Three Day Road Character Essay

Character Sketch – Elijah ‘Whiskeyjack’ Weesageechak

Elijah Weesageechak was always destined for greatness. Being first-nations and raised by nuns in a church he was open to the European’s ways and picked up English quite easily. He learned it so well he could use his “silver tongue” to manipulate and get out of any situation.   However being raised by in the European way, he still had aboriginal blood and flourished into a great hunter once the opportunity presented itself. He was not very native besides the hunting. He didn’t take so much of an appeal to the more spiritual traditions unlike his counterpart, Xavier who was raised in the bush and was quiet and learned in the old ways. He was never one to back down or shy away from a challenge and once he heard of the war, was eager to sign up. Like a social butterfly he spread around enjoying the company of the other men in the army, talking for hours at a time and not afraid to say what’s on his mind. This sometimes got him in trouble, yet he wouldn’t stop solely because of whatever punishments that were to come. This was good at times but in the end it cost him. Being so open to everything and not afraid to take risk, he was a prime candidate for addiction. Once he got a taste of something he liked, he wanted more.   Two common addictions that swept across world war one were morphine and killing. Elijah was hooked from the start. Willing to risk the consequences of going too far, just to keep getting the thrill. He soon got out of control and in the end it cost him his life.