Cruel Abuse In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse

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.

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.

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.

The voices of Indigenous children are unheard and purposely ignored. This is portrayed through the literature of Birdie by Tracey Lindberg and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Despite both apologies from Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, the government system to protect First Nations children appears to have detrimental effects on the life of a child. This is proven by young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain, family members who abuse their children because they consume high amounts of alcohol, which has a negative impact on the child, and discriminatory behaviour by surrounding communities. To begin with, young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain.

“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.

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.

A symbol of suffering in the monologue is when the old soldier says “rich black blood that comes from the deep and has been there for ages.” (Wright, 91) This could be referring to the suffering that was experienced by indigenous people and its only now that it’s finally coming to the surface. In the play’s opening scene in 1887, Europeans “filled” an Aboriginal mother’s back with pellets. This opening scene immediately confronts the audience with European violence towards defenceless Aboriginal women.

You tell me, and I won’t put it down on the form, No-one will know but you and me”. It’s obvious that the author, Thomas King, is trying to make awareness about the treatment of Aboriginals are facing in

Tracey Lindberg’s novel Birdie is narratively constructed in a contorting and poetic manner yet illustrates the seriousness of violence experience by Indigenous females. The novel is about a young Cree woman Bernice Meetoos (Birdie) recalling her devasting past and visionary journey to places she has lived and the search for home and family. Lindberg captures Bernice’s internal therapeutic journey to recover from childhood traumas of incest, sexual abuse, and social dysfunctions. She also presents Bernice’s self-determination to achieve a standard of good health and well-being. The narrative presents Bernice for the most part lying in bed and reflecting on her dark life in the form of dreams.

In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.

The voices of Indigenous children are unheard and purposely ignored. This is portrayed through the literature of Birdie by Tracey Lindberg and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Despite receiving apologies from Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, the government system to protect First Nations families appears to have detrimental effects on the native children. This is proven by young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain, by family members who abuse their kids because of alcohol addictions, and the increasing discriminatory behaviour by surrounding communities. To begin with, young children are turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain.

In the poem “Treblinka Gas Chamber”, by Phyllis Webb and in the TRC’s “The History”, both texts share a common theme of inhumane treatment towards children within certain cultural and ethnical groups. While the two authors explore distinct historical contexts, both texts are centred on racial segregation with nationalistic motives. Phyllis Webb appeals to a logos strategy through the use of allusion. In her poem, “Treblinka Gas Chamber”, Webb presents fictional and historical examples to display her knowledge and establish her credibility.

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.

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.

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.