There are many instances in the novel that are examples of bullying. Explore the concept of bullying and make parallels to real life situations.
According to many websites, including google, the definition of bullying is to "use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants." In Richard Wagamese's novel, Indian Horse, Saul, the main character is constantly bullied by the priests and nuns at St. Jerome's residential school. When he first arrives there, the nuns tell him that "At St. Jerome's we work to remove the Indian from our children so that the blessings of the lord may be evidenced upon them." (Wagamese 46). So, the nuns say themselves that they are going to force the native-ness out of the children, no matter what. Actually, before the nuns say that, a nun named sister Ignacia beat a young boy to the floor with a paddle, since he was protesting against them turning him against his native roots. So yea, the nuns and priests are bullies. They take great pleasure in beating, raping and humiliating the children so they can become "children of god". It's practically the same as a kid in school bullying another for their lunch money, or for the victim to fear them. The bully would say intimidating things, or even beat the victim until they conform to the bully's wishes. It practically identical to it.
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Consider Wagamese’s use of the first person narrator. What is the impact of having Saul of a narrator? What are some of the negative and/or positive aspects of first person narrator. Why do you think Wagamese chose to write in first person?
Having Saul narrate the story allows the readers to truly understand how he feels, since Wagamese got in the mind set of his character, and explained how it really would have been for someone in Saul's position. For example , when Saul was explaining how he felt about St. Jerome's as a child, it let everyone understand how he was feeling and how it really was there for him. It also lets you see Saul's surroundings in his own eyes, meaning that the reader fully understands what it was like to be Saul. It lets you understand his thoughts, opinions on others and how he perceives things in general. I think Wagamese decided to write this novel in first person because he wanted readers to understand what it was actually like for children living at that time, and also how they grew up and learned how to cope with the trauma they faced. It was an eye opener to read for sure, especially having to see what it was like back then out of the eyes of someone who was way too young to be experiencing traumatic events like this in their lifetime. Saul talks about the power of music saying, “ once I discovered Dvorak’s cello concerto, I turned to it again and again through my travels to suspend the desperation clutching at my gut. Work and music sustained me for a long time.” (180)
There are a few things that sustain me. Listening to my favourite music never fails to enhance my mood and make me feel better. AS of right now, I like to listen to the Broadway musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. There’s something about this hip-hop musical about the founding fathers of the USA that just makes me genuinely happy when I listen to it. I always have the urge to belt out the lyrics, so I do of course, and then laugh at myself for being a bit of a dork afterwards. Another thing that sustains me is to watch my favourite shows or movies, to make me laugh or smile. Those are, Pacific Rim, Star Trek, The Office and Hawaii Five-0. All of those shows and movies hold a very special place in my heart, and help me smile and laugh whenever I need it the most. Music is the most important to me though, because like Saul, it helps me change my mood and sustains me when I need it. Saul writes, “it wasn’t a yearning for new geography that drove me - it was my tiredness of the old. The bush ceased to be a haven. A vacant feeling sat where the beginnings of my history had once been. That part of myself was a tale long dead, one that held nothing for me.” (177)
As a young boy, Saul thought that his family's land was heaven on earth. But after many years of torture and discrimination, he has become hollow inside. He has become nothing but a shell of a person. After seeing countless children getting killed, getting raped, and treated horribly by those who were not natives. As a person, you can only handle so much mental and physical torture, and with Saul explaining how he feels, it shows that he has reached his limit, and just feels nothing anymore. Considering that he can't even feel any emotion when returning to his family's sacred land, it is revealed that he has truly departed with his native past, after it was forced out of him over the course of many years, whether it was at St. Jerome's or elsewhere. |