Indian Horse Sparknotes
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
Farewell To Manzanar Sparknotes
796 Words | 4 PagesPapa has now become an alcoholic. The book even describes how he became so bitter that he tries to strike his wife. The family begins to lose respect, thus making Papa even more bitter than before. The emotional toll of being in prison has finally set in on
Perseverance Through Trauma In Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese
875 Words | 4 PagesSaul is introduced to competitive hockey but simultaneously introduced to a world of prejudice and racism from both the crowd and opposing teams as well. Saul finds himself growing in his career however, prejudice would only increase as it followed. Although Saul would face physical and verbal assault during games in his competitive years, Saul is able to counter the assault by responding physically and fighting back. This is when he realizes that the competitive world took away his love of hockey, so he decides to go back to Manitouwadge to rediscover his love for hockey. It is then when he decides “what [he wants] to do is coach . . .
The Influence Of Groups In Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese
1454 Words | 6 PagesAs socialization's effects are inevitable, we are constantly influenced by groups. However, regardless of the groups we are influenced by, the one concept that is absolute is our reliance on the sense of togetherness that seldom dissolves. The concept is explored in the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese and the short story "Borders" by Thomas King, both of which emphasize characters who have been influenced by cultural assimilation. Indian Horse is a journey of Saul Indian Horse, a young Indigenous child who lost their family due to assimilation and was forced to attend a residential school. “Borders” is a journey of a Blackfoot mother who desires to visit her daughter in Salt Lake City, separated from her Blackfoot background; both emphasizing
The Crushing Impact Of Hockey On Saul In Indian Horse
567 Words | 3 PagesThe profound effect hockey had on Saul's emotions and mental state. As Saul proceeded into the competitive world of hockey, Saul couldn't find his own senses and became an addict. Alcohol serves as a reminder of the resilience of Saul's human spirit and the profound impact it has had in his life. Saul initially sees hockey as a way to escape his trauma, becoming a source of anger and violence, “My bodychecks were hard, vicious and vindictive. I was bitter.”
Discrimination In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse
1188 Words | 5 PagesThe 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.
Father Son Relationships And Alcoholism In Charlie's Reunion
492 Words | 2 PagesIn the short story Reunion, grotesque elements of humor are used to examine the sensitive subjects of father son relationships and alcoholism. By using this technique to delve into subjects which are questionable in nature, the author is able to communicate his opinion on the topics. Through portraying Charlie’s father as a stereotypical alcoholic, the author allows the plot to develop into a reality of the paradigm for unfortunate father son relationships and the devastating affects alcoholism has on the people around them. The author uses Charlie’s relationship with his father to emphasize the issue of father son relationships.
Personal Narrative: Growing Up With An Alcoholic Father
428 Words | 2 PagesThroughout my whole life, my father has been an alcoholic. There have been times when he has tried to quit, but it never lasted for more than a few months. His addiction has brought on stressful times for my family. Some days we did not know where he was or if he was coming home. Although my father’s addiction might not have made the best childhood, he did show me the kind of person I did not want to be.
Ten Nights In A Bar Room Analysis
647 Words | 3 PagesHis mother warned him about his fate if he continued to drink, like his own late father, but he felt that a few drinks would not cause any issues. Little did he know that a few drinks would turn into endless nights of drinking, and the biggest tragedy of his life; the death of his daughter. His daughter, worried sick about him, went to look for him at the tavern so they
Scott Sanders Under The Influence Summary
906 Words | 4 PagesAlcoholics are often used in stories as comic relief, which to a person who grew up under the shadow of alcoholism, isn’t very funny at all. This point was to illustrate that people really don’t understand alcoholism for what it really is: a disease that has devastating effects on families for generations. Instead of directly countering those misconceptions, Sanders describes his upbringing in vivid detail. He describes his father’s behavior in a way that makes the reader appreciate that there comes a point where alcoholism is not really a matter of a person having a moral weakness, a lack of self-control, or is weak-willed. It’s a disease that robs people of their lives and of themselves.
Indian Horse Racism
964 Words | 4 PagesIndian Horse: The Racism that destroys, but creates Saul Hockey is a national sport that unites one another. From the Montreal Canadiens to the Vancouver Canucks, children and adults find excitement in the game. In the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, Saul Indian Horse encounters racism in his hockey career and with society. Saul attempts to bear the stereotypes set on him, which destroys him and thus, Saul struggles in attempt to reconcile mentally, physically and spiritually.
What Is The Meaning Of Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese
1164 Words | 5 PagesHe was further away from nature, and that leads for him being further away from himself, his culture, ancestry, freedom, and vision. Not just residential schools, but many communities find different cultures has “Unaccepted and wrong”, and that leads a person to become something they aren’t “I flipped my right glove off at the last second and drove my fist right into this face”, Saul had given up the control he had tried to maintain begins to fight. This can be seen as slowing moving away from one’s self personal circle. Not please with himself Saul turns to alcohol in replace for hockey in his life. By drinking it can give a person a sense of relief making them feel ‘Normal ‘again, like they would remember feeling in the past.
Obstacles In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse
641 Words | 3 PagesUsing 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
Journey Of Saul In Wagamese's Indian Horse
1216 Words | 5 PagesSaul loses his sister Rachel first and this initiates the series of loses because Benjamin is also taken away and he is admitted into the residential school. Later, Saul loses Benjamin to death as a result of tuberculosis, and thereafter Saul loses his parents to alcohol because his father and uncle return home with, “the white man with them in brown bottles”
Under The Influence Scott Sanders Analysis
1270 Words | 6 Pages“Under the Influence” by Scott Russel Sanders is a personal essay about Sanders’ father and specifically, his alcoholism. As the title of the essay suggests, his father is under the influence of alcohol, but this essay will argue that Scott Sanders is under the influence of his father. Sanders uses the structure of the personal essay to reflect on how his childhood was negatively impacted by his father, and to reveal to himself how his childhood affects his present adulthood. Sanders writes that “the story ends” for his father but that “the story continues” for his siblings, his mother, and most significantly, for himself. (Sanders 733).
Let It Snow By David Sedaris Analysis
916 Words | 4 PagesIn this essay, “Let in Snow”, Sedaris proves that alcohol abuse can have a lasting effect on an entire family. He provided several examples from his own childhood experiences that described the effects alcoholism has on the family. He gained the audience’s trust by sharing his own experiences to prove and argue his point of view. Therefore, Sedaris made an extremely strong case against
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