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Indian Horse Sparknotes

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Racism and abuse is like an evil shadow that never stops following an individual throughout their life. A person who experiences this evil shadow is Saul Indian Horse, where the oppression, racism and abuse have followed him throughout his life along with the circumstances he faces. Indian Horse, published in 2012, depicts the hardships in the life of Saul Indian Horse resulting in struggling with prejudice, generational trauma and oppression. In Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse, the hardships, obstacles and devastating struggles Saul has to face at St. Jerome’s plays a significant role throughout the novel. Saul’s experiences with oppression and trauma in playing hockey result in detrimental impacts on his life, suffering through intergenerational …show more content…

Since Saul was a young boy, he always experienced his parent's drinking when they had to deal with their hardships. This causes the relationship between Saul and his parents to fade away. Saul “Both my parents had taken to the Zhaunagush drink, and we left the bush in pursuit of it. We followed the whiskey to the transient camps of the half-breeds who gathered on the discard lands around sawmill towns, … “It was brutal work for little pay and what was paid out was drunk off quickly.” (Wagamese …show more content…

Specifically, they drank as a way to cope with their problems and the hardships they faced. Correspondingly, the impact of alcoholism on Saul’s family has caused them to lose their connection to their traditional lifestyle and culture. Moreover, Saul’s journey with alcoholism sets the stage for Saul’s struggles with the trauma he experienced in his childhood. One article states, “Approximately 82% reported that their substance use behaviours began after attending residential schools, and roughly 78% had abused alcohol” (Gemme). The critic shows how residential schools have caused so much trauma for others that they have to result to drinking as part of a coping mechanism. 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

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