ipl-logo

The Effects Of Abuse In Indian Horse

1139 Words5 Pages

“Bruises fade, but the pain lasts forever” (Christina Kelly). This compelling quote depicts the horrifying side effects of abuse. In the gripping novel titled “Indian Horse,” author Richard Wagamese successfully informs readers about the severely unfair conditions in which the Native Indians were treated. Through Saul’s terrifying experiences in the Residential school and hockey tournaments, readers can effectively identify the purpose of the novel – treating someone through any kind of abuse can leave them with long lasting pain, and memories that will haunt them forever. There were numerous incidents at the residential school regarding physical abuse, and after effects that followed. The first one was when an Indian boy named Curtis White Fox was brutally abused for speaking his mother tongue. When he was found speaking Objibway, he “had his mouth washed out with lye soap for speaking Ojibway. He choked on it and died right there in the classroom” (Wagamese, 48). This is physical abuse that resulted in the little boy being dead. The pain and torture were too much to handle for the boy, as he was only ten …show more content…

Emotional and physical abuse were the two main types of abuse mentioned throughout the novel. Through extreme amounts of brutality and torture to emotional devastation and agony, “Indian Horse” certainly shows readers that living through abuse can have life long consequences. Readers can imply that being repeatedly beaten and tortured at a very young age makes the child live in fear and agony. Also, certain incidents such as being taken away from your parents at such a young age can leave behind pain, sorrow, and will definitely affect the child’s life in the future. “Indian Horse” successfully proves to readers that abuse can mentally destroy a person’s future and leave behind brutal memories, which will never be

Show More
Related

  • Journey In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse

    1114 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Discrimination In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse

    1188 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Sacrifice In Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese

    829 Words  | 4 Pages

    Author Richard Wagamese conveys a message in his novel Indian Horse displaying the idea of sacrifice. Specifically how people must sacrifice belonging for survival. Wagamese uses Saul 's experiences, choices and general story to express this message. Throughout Saul’s life he is forced to make sacrifices for himself and the people around him in order to survive, his isolation is what gets him through. Everyday people see the reproductions of community and how surviving isn 't an easy thing.

    Read More

  • Indian Horse Racism Analysis

    2034 Words  | 9 Pages

    Racism has been present in society since forever, maybe even the very first day that two men of different races met. Racism is defined as “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” Usually racism is a belief that a person with a certain race has better abilities,  attributes and skills. If this belief is to distinguish as superior it can have tragic events occurring between two types of groups. An example of two types of groups that have separated into an image of rivalries fueled with competition are the ‘Whites’ and the ‘Indians’, as shown in the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, where the devastating effects of racism and discrimination are evident in the protagonist Saul Indian Horse, for his spirit is nearly broken all together by them, most notable in how he was forced to live in a cruel Residential school, he endured taunting in the hockey world, and bullying in the work force, affecting a lifelong struggle with severe depression and alcoholism.

    Read More

  • Louise Erdrich's The Round House

    944 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rodeo Animal Abuse

    1443 Words  | 6 Pages

    How Rodeo Is Not Animal Abuse Do you think that rodeo is a type of animal abuse? In my opinion it is not, just because you are using a animal does not mean you are abusing it. Several organizations think that rodeo is a form of animal abuse because the animals are being kicked with spurs or having a rope around their flank to make them buck.

    Read More

  • Motorcycle And Sweetgrass Analysis

    2148 Words  | 9 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Treblinka Gas Chamber Analysis

    1033 Words  | 5 Pages

    The TRC’s “The History” author appeals to logos through the use quantitative findings. The use of logical evidence from the collection of testimonials made by former residential school students is an effective way to aid the persuasion of a reader. Throughout “The History”, the author describes the memories of known First Nations peoples Frederic Ernest Koe, Marlene Kayseas, Lily Bruce and many others. In addition, the author quotes Vitaline Elsie Jenner’s use of ‘kaya nakasin’ (TRC, 2015, p.38) in describing her experience with residential school. The author’s example that contains the use native language reaffirms his credibility and detailed knowledge of the

    Read More

  • Indian Horse Racism

    964 Words  | 4 Pages

    Indian 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.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass An American Slave Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    732 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the narrative, the author includes his personal stories about experiencing the violence of slavery first-hand. For example, on page 20, he writes about the first time he witnessed a slave, his own aunt, getting the whip. “The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest…I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition… It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery…” The author including his experience of his aunts whipping, in detail, appeals to the emotions of the reader.

    Read More

  • Obstacles In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse

    641 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Journey Of Saul In Wagamese's Indian Horse

    1216 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Emotional Journey of Saul in Wagamese’s Indian Horse Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese is undoubtedly captivating and entertaining. Even so, a close scrutiny of the novel reveals the novelist’s careful development of Saul’s character not only with the aim of capturing the journey he embarks on, but also linking his journey to the theme of suffering. Thus, rather than presenting a static character, Wagamese chooses to present a dynamic character whose emotional state evolves over time as he goes through various crises in his life. Saul goes through an emotional journey that is marked by pain, isolation, loneliness and fear, numbness and resignation, excitement, a relapse to isolation, and freedom, and this journey builds on the theme of suffering. Saul’s emotional journey begins with pain as a result of the loss of family members.

    Read More

  • Bad Indians By Deborah Miranda Summary

    1007 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout history, there have been many literary studies that focused on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. Native writers have worked painstakingly on tribal histories, and their works have made us realize that we have not learned the full story of the Native American tribes. Deborah Miranda has written a collective tribal memoir, “Bad Indians”, drawing on ancestral memory that revealed aspects of an indigenous worldview and contributed to update our understanding of the mission system, settler colonialism and histories of American Indians about how they underwent cruel violence and exploitation. Her memoir successfully addressed past grievances of colonialism and also recognized and honored indigenous knowledge and identity.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven

    571 Words  | 3 Pages

    Writer Sherman Alexie has a knack of intertwining his own problematic biographical experience with his unique stories and no more than “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” demonstrates that. Alexie laced a story about an Indian man living in Spokane who reflects back on his struggles in life from a previous relationship, alcoholism, racism and even the isolation he’s dealt with by living off the reservation. Alexie has the ability to use symbolism throughout his tale by associating the title’s infamy of two different ethnic characters and interlinking it with the narrator experience between trying to fit into a more society apart from his own cultural background. However, within the words themselves, Alexie has created themes that surround despair around his character however he illuminates on resilience and alcoholism throughout this tale.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Rape And Sexual Assault In Beloved By Toni Morrison

    1970 Words  | 8 Pages

    Slaves faced extreme brutality and Morrison focuses on rape and sexual assault as the most terrifying form of abuse. It is because of this abuse that Morrison’s characters are trapped in their pasts, unable to move on from the psychological damages that they have endured. “Morrison revises the conventional slave narrative by insisting on the primacy of sexual assault over other experiences of brutality” (Barnett 420). For telling Mrs. Garner what they had done, she was badly beaten by them, leaving a “chokecherry tree” (16) on her back. But that was not the overriding issue.

    Read More

More about The Effects Of Abuse In Indian Horse

Open Document