The novel “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese examines the idea of redemption and how Saul Indian Horse, the main protagonist, has experienced it on many different levels. The novel shows the theme of redemption by showing Saul's journey of healing, cultural reclamation, and personal growth, and with his redemptive pursuit of hockey. While exploring these interconnected paths, wagemese shows us the transformative power of redemption, showcasing its ability to overcome adversity, challenge stereotypes, and ignite a profound sense of purpose and identity. demonstrating how the ability to be forgiven enables people to face their history, come to terms with their present, and create a path to self-improvement, self-respect, and resilience. This …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Saul grapples with the deep scars left by his time in the residential school system. However, through his reconnection with his Indigenous heritage and traditions, Saul discovers solace and a sense of belonging. As he engages in cultural practices, Saul reflects, "I took those pieces of our traditions and I let them guide me" (Saul, Wagamese, p. 173). This passage demonstrates how redemption empowers Saul to overcome his suffering, face his history, and set out on a transforming journey of recovery and self-discovery. Another quote that signifies Saul's healing journey is, "I had to heal that hurt inside myself before I could become a whole person" (Saul, Wagamese, p. 201). This quote emphasizes the importance of inner healing and redemption in Saul's quest for personal growth and well-being. According to a source cram, Saul believed to continue his self-healing path, he would need to go back to his early years in order to heal a bit of his hurt, precisely as he expressed in the quotation. Ultimately, through the process of healing, Saul is able to find strength in his cultural heritage and reclaim his …show more content…
As an Indigenous hockey player, Saul faces numerous obstacles and prejudice. Saul experienced a hard time in hockey when he played for the White River Midget hockey team but was later kicked off the team for his ethnicity and he experienced this type of unfair behavior towards him in many other areas as well. However, he discovers a channel for personal redemption and empowerment through his passion for the sport. Reflecting on the redemptive power of hockey, Saul states, "I had found the joy of the game, the release, the letting go. Hockey became my sanctuary" (Saul, Wagamese, p. 215). This quote exemplifies how hockey offers Saul an escape from the challenges he faces, allowing him to experience a redemptive sense of freedom and fulfillment. Another quote that emphasizes hockey's role in Saul's redemption is, "Hockey became my way of life, my pathway, my expression" (Saul, Wagamese, p. 232). This quote highlights the transformative nature of hockey in Saul's life, providing him with a means of reclaiming his identity and finding purpose. In a secondary source, it is explained how Saul finds true happiness and joy when he is playing hockey. Through his journey in hockey, Saul not only defies societal expectations but also finds redemption by embracing his passion and unleashing his full
In Shema Khan’s essay, “I was a Teenage Hijabi Hockey Player”, Khan exposes us to her relationship with the game of hockey. She provides readers with relatable memories, as both a fan and a player, and punctuates her stories with the view from a Muslim woman’s perspective. Khan excitedly reminisces about some of her earliest encounters with the game, describing the electric nature of hockey in 1970’s Montreal. Her love of the game continued into her post-secondary schooling; she even spearheading the formation of a women’s house league at Harvard. Throughout her recollections, Khan expresses her thrill at successfully encouraging others to join her on the ice, no matter their skill level, so that they too could experience the joy of the
Kids. Native kids. [He wants] to bring them the joy [he] found; the speed, the grace, the strength and the beauty of the game. [He wants] to give that back” (Wagamese 231). Saul builds on his experience with prejudice by ensuring no one else goes through the same thing by deciding that he wants to coach hockey teams for Indigenous children to share his love for hockey but in a healthier
As he grows older, Saul starts to play in leagues that are dominated by white people and home to white fans. As a result of this, Saul is faced with racism and discrimination from these people. Saul’s Indigenous heritage becomes his Achilles' heel, making him an easy target for physical violence and verbal abuse from opponents who see him as a threat. Sauls says that “They called [him] Indian Whores, Horse Piss, Stolen Pony. ”(Wagamese Chapter 38).
Through the Medicine Wheel, we are reminded of our lifelong journey that is continuous upon birth and living through youth, adulthood and senior years. In Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse, the protagonist Saul experiences many obstacles which shape and develop his character. Saul’s life can be divided into more than the four stages of life to better understand his journey. Saul’s Life with His Family The time Saul was able to spend with his family was very short due to the effects of the white men.
The detrimental and unfair categorization of people by race, gender and more, commonly known as discrimination, affects many in society both mentally and emotionally. Many instances of this act of hatred occurred among Aboriginal and Native Canadians in the 20th century. However, for a little Native Indian boy stepping onto the rink, this is the norm that surrounds him. Saul Indian Horse, in Richard Wagamese’s “Indian Horse”, faces discrimination head on, where his strengths for hockey are limited by the racial discrimination from the surrounding white ethnicity. Consequently, this racism draws him into a mentally unstable state, where he suffers heavy consequences.
Author Richard Wagamese conveys a message in his novel Indian Horse displaying the idea of sacrifice. Specifically how people must sacrifice belonging for survival. Wagamese uses Saul 's experiences, choices and general story to express this message. Throughout Saul’s life he is forced to make sacrifices for himself and the people around him in order to survive, his isolation is what gets him through. Everyday people see the reproductions of community and how surviving isn 't an easy thing.
When Saul says, “I ceased to be the Zhaunagush. I became Saul Indian Horse, Ojibway kid and hockey player”, it solidifies and represents his dynamic transformation from being an isolated and broken student, to the best hockey player on the team. In addition, this paragraph also pays homage to the value of brotherhood. For the first time since his grandmother died, Saul knows what it's like to have someone he can count on. The passage connects what the reader knows about finding where you belong in life, with our protagonist, who flourishes into a more confident and hopeful
Hockey. Hockey helped him get through his difficulties and even helped him get out of residential school. In the beginning, Saul was too young to play hockey, so he became the ice cleaner. He would wake up very early to go get the ice prepared for the older kids to play, and make sure he had time to clean the ice and work on his skills. Saul would take the smallest pair of skates and “[stuff] the toes… with newspaper to make them fit” (63).
Despite the racism, trauma, and discrimination he encountered, Saul's love for hockey allowed him to reclaim a sense of
Everyone needs a coping mechanism to overcome their problems and in Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese the protagonist Saul uses hockey to escape his issues. There is racism still torments people all around the world to this day, and this is no different for Saul, who experienced racism from a young child to a young adult. In Indian Horse Richard Wagamese describes Saul’s journey with hockey, at St. Jerome’s he was first introduced to the game by Father LeBoutillier, he used this hobby to escape from his problems, later leaving and joining the Moose, a community filled with other Ojibwe players, lastly, his hobby turned more into frustration with joining the NHL, highlighting how hockey was both a gift and a curse to Saul.
Saul Indian Horse experiences exclusion, bodily harassment and discrimination. These forms of racism completely destroy Saul mentally, physically and spiritually. This exceeds to such an extent, that although trying to repair himself, by restarting and going to rehab, he will never be able to liberate the
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)
Hockey arouses Saul’s interest in doing something fulfilling once more. He develops a sense of purpose. The narrator states, “Father Leboutilier brought me hockey books and answered all my questions. His passion for the game was contagious” (Wagamese 58). Thus, hockey gives Saul the chance to start healing emotionally.
This quote demonstrates the hardships that he overcame and how he struggled to have hope. After the experiences he underwent in the camps his hope was at an all time low. Suffering drains hope and courage from a character making them vulnerable to
As more women begin to exercise hockey from the 70’s and onwards, these women had to obtain facilities from the community, but it wasn’t easily granted to them. In Williams, Women’s Hockey: A Heated Debate describes the issues experienced by a female hockey player by the name of Blainey. Blainey depicts that, comparing to her brother, whom also plays hockey, the girl’s team had restricted and inconvenient times and the locations provided for them to practise were set far out of their community. Furthermore, “the quality” of their resources was not effective to succeed in this sport.