Hockey Character Analysis

Richard Wagamese, the award-winning author of the novel Keeper’n Me (2006) as well as various other literary pieces such as Dream Wheels (2006), Medicine Walk (2014), and Indian Horse (2012), was born in 1955 in Northwestern Ontario and is from the Wabaseemoong First Nation. Through the combination of Wagamese’s fictional writing blended with components of his personal life in Keeper’n Me specifically, the fifty-nine year old author has been recognized for this and other phenomenal works through a variety of diverse awards in his years of writing including being the recipient of the 2012 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications. His debut novel allows audiences to get a glimpse of what this writer is capable of and furthermore his personal life as he incorporates many fascinating concepts into it while keeping it a light read.

First, the aggressor in this situation is only 15 years old. At 15 years old, the aggressor felt it both necessary and acceptable to violently attack another player. Moreover, the 15 year old victim subjected to the attack was incredibly damaged emotionally from the event. Secondly, the verbiage used is so violent which highlights the significance of racism in minor hockey. The nature of the sport evokes intense and sporadic emotions which encourages the oppressor to express their truest emotions. As a result, one can conclude that racism is deeply rooted within that player’s beliefs, and which is not exclusive to this incident.

It is also the thing residential schools set out to destroy. To begin with, Saul says, "On the second day I was there, a boy named Curtis White Fox had his mouth washed out with lye soap for speaking Ojibway. He choked on it and died right there in the classroom." (48). This displays how the schools want to kill Aboriginal culture because they will rather have a child die, in front of a full class, before allowing the child to speak an Indigenous language. Furthermore, when Saul's brother dies, his grandmother wants to honour him the way by their native culture but his mother, a former residential school student, insists that their religion is dead and he must see a priest so he will go to heaven (31-32). This provides evidence of the influence of residential schools on culture because his mother was taught to abandon the culture and ideas she was raised with because she was told it was wrong, and catholic is right. This act of forcing a new culture and religion on children has a shattering impact on Aboriginal

“When your people are degenerated, when the family you came from is denounced and your tribal ways and rituals are pronounced backwards, primitive, savage, you come to see yourself as less than human. That is hell on earth, that sense of unworthiness. That’s what they [the residential school] inflicted on us.”(Wagamese, 81) is the heart-wrenching way Saul expresses this. By making the children feel this way, they are making them question and doubt their Native identity, which is the first step, to losing it completely. Secondly, Saul starts to conform to the way people expect him to be and loses who he actually is. This goes on until it gets even in the way of Saul playing hockey. When his coach confronts him about it, all Saul can say is “‘Hey, I’m just giving them what they want.’ ‘Who?’ [the coach asks] ‘The crowd, the team. Don’t you read the papers? I’m the rampaging redskin.’”(165) Showing how Saul seems to have accepted his fate as a stereotypical Indian and player; forgetting the thoughtful and insightful person he used to be. Finally, towards the end of

A tale can be told in several different ways. Many people are aware of the astonishing feat of the 1980 USA Olympic Men’s Hockey team, who were huge underdogs in their bid to win the gold medal against the powerhouse USSR. The movie “Miracle”, directed by Gavin O’Connor, is the dramatic journey taken by this team, from the anxiety-filled tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to the exhilarating game against the USSR in Lake Placid, New York. The book, “The Boys of Winter” written by Wayne Coffey, is based on the same events, but takes a less emotional, more factual approach to the subject. The purpose of this essay is to compare these two resources, and to discuss how they differ in tone, style, and theme.

Saul’s earlier years are spent with his family in the bush of Northern Ontario, living mostly a traditional Ojibway life, but full of hardship. Saul's parents are residential school survivors, causing the family to move around a lot and go into hiding to protect their children. Saul's parents have lost two children to residential schools resulting in them to turn to alcohol. Therefore, the grandmother becomes more of a mother figure to Saul.  Throughout the beginning of the novel, Saul is presented as an intelligent young boy, who is very trusting towards his family.

“At St. Jerome’s we work to remove the Indian in our children so that the blessings of the Lord may be evidenced upon them” (Wagamese 46). These words provide the exact mindset the white people had toward the Indians. In the novel Indian Horse written by Richard Wagamese, the protagonist Saul grows up and is accustomed to the period of time where there is a pro - white bias. A bias so strong that the racism becomes institutionalized. This bias in all its forms and degrees crushes Saul’s spirit and turns what could have been a terrific athletic career to years of fighting, searching and drinking. Through the definite racism of his taking, the sexual and verbal abuse he receives from high religious figures, as well as the hierarchy created within the National Hockey League it is clear Saul believes his people are inferior to the whites which, in tail, develops the racism and prejudice central theme in the novel.

To prove it, he was told “‘And if I don’t go?’ ‘Then I’ll think you’re a coward. That you let it beat you without even trying.’ ‘What if I’m not good enough?’ He laughed, and the others laughed too…’Believe me, you’ll be good enough.’” (Wagamese 154) In more detail, the Moose always made sure that Saul knew he belonged, they treated him like a part of the family. They also helped to push him forwards when he was doubting his skills, like a normal family would do. To sum it up, the Kelly family has played a huge roll in Saul’s life. They helped him to make some critical decisions, along with helping to make sure he feels like he belongs.

Young Indigenous children from all over Canada were snatched from their homes, taken from their families, and placed in residential schools that would ruin these children and bring out the feeling of pain that would last their entire life. In Richard Wagamese novel Indian horse, Saul Indian Horse, one of the many victims of the sixties scoop was taken as a young boy, where he was abused mentally, physically and emotionally at St. Jerome's residential school. This school would inflict pain that would last forever and has a terrible aftermath on his life that puts him in a long and difficult healing process he endured to turn his life around from the distractions he used to hide from the pain. Richard Wagamese tells the story of Indian Horse through the eyes of Saul Indian Horse to demonstrate the feelings he endures during the story for the readers better understanding of the character.

Despite Saul's efforts at using the newly introduced sport of hockey to drive away his loneliness, he is victimized within the sport and is left traumatized. While playing the game, Saul remarks that “I knew that loneliness would be dispelled by the sheen of the rink in the sunlight, the

Indian Horse, a novel by Richard Wagamese, is a realistic and tragic story of a First Nations child named Saul who is taken to residential school. Saul Indian Horse goes through a multitude traumatic experiences at a young age; experiences consisting of losing his family, experiencing sexual abuse, and violent racism. In the novel, a theme the reader is always brought back to is Saul’s connection to, and longing for the land. Saul’s relationship with the land is meaningful to his character because it helps him understand his family history, connects him with his culture, and comforts him in times of need.

Sometimes it is easy to forget the game played on frozen ponds and backyard rinks, and get lost in the overwhelming professional sport known as hockey. However, we strive to remember that hockey became Canada's game because it made our never-ending winter months more bearable . The game gradually became a sport, then an entertainment industry. It seems like the lockout was one of the biggest news stories of the year. Part of the amazing nature of the game is that it's origins are fairly vague. However, we always remember that hockey is our game. It may not be our official sport, like lacrosse is, but hockey is what Canada seems to be most well-known for, and it continues to have immense influence on our free society, with its unique style

Fort Yukon is a small town in Alaska with a population of about 500 people. The main sport, basketball, is well supported within the community. Dave, the head coach of the basketball team, is not only a teacher to them, but another father to all the boys. This book provides many paradoxes, culture, and conflicts.

All Canadian's need to know of Canada's dark past. For many years aboriginal children were put through boarding school ran by religious institutions, these schools were called residential schools. The novel "Indian Horse", by Richard Wagamese inculpates perfectly what the kids went through before, during and after residential schools. The book also gives insight on current issues that the survivors of the school face after they are dropped into the real world. It is also important that older generations read this novel as older people have not learned about residential schools while they were in school. Canadians need to read "Indian horse" by Richard Wagamese in order to discover why reconciliation is needed for the Aboriginal people of Canada.

Indian horse by Richard Wagamese allowed me to open my eyes on the issues of Aboriginal people dealing with all the horrible pains and abusive trauma from the residential school. Before reading this book, I felt like I was educated well enough to understand how much aboriginal people suffered through generations and how much they have lost compared to what they had before. However, after reading this book I was able to see through First nation’s perspective and realized it's not just knowing about what aboriginal people have been through throughout the history. In this novel, the author allowed me to see Saul’s life transitioning ,where in the beginning saul was living the indigenous way of life with his family, but eventually forced to be