Examples Of Racism In The Indian Horse

He was cut off from the rest of the world for the month he spent in the facility and when he returned he felt much better as a person. He works on maintaining his sobriety and occasionally attends support groups for a little while after his return. He “never was really tempted to start drinking again” (168) Jordin

Words can be presented in many ways that can encourage us, or destroy us. Racism and discrimination are prominent themes in the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Saul Indian Horse has endured name-calling throughout his entire life, entrenched from his time at residential schools. He was made to suffer, and this suffering lasted throughout his hockey career until he grew tired and turned to alcoholism. Saul encounters racist comments throughout the novel that alter his future in hockey, rooting from the time he was asked to leave his first town team, to the abuse endured by white players, and finally when he retaliated.

His father was an alcoholic and struggled to

One of the earlier examples of cultural imperialism and marginalization is when Saul is kicked off of the town hockey team, “‘It's because I'm Indian isn't it?’ [...] ‘Yes.’ He said. ‘Do they hate me?’ , ‘They don't hate you Saul’, ‘Well, what then?’

As Saul grows up and moves on from hockey, he experiences the intergenerational trauma of his parents drinking to deal with their problems. Therefore, Saul starts to also drink to deal with his problems which cause significant obstacles and separate him from

White mens’ criticism against Saul’s darker skin negatively impact him on the rink, slowly imprisoning him to a corner of the rink, where his abilities have nowhere to shine. Due to these persistent preferential remarks, Saul falls into the depths of his own suffering, where his mental state suffers terrible consequences. Many in society today suffer harsh consequences solely due to their gender, skin tone, and ethnic background. What if you were one of many in society, suffering discrimination

His father had a hard time holding a job and was frequently sick. Many articles speak of his father as a man who was taken to alcoholism, certainly to spending too much time in the bars, or saloons.

Discrimination is a widely known problem faced in society today, affecting thousands of people mentally and emotionally. In the 2013 published novel, Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese, Saul Indian Horse encounters several day to day racist comments and discrimination as he first steps into the hockey rink. Throughout the novel, Wagamese teaches the readers, that racial discrimination can abuse and affect one into either gaining a ruthless and tempered behaviour, or pushing them to a psychological state of mental torture and isolation. In the duration of all this, Saul must prove himself to be mentally and emotionally strong, as he is first exposed to the substantial amount of racial discrimination made by the domination of white people in his

He becomes emotionally close with these people and doesn't show a disdain for those he meets. Despite this, he rejects them and prefers to be alone without people. He chooses to live a life without

Black Hawk evokes emotion in his people to unite them together in his surrender. Black Hawk states “The white men are bad schoolmasters; they carry false looks, and deal in false actions; they smile in the face of the poor Indian to cheat him; they shake them by the hand to

It is indicated that he already convinced himself, and was trying to convince others that alcoholism is just a foolish habit and he can stop it anytime he wished. The analysis of those around him, the places he visits, how he relates with his family members and the people at work brought out facts about his real life. This convinced him to attend the AA program. His brothers had also given up on him, and they did not care about him so long as he was employed and was not causing trouble at home. After and involvement with the researchers of the AA program, the brothers accepted that alcoholism is a disease, and that their brother needed

Alcoholics are often used in stories as comic relief, which to a person who grew up under the shadow of alcoholism, isn’t very funny at all. This point was to illustrate that people really don’t understand alcoholism for what it really is: a disease that has devastating effects on families for generations. Instead of directly countering those misconceptions, Sanders describes his upbringing in vivid detail. He describes his father’s behavior in a way that makes the reader appreciate that there comes a point where alcoholism is not really a matter of a person having a moral weakness, a lack of self-control, or is weak-willed. It’s a disease that robs people of their lives and of themselves.

Initially, when Saul starts playing with his hockey reserve team, he experiences his first encounter with racism. While Saul is enjoying the game, he is suddenly kicked out of the team and remarks to Mr. Leboutiller the reason behind this is “‘because I am an Indian, isn’t it’ ‘yes’, he said” (Wagamese 91). At this moment, Saul is a victim of exclusion at a young age and recognises; not only in the residential school are Indians victims of discrimination due their appearance, culture and differences, but also outside of the residential school. Through his first encounter with exclusion, he slowly notices the segregation that surrounds him resulting in mental abuse because he becomes very cautious. After Saul leaves the residential school to live with the Kelly’s, he begins to play with the Moose.

Then his life was flipped and he had to make some hard decisions, an he became very troubled. He walked around depressed and if suicide wasn't

He quotes that his life was “replaced by an ominous black cloud”(47) Eventually, Saul could not take the racial discrimination any longer, and became immersed in booze and alcohol. Saul recalls, “I spoke less and drank more, and I became the Indian again; drunken and drooling and reeling.” (181) Saul gave up, and decided he would become the image of the ‘Indian’ that all the white people saw him as. But then, he met a man named Ervin Sift, who reminded him of his “Proud People”(183)