People encounter many obstacles in their lifetimes, obstacles that are too arduous to overcome by themselves. They must find a way to get through these difficulties, and there is always something, or someone, that helps keep them sane through these hard hours. To Saul Indian Horse, the main character of Richard Wagamese’s novel Indian Horse, that obstacle is St. Jerome’s Residential School and the very element that kept him sane was hockey. In the residential school, Saul is abused both mentally and physically, witnessing the continued deaths of his Indian classmates. Fortunately, Saul was able to keep himself sane through hockey. Using hockey as an outlet, Saul escapes the horrendous influence of the school and copes with the many atrocities he faces and ultimately reclaims his true self. For Saul, hockey became a means in which he can escape the abuse from St. Jerome’s. For example, when Father Leboutillier learned of Saul’s interest and skill in the game, the both of them became closer, in which Saul describes Father Leboutillier as a father figure. Saul quotes, “Father Leboutillier was my ally. When the nuns …show more content…
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) From there, Sauls redemption of his cultural identity began. First, he traveled to New Dawn Centre, where he was drilled about his alcohol abuse, and Saul states that “for some strange reason I listened”(190) Saul moved back to the Manitouwadge, and spoke with the Kelly’s of the abuse he suffered at St.
Father Leboutilier gives Saul a chance to play hockey even though he was underage. Without Father, Saul would have never discovered this sport until he is older and he lose the opportunity to play for a team. Throughout Saul’s journey at St. Jerome’s, Father protects him and allows him to pursue his dream of playing hockey while at the same time protecting Saul from punishment from the nuns and priests as shown in this quotation, “Father Leboutilier was my ally. When the nuns and the priests got too hard for me, he was there to mediate and defend me... I’d become braver.”
By using metaphor and simile, Joe conveys the assimilation and conformity imposed upon Indigenous children in the residential school system, emphasizing the effects of cultural suppression and the longing to reclaim one's authentic voice and
Life is a journey of discovery and self-improvement, one who does not know themselves, cannot live their life. The book Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor follow the self-growth and development of Virgil Second, caused by the actions of his family, and new characters in his life, as he blossoms into a man, connected more to his heritage/culture, with a stronger bond to his family, and a character with goals aspirations and a direction in life. From the start of the book, it is apparent that Virgil like the rest of the Otter Lake community is extremely disconnected from his culture. As he and the community were recovering from the stripping of First Nations culture due to residential schools, where a whole generation was punished
I let myself mourn (205).” This is Saul’s emotional development because after many years of rage and emptiness, he is able to express his true emotions such as sorrow. Saul has allowed his self to beginning the journey to wholeness and rebirth having confronted his past and made peace. Saul’s return ends the vicious hold the white men held on him for numerous
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.
Can point of view change how you develop a character? By using first person point of view, the authors of The Georges and the Jewels and Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse quite effectively develop each character. For example, if the reader did not know that the bit tasted bad and the straps were uncomfortable, he/she may assume that the bit was made for a custom fit for the horse and the mouthpiece tasted like strawberries. First, in The Georges and the Jewels by Jane Smiley, a girl’s father has her ride and train horses even though she think the horses have feelings and don't like the gear and the training. Paragraph 10 states,”...
The novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is not simply written. The author Sherman Alexie, uses several words like articulate, hormonal, and decrepit which displays that the novel could be read by people of all ages. This novel is wonderfully written so that people of every socioeconomic status can relate to real-world problems like poverty, racism, death and substance abuse. Alexie uses simple language to convey the thoughts that are actually inside people’s minds. For instance, in the first chapter of the book, the author introduces Arnold to the world (Alexie, 2007).
Going through a traumatizing event such as rape may alter a victim 's life, including those of their family. To recover from such an incident finding justice can be the best resort. Geraldine the victim in “The Round House” was raped and found covered in blood. Life on the reservation means that Geraldine will never be able to seek justice against her rapist. Her son, Joe, the protagonist in the novel further explains how he feels at the young age of thirteen.
Even after being rescued and arriving back home, the suffering never left. “All he had left was his alcohol and his resentment, the emotion that, Jean Amery would write, “nails every one of us onto the cross of his ruined past”” (Hillenbrand 374).
Marcus Garvey said, “People without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” For the citizens of Otter Lake, a fictional reserve set in Drew Hayden Taylor’s Novel Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, they are disconnected from their cultural roots. Much of the older generation is suffering psychologically from the effects of residential schools, where their culture was taken from them. The younger generations in return feel no ties to their past as they were raised by people who feelings towards it were conflicted as they spent years being abused and told that their culture was wrong. As an author, one of their main roles is to convey a message.
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.
We often encourage people to actively pursue their happiness while also wanting to discourage them to escape from reality. However, avoiding your issues is also a way of pursuing happiness, even though this route will prove to be temporary. In the literary piece, “Horses of the Night” by Margaret Laurence, the author describes the story of a boy named Chris, who, due to his financial conditions, is forced to move from his home in Shallow Creek to dwell in Manawaka, in order to attend high school. Chris’ character is used to demonstrate the idea that individuals may escape from the miserable aspects of their lives in order to stay happy. Through the course of this work, you witness the changes Chris undergoes, through the eyes of his six-year-old cousin Vanessa, which ultimately lead to his downfall.
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” arises in England in the 1920s. In the beginning of the story, we are brought into a woman named Hester who lives with her spouse, and her children in a lovely neighborhood. She is very bothered with motherhood and holds that she needs more money to keep up their luxurious lifestyle. The children feel their mother 's eager for more money as well. They can all hear the house whispering; “there must be more money!”
In an attempt to protect and warn him about bullies at school, Finley tells Russ that he cannot be Boy21 at school because he will be made fun of. Russ does not understand Finley’s advice, and disregards it, (Quick, 42). Finley grows frustrated not only with Russ’s unusual behavior, but with coach for choosing him to be Russ’ s friend. Finley had every right to act the way he did and took it very well. To put it into perspective, Finely is a high school kid, forced to be friends with an insecure, traumatized and mentally unstable boy for an entire school year.
In Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, Alexie’s father’s love for books grew to make his self-love books ending up in Alexie teaching himself how to read. Alexie describes the stereotypes and what is expected of Indian children and how Indian children were expected to basically have no knowledge Many lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but invalidated them on the outside. While other children were doing this, Alexie’s father was one of the few Indians on the reservation who went to Catholic School on purpose and was also an devoted reader. Alexie grew up around books. His father had a strong love for books as he bought them by the pound from pawn shops, goodwill and the salvation army.