I know I cannot allow Elijah to speak them. I must finish this. I have become what you are Niska.
I lean all of my weight down across the rifle. Elijah begs with his eyes. I desperately want to stop what I’ve started but something else controls me now. My tears fall heavier on his face. His mouth opens and closes, gasping for air. Veins bulge from his forehead.
Just when I think he is made of something unbreakable, the rifle in my hands sink down and I feel through the stock the collapse of his windpipe under the rifles pressure. He goes still his eyes still watching me. (370)
This scene in the book shows Xavier’s maturity and that he has grown up and followed in his aunt’s foot steps. Connecting the fact that his aunt was taught by her father about killing Windigos as well as doing it herself years later; to Xavier killing Elijah after being taught by his aunt when he was younger. Even though Xavier doesn’t want to kill Elijah, he does it because he realizes what Elijah has become, and knows that he has to. This shows Xavier’s strength as a person, that he and Niska both have. This ends the cycle and shows that Xavier has inherited the gift and talent of Windigo killing that his family has passed down through the generations. Thus bringing the story to and end while tying up all loose ends.
