I Never Knew Until He Was Gone

     There is one main conflict in the novel 3,000 Miles by Jason Schneider. Although other conflicts are present like man vs. man, man vs. self is the most recognized in this novel. The conflict includes the main character, Andre, who feels worthless in life. He decides that he needs to go on a journey to figure out what he is going to do and to get out of his small hometown. In addition, Andre and his family do not have a strong relationship. His parents often neglect him and his older brother is an unreliable pothead. Andre needed to leave. Thus, he and two other friends packed their bags and were on their way across Canada then to Seattle as their last stop. Andre felt like they must stop in Seattle because that was the hometown of his hero, Kurt Cobain, who had died not too long ago. The death of Andre's idol really stirred up his emotions within, causing him to finally go for a journey. However, he was not going on this trip to search "for some kind of answer. [He knew] the answer" but needed to "figure out a way to express it" (pg.22). Unfortunately, his idea of expression may include death or sacrifice. 


     Another conflict that occurs in the novel is man vs. woman. Andre has a girlfriend named Sylvie who has her life pretty much figured out, finish high school, attend university, and then get a stable job. Although she had "already assumed [she was] going to Laval, with McGill and Concordia the backups...[she] had to tell [her] father...about UBC"(pg.66). However, the only reason she wants to go to UBC is because in a letter from Andre to Sylvie, he said," I want to experience as much as I can before we get to Vancouver"(pg.65). Meaning, Sylvie is really in love with Andre so much that she would go to a university across the country just to be with him.

     Since Andre has started his journey, these conflicts became more vivid. His tough, endless decision whether or not to kill himself is wearing him down but he tries to enjoy himself. On the other hand, there was Sylvie who suddenly realized how much she loved him after he left which affected Andre. Because Andre started feeling the same way about her just after a week or so, he questioned his reason for the trip again. He began to think this was the right thing to do since there was someone that did care about him after all.