Indian Horse Famous Novel Assignment

Running Head : ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT
Indian horse is a famous novel written by Canadian writer Richard Wagamese published
in the year 2012 (Meland). It is among the best works of Wagamese and the novel revolves
around Saul Indian Horse who is a first Nation boy surviving the Indian Residential School
system growing up to be a star Ice Hockey player. The novel proceeds with the journey of Saul
towards the self awareness and the self acceptance towards the end so that the readers can
empathize with the character. The novel is written in the first person perspective where the
narrator is Saul Indian Horse who is the main character and the protagonist also. In this essay,
the novel of Wagamese “ Indian Horse” will be closely read and presented focusing on the
passages , the themes, the narrative technique, the development of the protagonist.
At the beginning of the novel, it is found that Saul Indian Horse is one indigenous
Canadian along with being a member of the Fish Clan that is a tribe living near the Winnipeg
river. Saul Indian horse grows up with his parents. At that time the Canadian indigenous children
were supposed to attend the Christian schools where the aim of the teachers was to remove the
‘Indian’ from them and keep them apart from their families. After losing the children, the parents
of Saul started drinking heavily and migrated from town to town searching for work. Eventually
they became united with Benjamin who had run away from the school. The family of Saul
decided to begin a journey to a place called God's Lake where the ancestors of Saul lived years
ago.
In the Gods Lake, eventually it is found that Benjamin has got a severe disease that has
been contracted during the time of his being in school. Benjamin dies one day during harvesting
the rice with the family. The parents of Saul took the body of Benjamin to the nearest town for
seeking a Christian burial for him but they never found scope to return. The grandmother of Saul
named Naome decided that they should travel for escaping the death. They cut through the

wildness along with the fierce snowstorms and they both made their own ways to the outskirts of
the town eventually. Suddenly, Naome freezes to death in that place and two white men
kidnapped Saul from the beloved grandmother for bringing him to the St. Jerome’ school of
indigenous children.
Saul finds that St. Jerome’ school is a terrifying place because the priest, the teachers and
nuns believed in having a mission of teaching the indigenous Canadian students regarding
Christianity, the Western laws and English language. The children were beaten for speaking their
native languages and tortured little children for trivial things. Saul sees that few of his classmates
are beaten to death and some were killed and at the night the priests rape indigenous girl child
and abuse them: “The nuns found him hanging from the rafters of the barn on a cold February
morning. He’d wrapped his own hands behind his back with twists of rope before he’d jumped.”
(Wagames, chapter 12- p- 31)
However Saul finds one protector named as Father Gaston Leboutilier who encourages
Saul in playing hockey having recognized his talent and allowed him to play in the hockey
scrimmages: “Saul,” he said quietly, “the game loves you.”( Wagames, chapter 20- p. 47). Saul
is sometimes ridiculed for being of indigenous culture by other people but never stops. He plays
brilliantly in the Rookie team in Toronto and his future appears bright. In the meantime he grows
up and becomes an aggressive character during the games regularly fighting with the members of
the opposite team. Saul gets kicked off the team and leaves the town for finding a better job. He
spends the next few years in working under low paid jobs making little money spending
everything on alcohol. Saul eventually drives around the country trying to quit alcohol and
continuing drinking altogether.. Saul writes about his experiences as requested by Moses in a
form of book then he leaves for St. Jerome’ which is now in the ruins. His experiences a heavy
flashback of is childhood as a student and realizes the truth that father Gaston had abused and
raped him as a child. He never becomes able to get out of his memories of abuse. Then he travels