April 15, 2014
English 30-1 Indian Horse
“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” Adversity implies difficulties, trouble and misfortune as it tests the potential of man and strengthens his spirit of self confidence. In the novel Indian Horse written by Richard Wagamese there are many circumstances where the main character Saul is forced to overcome the adversity in which once shattered his human spirit and made him feel worthless. The ideas of adversity such as being beaten at residential schools and the racism he faced while playing hockey, demonstrates Saul’s constant inner struggle and his desire to become a …show more content…

It is through hockey that Saul can escape from his reality and fin what was stolen from him: friendships, family and a sense of self. Although as Saul’s future seems to point towards contending for a position within the National Hockey League, the constant racism and shunning from “the white man’s game” crumbles his faith in the one thing that gave him life outside of the Residential School. “But there were moment when you’d catch another boy’s eye and know that you were both thinking about it. Everything was contained in that glance. All the hurt. All the shame. All the rage. The white people thought it was their game. They thought it was their world.”(136) This quote reveals how Saul’s passion for hockey is crushed by ‘the white people’ who feel that Indians can’t play hockey. What once was his salvation proves to be just another thing that belongs to the white man. They feel as if the game of hockey only belongs to the white people and should only be played by people of the same race. The many setbacks Saul had faced from fans diminishing his ability to play hockey, and the harsh verbal abuse constantly bellowed at him because of his skin color, quickly weakened his human spirit and built up enough anger that he could hardly contain. “During one game the fans broke into a ridiculous war chant whenever I stepped onto the ice….When I scored, the ice was littered with plastic Indian dolls..” This quote is referring to when Saul joined an