Prejudice In Indian Horse And The Setting Sun

Adapting
Indian Horse
By Richard Wagamese
The Setting Sun
By Osamu Dazai
Thesis
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese and The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai have strong protagonists who adapt to their new environments while facing prejudice from peers, loss and betrayal.

Prejudice from Peers
Indian Horse- “At St. Germ’s the kids called [Saul] ‘Zhaunagush’ because [he] could speak and read English” (Wagamese pg 48)

“In the beginning they saw [Saul] as an outsider.” (Wagamese 48)

When Saul first arrives at St. Jeromes, he’s one of the few who already knows English which makes the other children wary of him. Most of the other children only knew Ojibway and were forced to learn English or they would face brutal punishment. This fact made Saul a bit

After the fire was extinguished, she felt guilty for her carelessness and went door to door to apologize to her neighbors. When she reaches the Nishiyama residence, the lady of the house scolds her saying the way Kazuko and her mother are living is reckless since they’re of noble descent. Mrs. Nishiyama does not know Kazuko or her family very well but assumes they know nothing about maintaining a house themselves due to their wealth. Mrs. Nishiyama believes that Kazuko is the stereotypical aristocrat who never had to do anything herself and had others do things for

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“That morning [Kazuko’s] brother Naoji committed suicide” (Dazai pg 151)

“Nightmares. Everyone is leaving [Kazuko]” (Dazai pg 171)

Like Saul, Kazuko has had much loss in her immediate family and her brother was her last closest family member. Kazuko was very close with her mother and losing her impacted her the most. After Kazuko’s divorce, she moved in with her mother again and ever since her mother’s love is what kept her going in life.

Betrayal
Indian Horse- “[Saul] was never free. [Father Leboutillier] was [his] captor, the warder of [Saul’s] innocence.” (Wagamese pg 202)

When Saul was young, Father Leboutillier was the only kind adult at St. Jeromes. He introduced Saul to the world of hockey and was much kinder than all the other staff members. When Father Leboutilier takes advantage of Saul, he not only betrays Saul’s trust but the reader’s. Saul has already been through so much and Father Leboutilier was the only one there for Saul. When the Father’s ill intentions are revealed, it’s established that Saul had no one ever since he started at St. Jeromes and having a trusting mentor in his life would be considered a