As the world somehow continues to spin, it is crucial to take a step back and create distance from the harsh realities of the world. In the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, Saul Indian Horse uses hockey to escape the abuse and cultural genocide from his residential school, while managing to make his mark in the game. The game of hockey plays a positive role in Saul’s life, as it shields him from the brutality of his residential school while allowing him to reconcile with his childhood. When abusive behavior rises at St. Jerome's and forces the children to follow the same customs, Saul needs something to differentiate himself from everyone else. Initially, Saul becomes horrified by the measures the kids go through to withstand the school …show more content…
He fights against the school’s ultimate goal, to break him down and leave him with no other option but to obey the rules. Additionally, when Father Leboutilier reaches out to Saul and encourages him to watch the other kids play hockey, Saul falls in love with the game. Being too young to play, he manages to find other chores to do to gain experience. This does not faze him, at the end of the day he (60) He finds salvation through hockey rather than Jesus, regardless of Christianity being forced among the children. Thinking about hockey while he deals with the struggles of the school makes Saul optimistic. Correspondingly, despite the school playing a negative impact in Saul’s life, reaching out to the …show more content…
To begin with, Father Leboutilier is seen as a father figure in Saul’s life. When Saul parts ways with him, he finds himself having a hard time saying goodbye when he Though his actions of sexually abusing Saul are not justifiable, his intentions are something a father would do. He shows Saul how much potential he has, making it is obvious how much he wants Saul to succeed. It is noticeable Father thinks of Saul as his son, as he spends time helping him improve at hockey and fighting with the other nuns and priests for him. Moreover, once Saul gets accepted as a Moose, the whole team become brothers to him. He describes the team as Being a part of the Moose makes Saul proud and happy, as he begins to form a strong bond with them. The Moose give Saul a brotherhood he never experiences with his late brother, Benjamin. Lastly, Virgil plays the role of a strong, harsh brother in Saul’s life, the moment he joins the family. He makes it known to Saul he has some big shoes to fill, joining the Moose. When leaving the family, Virgil tells Saul Virgil pushes Saul to his limits, thus making him the best hockey player he could ever be, something any brother would do. Even though Saul never felt a strong bond with his biological brother and father, his adoptive parents and hockey team make him feel a part of something
When a physical, demanding sport collides with a brutal, poverty-stricken town, true character is revealed, and the devastating realities of high school kids are shown to those who live in a sugar-coated world. The Manassas High School football team is full of new talents that are apparently worthless when a different players is shot, imprisoned, or drops out of school on an almost weekly basis. That is just a glimpse inside the misfortune that the kids of this film are enduring day in and day out. Some parentless and some virtually homeless, it seems as if the only way out of a constant state of need is a miracle, or death. Released in 2011, Undefeated has much more to offer than the typical football documentary.
Gregor, another main character, is also going through father issues. His father, who he was very close to, passed away. Similar to Zoe, he wasn’t sure what to do. He was mad as well. Mad at himself, mad at his brother, mad at his mom.
Since he was so young, another slave took care of him and took the role as his father, showing the support they had for each other during the time of tragedy. This is interchangeable to the ideas in NightJohn with Sarny and Delie’s family-like relationship. A majority of families in slavery were sold away from each other, but within these fractured families, new relationships formed, showing the care people had for each other. This concept was accurately illustrated in
For John Wade, he grew up living with his disapproving alcoholic father. With his father being mentally detach, “His father’s hazy blue eyes would drift back to the window, distracted and expectant, as if he were waiting for some rare object to materialize there” (O’Brien, 1994,
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.
Or, ‘thirteen never smiles.’” (Wagamese, 162-163) With the team not calling him rude names, but also not by his real name, the novel demonstrates that the NHL team does not necessarily hate Saul, but that they do not fully accept him either. Saul is still an Indian and the rest of the players are still white, so Saul would never get the acceptance of the team that he may have wanted. Therefore, even though Saul and the other players are all still playing the sport they love together, Saul is still not full accepted, still making him an
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.
The Residential school stole his innocence when he was just a child and created an unimaginable outlook on life. Hockey was supposed to be that escape but that was stolen from him as well through constant taunting. In the workforce, isolation grew leading to alcohol and depression. Through the racism he faced, it was evident how Saul was affected both internally and externally as he endured more than anyone does. Saul’s culture, memories, hope, faith, language, traditions, tribe and freedom were taken from him all because of his skin
The main character of this novel, Saul Indian Horse, lived the first seven years of his life peacefully an traditionally, in Winnipeg Lake, Manitoba. That change in 1960 during the “1960 Scoop” when the RCMP took his brother, Ben and sister, Rachel to St. Jerome’s Saul witnessed suicide, sexual abuse (even his own) and extreme cruelty by the nuns and priests towards the children. Playing hockey was his only joy. Hockey was Saul’s salvation in that he “no longer felt afraid or lonely” and “was connected to something bigger than himself” (62).
At St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School, Saul see’s the lonely world, which crams on him like a black hole with no light, however creates a determination for him to stay strong. As he is expeditiously thrown in to the vast world of a different religion he quickly realizes, “They called it a school, but it was never that” (79) … “There were no grades or examinations. The only test was our ability to endure” (79). The emotions and perspectives present in each quote signify the feelings of Saul towards the school and define the school to be unnerving and painful for the Indians living there, however they also show that Saul knows his expectations and is strong enough to tolerate the torture.
In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete.” Jessica statsky brought forward a pressing issue of competitive sports that has now become a part of our lives. Statsky claims that these competitive sports have a harmful effect on a child’s mind. The extreme physical pressure is quite damaging as well. The injuries children face can sometimes take forever to heal itself.
Father Lebourtille introduced Saul to the game of hockey, this sport soon helps saul leave the school. Saul found hope in hockey it made him feel like he was free. “ I no longer felt the hopeless, chill air around me, because I had father Leboutilier, the ice, the mornings and the promise of the game”(Wagamese 77). Hockey becomes the main focus in saul’s journey because it provides him with hope, and happiness two very rare things that cannot be found at the school. Father Lebotiller becomes a father figure to Saul, helping him get better and better at hockey, protecting him from the other nuns and priests.
“Ham on Rye” by Charles Bukowski depicts a lifetime of Henry Chinaski’s life that starts from childhood to early maturity. From the start, Henry had big ambitions and his actions reflected positive mindset but later he rejects and detests his surroundings and the hardships he experienced. However, in his attempts at escaping tragic obstacles burdened by acne, anxiety, ostracisation and paternal abuse, he turns to alcohol and solitude for peace of mind. As an adult, he is bitter, narcissistic and unable to realise his ambitions. Though he truly desired and strived for a more pleasant life, the tools available to him growing up are exactly what caused his troubles.
If you had the chance to go to college for free because of a sports scholarship, would you take it? Or would you be scared that you might be hurt?This is a pretty obvious question, considering that college is growing more expensive by the year and kids need more exercise. There are so many more benefits to playing sports in highschool/college than not playing because you’re scared you’ll get hurt! Playing sports is a great way to be outside and exercise. Not only that, but also you have the chance to make many new friends on the field.
It was the summer of 2011 and for months, I had pleaded and begged my mom, who was less than thrilled with the idea, to let me play hockey. I seemed to have finally succeeded, as my mother finally signed me up for lessons at Planet Ice, our local skating rink. It was a simple place with shelves lined with various figure skating trophies and padded skate-scratched floors, and it would soon become a place that I was proud to call my second home. I was absolutely ecstatic and overjoyed, at long last, to be playing the sport I loved but, my “learn to play hockey” lessons, as they were called, only turned into long, boring hours of skating around in circles and trying to master backwards skating. “I don’t need these lessons.”